File Management

For
Windows Explorer
Using

Windows Vista Home Premium

In this exercise you will learn how to:

• Open Windows Explorer

• Read your USB pen drive
• Create a new folder
• Move a single file
• Move multiple files
• Copy a single file
• Copy multiple files
• Delete files and/or folders
• Rename files and/or folders
• Exit Windows Explorer

Note to Tutor: Before delivering this tutorial, to match the screen dump pictures, you will need
to create a folder called FM4 and nine files called Odd1, Even2, Odd3, Even4, Odd5, Even6, Odd7,
Even8 and Odd9. I have created Word Documents but any type of file would be okay. Place the
nine files in the FM4 folder, onto a USB stick, one per student and you are ready to deliver the
exercise. Feel free to amend liberally but please acknowledge that the original exercise came
from Tamworth College
PLEASE DELETE THIS TEXT BOX BEFORE PRINTING OUT THE STUDENT NOTES
What is Windows Explorer?

Windows Explorer is a file management program. It displays the ‘directory’ structure

of files, folders and drives on your computer.

Sample folders Sample files

Using Windows Explorer, you can copy, move, rename and delete files and folders.
For example, you can open a folder which contains a file you need to copy or move,
and then drag the file to another folder or drive.

This is a typical opening window of Windows Explorer showing the screen split into a
two panes. It has opened into the Start Menu area.

NOTE In this exercise, when text, files, folders or drives are ‘selected’, the term
used is: blue (selected) but your computer’s colour scheme may be different.

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Getting Started

Firstly, boot up your computer.

To open Windows Explorer,

(1) EITHER: right click on the Windows Vista ‘Start’ button at the
bottom left of the screen.

A shortcut menu appears.

Single click on the second option: Explore

Your Explorer window will look similar to this ...

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(2) OR, on your desktop, double click on the Computer Icon

Your Explorer window will look similar to this ...

(3) OR, single left click on the Windows Vista ‘Start’ button at the bottom
left of the screen ... a menu appears ....

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Single click on Computer in the right hand side

Your Explorer window will look similar to this ...

Whichever way you have chosen to open it, you are now in Windows Explorer.

If for any reason the folders section in the left hand pane is not visible, click the
arrow in the folders section heading and it will be revealed.

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Looking at Windows Explorer

In the left hand pane there are two sections. The top section shows your Favorite
links or commonly viewed areas such as Documents and Pictures. The lower left
section is the Folders area which currently shows a list of each of the available drives
in your computer, but will later show drives and folders.

In the centre is a scrolling bar to allow you to slide up and down the available drives
or folders shown in the left hand pane.

In the right hand pane is the contents of whatever is selected in the left hand pane –
all the drives, folders AND files will be displayed in the right.

Where it says ‘Computer’ in the bar at the top of the window, this area shows your
position in the directory or structure of the drives and folders.

In the toolbar ribbon, the tabs we will use are Organize and Views.

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 Copying the files for the exercise from USB pen drive to a new
folder in Documents

To work through this File Management exercise you will need to use a set of dummy
files. They are already on the computer, but we don’t want to alter the original set,
so we will need to create a new folder for you and copy the dummy files into the
new folder.

To make it more interesting we shall copy them from a USB pen drive.

At the top of the left hand pane you will see Documents (A).

Click on it to display the contents in the right hand pane then single click on the tiny
arrow next to Documents (B) in the bottom section of the left hand pane ...

Once clicked, you will see the folders only in the left hand pane but the folders and
files in the right hand pane.

We need to create a new folder for you to use within the area Documents.

In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab to see
the menu and select the New Folder option by single clicking on it.

A new folder will appear at the bottom of the list of folders with the text New Folder
in blue (selected) and editable.

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Just type in your own name and the blue (selected) ‘New Folder’ text will be replaced
with the ‘your own name’ text, then either press the Enter key or click away so the
name change (ie from New Folder to your own name) takes effect.

The folder may move to take its place in alphabetical order.

In the folders section of the left pane, click on your name. The right pane should be
empty.

This is the space where we will be putting the dummy files.

Leave this window open on screen.

Insert your USB pen drive into the USB drive of your computer ...

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Single click the ‘Open folder’ option. Note that it has appeared in Drive J.

Arrange the two windows (by dragging on the top bar) so that you can see FM4 in
Drive J and the big empty space your part of Documents.

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In the USB window pane, single click and hold on FM4, keep the button held down
and drag the folder into your part of Documents

When your mouse is in the right place, you will see the message ...

Copy to your name

Let go of the left mouse button. You should now have your own copy of FM4 in your
part of Documents, having left the original copy on your USB pen drive. These two
copies are now exactly the same (but not for long).

NOTE: Because you are dragging from one drive to another drive (in this case you
are dragging a folder from the J Drive to the C Drive) the folder will automatically
COPY. When dragging within the same drive (ie within Documents), a dragged
folder or file will automatically MOVE.

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 If you can’t see FM4 below your name in the left pane, click on the tiny arrow by
your name to see it.. In the left pane, click on the folder FM4. You will now see
some files in the right hand pane. These are the files we will use for this FM4 File
Management Exercise.

Please use the files in the FM4 folder within your name rather than any other FM4
folder.

There should be nine files, four even and five odd.

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Removing the USB Flash Drive from the system

Make a mental note of the DRIVE letter used by the USB Pen (in my case J).

Close the USB pen drive window by clicking the top red cross at the very top right of
the window ...

If using Windows Vista, once you are sure that the Drive Window is closed, just
remove the drive from the USB socket. If it has a lid, please put it back on!

Be aware that when using Windows Vista you may just remove the USB pen drive,
but when using earlier software, care must be taken to advise the PC that it is going
to be removed OR the contents of the drive could be damaged – this is particularly
true of Windows 98 and Windows 2000.

The following screen shots are taken from Windows XP Operating System ...

Before you remove the USB pen drive, look in the system tray and you should see a
green arrow icon. Left click on the message Safely Remove Hardware

Choose the correct USB drive (below it is Drive H but your may be different) and
click on it. Please take care not to remove the wrong item or the printers/scanners
will be removed from the system. Thank you.

You may now remove the USB pen drive from the machine. We are ready to begin
the exercise.

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Creating Folders

You will create two folders, one named ODDS and one named EVENS.

In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab to see
the menu and select the New Folder option by single clicking on it.

A new folder will appear in the list of files with text New Folder blue (selected) and
editable.

Just type in EVENS and the New Folder text will be replaced with the new folder
name EVENS then either press the Enter key or click away so the name change (ie
from New Folder to your name) takes effect.

You will see that the folder moves to take its place in alphabetical order (as it is the
first, it will stay at the top).
Repeat the process, in the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the
Organize tab to see the menu and select the New Folder option by single clicking
on it.

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A new folder will appear in the list of files with New Folder in blue (selected)…

Just type in ODDS and the blue (selected) New Folder text will be replaced with the
new folder name ODDS then either press the Enter key or click away so the name
change (ie from New Folder to your name) takes effect.

Your work should now look something like this ...

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Left click on the tiny arrow next to FM4 in the left hand pane.

You will now be able to see both the folders you have created in both panes.

To arrange the right pane as ICONS, In the toolbar ribbon, click the down arrow next to
Views, then Medium or Large Icons. Some people find it easier to move the larger
objects ...

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Your window should now look like this …

You may find the next exercise easier with icons view rather than list.

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Moving Files

It is worth noting that when files are dragged to a new location within a drive they
will automatically MOVE. However, when files are dragged to a new location in
another drive, they will automatically COPY. Because we are now working within
Documents, dragging files will MOVE them.

The next task is to move the files into the correct folders.

In the right pane, left click and hold on the file Even2 and drag it across into the
EVEN folder also in the right hand pane.

As the ‘ghost’ of the file approaches it, the EVEN folder will turn blue (selected) to
receive it and Move to EVENS will appear. Let go of the mouse when you are on
top of the EVEN folder also in the right hand pane.

NOTE: When working within a folder, in this case FM4, you can use either the left or
right pane EVENS folder to receive the file. When working from one folder to
another folder, you must drag from the right pane into the folder in the left pane.

So, now we’ll move a second file as though the folders and files were not all in the same
FM4 folder …

In the right pane, left click on the file Even4, now drag it across into the left hand
pane into the EVEN folder. The left hand pane EVEN folder will turn blue (selected)
to receive it and Move to EVENS will appear. Let go of the mouse when you are
on top of the EVEN folder in the left hand pane.

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Now try moving more than one file at a time.

In the right hand pane, left click on the Even6 file. Let go of the mouse. Hold
down the Shift Key then left click on the Even8 file. Let go. The two files
should now both be blue (selected).

Place your mouse anywhere on the blue (selected) area, left click and hold down the
mouse and drag the two files into the EVENS folder (either one of the folders, left or
right pane, it doesn’t matter which).

Now repeat this moving exercise by dragging the Odd files into the ODDS folder
using the instructions above. Try doing it each way again, first into the right hand
pane folder, then into the left hand pane folder.

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To view the contents of the ODD folder, click on the ODD folder in the left hand
pane, and you will see the contents appear in the right hand pane.

It may look like this …

Or it might still have the large icons ...

Do you remember how to change the View?

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Copying Files

The next task will involve copying files, but before we do, we shall create a new
folder. If you can’t remember how to create a folder, look back at your notes.

In the left pane, click on FM4, then in the FM4 folder, create new folder and name it
COPIES (at the same level as EVENS and ODDS).

You will see that both the EVENS and ODDS folders contain documents while the
new COPIES folder is empty. Do not always rely on these icons. Always check
carefully before deleting, that folders which ‘look’ empty really are empty!

You will remember that the files cannot just be dragged, they must be copied.

In the left hand pane, click on the EVENS folder to display its contents in the right
hand pane. In the right hand pane, single click on the file Even2 so it is selected.

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In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab to see
the menu and select the Copy option by single clicking on it.

This places the file into the system’s clipboard memory, ready to be retrieved when
the paste command is used.

In the left hand pane, click on the COPIES folder to display its contents in the right
hand pane. It should be empty at this point.

In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab to see
the menu and select the Paste option by single clicking on it.

You will now have the same file (Even2) in both places. You have made a copy.

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In the left hand pane, click on the EVENS folder to display its contents in the right to
see the original Even2 file.

Repeat this process until all the Even files are copied into the COPIES folder.

NOTE: Remember that you can ‘click,shift,click’ to select more than one OR do you
remember from using Microsoft Word, that holding down the Ctrl Key + A Key will
‘select all’ items. Try experimenting with these options.

Now repeat the copying exercise again, copying all the Odd files into the COPIES
folder.

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Deleting Files

In the left hand pane, click on the EVENS folder to display its contents in the right, ie
all four even files (Even2, Even4, Even6 and Even8).

Because we are going to delete everything in the EVENS folder, rather than deleting
each file one at a time, we could select all the files and delete them simultaneously.

METHOD A: Left click on any Even file, hold down the Ctrl Key, tap the A key and all
files within the EVENS folder should be blue (selected). Let go of all keys.

METHOD B: Single click on the first file, hold down the shift Key, single click on the
last file, all files within the EVENS folder should be blue (selected). Let go of all keys.

With all four of the Even files selected there are three ways you can delete them
all:

EITHER:

(1) In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab
to see the menu and select the Delete option by single clicking on it ...

Click Delete in the Organize menu options.

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(2) OR in the blue (selected) area of the four selected files, right mouse click
and left click Delete from the drop down list of options available,

(3) OR tap the Delete key on the keyboard.

Whichever deletion method you choose you will see a dialogue box asking you a
question – are you sure ...

Click on the Yes option.

Now reveal the contents of the ODD folder and repeat the exercise, with the five Odd
files.

Deleting Folders

In the left hand pane, click on the FM4 folder to display its contents in the right.

In the right hand pane, one at a time, delete the EVENS folder then the ODDS folder,
using one of the three techniques described for deletion of files.

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Renaming a Folder

In the left hand pane, click on the FM4 folder to display its contents in the right.

You should now only have the COPIES folder left.

In the right hand pane, single click on the COPIES folder to select it.

In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab to see
the menu and select the Rename option by single clicking on it ...

The folder’s name will go blue (selected) and editable, just overtype the original
name with the name COPIES DONE then tap the Enter key (because your hand is on
the keyboard) or single click the mouse in the white space if you prefer.

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Renaming files

In the left hand pane, click on the COPIES DONE folder to display its contents in the
right.

In the right hand pane, single click on the file Even2 to select it.

In the toolbar ribbon, single click the down arrow next to the Organize tab to see
the menu and select the Rename option by single clicking on it ...

The file’s name will go blue (selected) and editable, just overwrite the original name
with the name Number 2 then press the enter key (because your hand is on the
keyboard) or single click the mouse into the white space if you prefer.

Rename all the files in a similar way.

Your work should now look like this ...

See if you can now delete the whole exercise. In the left hand pane, click on your
name. In the right hand pane, delete your own version of FM4.

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It is worth noting the various options available with the right mouse click during file
management, as you become a more confident user you may well prefer to use this
option for cutting, copying, pasting, deleting and renaming your files and folders.

As a reminder:

A LEFT mouse click highlights, selects or chooses something

A RIGHT mouse click gives a drop down list options appropriate to the position of the
mouse cursor

A DOUBLE left mouse click opens a file or folder or program

Here are a couple of RIGHT mouse click options lists:

(1) a drop down list which you might see from a selected file:

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And (2) a drop down list which you might see from a blank area in the right hand
pane with nothing selected:

To close Windows Explorer click on the cross in the top right of the window.

Because these notes frequently describe several different ways to do each task,
when you feel comfortable with one method, I suggest you mark your notes to
emphasise your favourite method of doing each task.
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