Chapter 3 File and Folder Management

Chapter 3 covers how to work with the *Computer* folder window, along with the Pictures & Music libraries. Tasks performed included searching for files & folders, managing open windows, opening and using the Pictures & Music libraries, using Windows Photo Viewer, Windows Media Player, backing up and restoring a folder.

Every object in Windows 7 has properties that describes the object. In the past I have always right clicked on the object/file/folder, selected properties to view the certain details (usually the file size). Windows 7 has made this more of a breeze. For example, open the Computer folder, click on the local disk (C:) to see the property details found in the *Details* pane at the bottom of the window. The most popular general details are there to view at a glance: the size of the hard disk, the capacity filled and capacity available, how the disk is formatted. There are other more in depth details available by right clicking to get a properties dialog box to pop up. The information available in the dialog box for the C: drive includes tabs for general, security, hardware, tools, sharing, quota and previous versions.

When working with a folder, I can see the details in the pane at the bottom the same way I did with the C: drive. If I point to a folder icon, a screen tip will display with a preview of the properties. Like the C: drive I can display all of the properties available for a folder by right clicking, select properties from the shortcut menu to get a dialog box to pop up. If I need to find a file or folder but I am not sure where it is located, I can use the search box located in the upper right corner of the window. There are filters available to narrow down searches such as *date modified* and *size*. 

Managing multiple open windows can be handled in various ways. Options include cascade, stacked, side by side and aero shake. Aero shake is an interesting feature. I wasn't understanding the text book in how to use this feature, so I googled *aero shake* and was able to quickly figure it out. I cannot see myself using this method of managing windows. For me, the most useful method is side by side.

The method for copy and pasting files and folders covered in this chapter is to right-click select copy, right-click select paste. For example, if I wanted to copy certain files in one location to a different location, I would select the file or files, right-click select copy. To paste them where I wanted them I would go to the location, right-click in an open area and select paste. If I want to move those files copied to a new folder, I would once again right-click in an open area and select new, then folder, and then rename the folder. To move the files to the new folder, I would select them all, drag and drop them onto the new folder. To refresh the image on the new folder, right-click and select refresh.

To view a picture individually in the Pictures library, click on the picture and select the preview button on the toolbar to open the Windows Photo Viewer. You could also double-click on the picture to do the same thing. In the same tool bar there is a slide show option if you wish to view the pictures as a slide show. This option allows you to select the speed and the order of the pictures to be displayed. Property information is viewed in the details pane. The details pane gives you an option to *tag* your pictures which makes finding pictures quicker using a search using the tag assigned. I could also rate the picture from 1 to 5 stars....not sure what good this does. Could be useful in search but I don't see why I would use this feature. Maybe someone who is more organized than I am would use it,

The details pane of a file in the Music library includes the album's icon (if one is available), file format, the name, genre, length, year and of course the rating feature. I can use the details pane to change the properties such as the genre to personalize how I organize my music files. To play a music file in Windows Media Player, select the file, click *Play* on the toolbar....this is the easiest way to perform this task.

The chapter covers how to backup and restore files and folders to both a USB flash drive and to a CD/DVD disc. To back up files to a USB flash drive, right-click the files you want to copy and paste them in an open area on the connected USB flash drive. The procedure is the same if you want to copy an entire folder and not individual files. To perform this procedure to CD/DVD disc, insert a blank disc into the optical disc burner. You have the option to format the disc like a USB flash drive  (called the live file system)...this means I can add files to the same disc at any time.  After the disc is formatted, select the files/folders you want to copy to the disc, then click the Burn button on the toolbar. To restore files from a backup source to the hard drive is just a matter of copying the data and pasting to the original location. For example, some files were accidentally permanently deleted from the hard drive. If I have these files on a jump drive or CD/DVD disc, I can copy and paste from a backup source to the appropriate location.