The Windows File System and Windows Explorer.ppt

The Windows File System and Windows Explorer To move around the file system and examine your files or get to one you want (say, to modify, delete or copy it) you can: Start with the My Computer icon on the desktop and keep double-clicking on the appropriate folder icons until you’ve opened the folder where it resides; or Run Windows (not Internet) Explorer Windows Explorer provides a convenient way to see the hierarchical tree structure of all the folders and files on your file system. The left pane of the window displays this tree structure, while the right pane lists the contents of whatever folder or device has been selected in the left pane. One way of accessing it is through the Start menu (not available in the CCS labs): Another way is through “My Computer” on your Desktop. Double click on the My Computer icon, and then right-click on a drive icon (not A if it does not have any floppy in it) and choose Explore: File names The name you give a file can contain up to 255 characters, including spaces. It can’t contain any of the following characters: \ / : * ? | Filenames can also have extensions. No 2 files in the same folder can have the same name. Extensions--what they are and how they’re used Extensions are strings of (typically) three characters preceded by a period that are added to the file name. They are usually used to identify the application that created the file and/or should be used to modify or display the file. The operating system uses the extension to identify and launch the appropriate application. Common File Extensions .doc Word document .txt ASCII text file (open in Notepad) .htm Web document (open in IE) .xls Excel spreadsheet .xlc Excel chart .mdb Access database .ppt PowerPoint presentation .exe Application program The meaning of A: and C: Below, when we examine the notion of a full pathname for a file, we will see that this pathname always starts with something like A: We also see A: and C: listed as part of the “contents” of My