Reading Material 2.2
Reading Material 2.2
Folders
Files are generally stored in folders or sub-directories. This is an area that users can create to store files to assist in
locating them. Folder names follow the same rules as for filenames. Folders can hold files or other folders to allow files to be
stored in a meaningful and useful manner.
To learn more about accessing the data files, please click this link to read the article
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/windowsbasics/finding-files-on-your-computer/1/ and watch this short video clips for tutorials
at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=GtGVItw89NM&feature=emb_logo 1.2 Retrieve Data Using
Prescribed Systems, Sequences and Appropriate Keyboard Techniques
There are two different techniques that can be used to open a file. The first as you have seen is to use search or the
Computer icon to locate and open the file as discussed in Lesson 1. If you have the program open there are methods
from within each program to open a file. In most Windows programs like MS Office and MS Excel, the open option is located
under the file menu.
Microsoft Word
MS Word or simply Word is a word processor. An application use to “process”— format, manipulate, save, print,
share — a text-based document. Microsoft Office's Word is a great tool for creating business documents such as:
❖ postcard
❖ sign MS Excel
❖ banner ❖ letter
❖ resume ❖ report or paper ❖ proposal
❖ business card ❖ newsletter ❖ brochure
❖ invoice ❖ catalog
❖ receipt ❖ poster
❖ product packaging ❖ flyer
❖ mailing label ❖ invitation
❖ recipe cards ❖ gift tags
❖ place cards ❖ certificates
Another office suite program is Excel. This is a spreadsheet program, and this type of program collects the data that
has been entered and produces information from the data. This may be information such as: ·Customer details
·Sales History
·Inventory Lists
·Asset details
MS PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint is the most popular presentation software. It is used to build all kinds of presentations to show
information. Common types of MS PowerPoint presentation are the Pitch Deck, Slide Show and Infographics.
To retrieve file from this programs just click Start and then click All Programs. Scroll to the Microsoft Office group and
then click on desired program application. In the file menu you can scroll down and click open or open recent files to find
the needed documents.
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access is a Database Management System (DBMS) from Microsoft. It stores information which is called a
database. Data is stored in records or rows and is comprised of fields or cells. The presentation of data is similar to Excel,
but Access maintains the row as a complete unit. There are two types of Access tables, a flat table and a relational table.
A flat table has the data presented just as Excel, but is has much more sophisticated querying methods. A query is a question
for a database that is used to select or reject records. We may ask the database for all customers who have purchased in the
last six months. If a customer has purchased in the last six months they would be included in the outcome, if not the customer
would be excluded.
Many of the features operate exactly the same as they do in Excel, so the functionality becomes familiar very quickly. To use
MS Access, you will need to follow these four steps −
⮚ Database Creation − Create your Microsoft Access database and specify what kind of data you will be storing. ⮚
Data Input − After your database is created, the data of every business day can be entered into the Access
database.
⮚ Query − This is a fancy term to basically describe the process of retrieving information from the database. ⮚ Report
(optional) − Information from the database is organized in a nice presentation that can be printed in an Access
Report.
▪ To retrieve file, in Windows Explorer, navigate to the drive or folder containing the Access database file you want to open
and double-click the database. Access starts and the database is opened.
If Access is already running, use the following procedure to open a database. Note, the steps vary slightly depending
upon your version of Access.
1. On the getting started page of Access, Click Open Other Files.
2. On the Open area of the Backstage view, click Browse.
3. Click a shortcut in the Open dialog box, or in the Look in box, click the drive or folder that contains the database
that you want.
4. In the folder list, browse to the folder that contains the database.
5. When you find the database, do one of the following:
6. Double-click the database to open it in the default mode specified in the Access Options dialog box or the mode
that was set by an administrative policy.
7. Click Open to open the database for shared access in a multi-user environment so that you and other users can
read and write to the database.
8. Click the arrow next to the Open button and then click Open Read-Only to open the database for read-only
access so that you can view but not edit it. Other users can still read and write to the database.
9. Click the arrow next to the Open button and then click Open Exclusive to open the database with exclusive
access. When you have a database open with exclusive access, anyone else who tries to open the database
receives a "file already in use" message.
10. Click the arrow next to the Open button and then click Open Exclusive Read-Only to open the database for read
only access. Other users can still open the database, but they are limited to read-only mode.
✔ In the Open dialog box, click the This PC or My Computer shortcut on the left side (or in the Look in box,
click My Computer).
✔ In the list of drives, right-click the drive that you think might contain the database, and click Search. ✔
Enter your search criteria and press ENTER to search for the database.
✔ If the database is found, double-click it in the search dialog box to open it.
✔ Since the search was initiated from the Open dialog box, you must click Cancel in that dialog box before the
database will open.
When working with files, keyboard shortcuts can be a great help to conveniently do the tasks.
To perform most keyboard shortcuts you will use the Ctrl (Control) or Alt key normally found in the bottom left corner
of the keyboard. Below are the commonly used shortcuts:
Working with text
These keyboard shortcuts are useful when working with text in word processors, email applications, and more. They can
help you perform commonly repeated tasks, like copying and pasting text.
✔ Ctrl+Alt+Delete: Force an unresponsive or frozen program to quit. This keyboard shortcut opens the Task
Manager. You can then select the unresponsive application and close it.
✔ Delete: Send a selected file or files to the Recycle Bin.
✔ Enter: Open a selected application or file.
✔ Ctrl+N: Create a new file.
✔ Ctrl+O: Open an existing file.
✔ Ctrl+S: Save the current file.
✔ Ctrl+Z: Undo the previous action. If you want to redo the action, press Ctrl+Y.
✔ Windows key: Open the Start menu (or the Start screen in Windows 8).
Internet Shortcuts
To navigate the web browser, keyboard shortcuts can also be used. Most of the text shortcuts previously presented are
also useful online, like the shortcuts for selecting, copying, and pasting text into your web browser's address bar.
To access to all of the menus in the current application, press the Alt key. This means you can perform almost any task
with just your keyboard.
1.3 Access Data Stored on a Variety of Data Storage Mediums, Private Computer Networks and the
Internet
Media used in computer storage receive messages in the form of data, via software commands from the computer
system. The commands determine the type of storage media needed to hold the data, based on its business value,
compliance implications or other factors. In tiered storage, data is moved among disk, flash and cloud storage based on
automated software policies.
A storage medium may be internal to a computing device, such as a computer's hard drive, or a removable device such
as an external hard drive or universal serial bus (USB) flash drive.
The term storage encompasses all data, and can be either primary or secondary storage. Primary storage refers to data
that is kept in memory for fast retrieval by a computer's processor. Secondary storage is data placed on hard disk or tape to
ensure backup and long-term retention. Common storage mediums are:
Hard Disk
A hard disk provides a high-capacity alternative to magnetic storage media. It contains metal platters coated with
a magnetic layer. The platters usually spin continuously when a computer is on, storing data in different sectors on the
magnetic disk.
Optical Disk
Optical disk technology uses lasers for write once, read many (WORM) data. The use of lasers allows high-density
optical disk to store more data than magnetic HDDs. Types of optical storage media include Blu-ray, DVDs and CD ROMs
for read-only data.
Flash Memory
Flash memory does not depend on moving mechanical parts. This gives flash devices advantages in speed over
traditional disks. In flash memory, blocks of data must be erased to allow new data to be written to the microchip.
Private Network
A private network is any connection within a specified network wherein restrictions are established to promote a
secured environment. This type of network can be configured in such a way that devices outside the network cannot access
it. Only a selected set of devices can access this type of network depending on the settings encoded in the network routers
and access points. On the other hand, a public network is defined as a network that anyone can freely connect to little or no
restriction.
Private networks are most preferred in businesses and private organizations because they provide high security for vital
information.
Online data storage refers to the practice of storing electronic data with a third party service accessed via the Internet. It is
an alternative to traditional local storage (such as disk or tape drives) and portable storage (such as optical media or flash
drives). It can also be called "hosted storage," "Internet storage" or "cloud storage."
1.4 Use Searches and Queries to Find Desired Information
Searching for files
Each program has methods and approaches to find data or information within a file. Searching allows you to look
for any file on your computer.
Queries
Queries provide a higher level of control over the output by not only allowing greater control of the selection
process of which records are to be included but also the fields which are to be included in the report. A query is the
process of accepting or rejecting records for inclusion by using an identifiable set of criteria.
Consider the customer table. It has data that is confidential and should not be seen by people that do not have a
need for the data. Telephone numbers, credit limits, and amount owing is data that should only be viewed by those
people with a need for the data. A person wishing to contact a customer over an order may need the telephone
number, but they do not need to see the amount owing or the customer’s credit limit. By using a query the information
visible can be tailored to the needs of the user.
Editing a Query
The query that has been created simply presents the data and is not sorted or grouped in any fashion and there
are often reasons why data needs to be sorted. As there are discounts for postage if the letters are grouped
by postcode, it would be useful to have the mailout in postcode order. As the wizard has done most of the work, it is a
simple matter of editing the query to include a sort order.
If the query is open, click View>Design. If the query is not open then put the mouse on the query and right-click
and a menu will appear. Click on Design View and the plan of the query will be visible.
Open Personal_Computers.docx
Click File>Print and the print options page will occur. There is a preview of the current page shown on the right.
The printer allows you to change the printer as a business may have different printers for different situations.
Settings allows you to print all pages, the current page as shown on the right, or a custom range of pages, or the
document properties. By clicking on the arrows on the lower right side the current page can be changed for the “Print
current page” option. If the selected printer has the capabilities, there will be an option to allow double-sided or
duplex printing.
'Collated' applies when there is more than one copy to print and the copy has more than one page. Assume that four
copies of a document that has 3 pages and double-sided printing has been selected, which means there will be two
pieces of paper with printing on three sides. Collated will print the entire document four times. Uncollated will print
four copies of the first page and second page on one piece of paper and then four copies of the last page.
'Orientation' (Portrait or Landscape) determines how the page will be laid out. Portrait has the long edge on the
vertical, much like a portrait painting, or this page on the computer screen. Landscape will have the short edge on
the vertical and the long edge across, much like a landscape painting.
Margins provide the opportunity to set the beginning and ending position of text on the page from the edge of the
paper.
Pages per sheet will print smaller text and images on the page to fit more on the paper. Ensure one copy has been
selected and click on the print button to print the page.
Click the Home tab. Select the first paragraph and click on the File Menu>Print. The Settings will now have an option
to print the selected text. Print the selected text.
To save with a different name click File and then click Save As and the dialogue box will appear.
Queries
The output from queries can be printed in the same manner as tables. Run or open the query and then select
File>Print and the same options will be available.
Run the qryMailout and print the first page in landscape format.