ФАКУЛТЕТ ЗА ИНФОРМАТИЧКИ НАУКИ И КОМПЈУТЕРСКО ИНЖЕНЕРСТВО

File management: paths and trees

and folders
Outline
Operating Systems
File Basics
◦File Names, Extensions
◦Directories, Folders, and Paths
◦File Formats
File Management
◦File (Windows) Explorer
◦Zipping files
◦Shortcuts
Operating Systems
Every computer runs programs (applications) that help you do
your work, like word processors and browsers.
Every computer needs software that knows the details of the
particular hardware you have and can communicate with all
your applications and with you. This is the Operating System.
Several kinds of OS’s – Windows 7, 8, 10, Linux, MacOS, Unix,
Android
All operating systems have the important job of keeping track
of your files: where they are, what’s in them, what they are
named.
Files
When you use an application to do work - e.g., write a paper,
make a spreadsheet, or draw a picture, the work is stored in
RAM (memory) first
It is in danger of being lost if the power goes off (RAM is
volatile!)
When you save it, it is copied to a secondary storage device like
the hard drive or a flash drive
It is saved as a FILE with a name, extension, time, date, size
File Names and
Extensions
You must adhere to file-naming conventions when
saving files
◦ Case sensitivity – upper and lower case are different
◦ True in Linux and Unix variations, not in Windows
◦ Maximum length (Windows 260 characters)
◦ Spaces allowed
◦ Digits allowed
◦ \ / : * ? " < > | not allowed
◦ File names not allowed (con, nul, prn)

File extensions provide clues to the file contents

OS uses extensions to know which application created the file
and the internal format of the file
Filename Extensions
Extension Type of Document Application
.doc or .docx Word processing document Microsoft Word

.xls or .xlsx Workbook Microsoft Excel

.ppt or .pptx PowerPoint presentation MS PowerPoint
.accdb Database Microsoft Access
.gif, .jpg, .png Images Windows Image
Viewer
.mp4, .mp3 Videos, audio Windows Media
.zip Compressed file WinZip
.pdf Portable Document Format Adobe Acrobat

.htm or .html Web page Hypertext Markup

Language
How to Make Extensions
Visible in Windows
Windows default is NOT to show the common
extensions of filenames but we want to SEE
them!
Open a Windows Explorer window
Choose Organize tab
Choose Folder and search options
Choose View tab
UNcheck the box that says “Hide extensions
for known file types”
Choose “Apply to Folders”
File Systems – Drives
Every computer has a file system used to
keep track of the files on that machine
File systems are based on physical storage
devices, known as drives
Drives can be local or remote (network or
cloud)
Click on “My Computer” to see a list of
drives (on a Windows machine)
File Systems – Drives
Typical Drives
◦ A: or B:  Floppy Disk
◦ C:  Local Hard Drive
◦ D:  CD Drive
◦ E-Z for removable drives like memory sticks
◦ About any letter can be used for a partition of a
device
File Systems – Partitions
Note that a “partition” is not a physical device,
although it looks like one to the OS.
Why have a partition? At one point Windows could
only handle devices of a certain size. If your hard
drive was larger than that size, you could not
access the entire device. Partitions fool the OS into
thinking that one device is two (or more!) devices,
each with their own letter and file system
You will find disks partitioned even today, when
some space is used for a specific need, like a
backup
Sample Disk Partition
A File System Tree (2
devices)
 File Management
Metaphors
Tree Metaphor
◦ Root, branches, leaves

Filing Cabinet Metaphor

◦ Drawers, Folders, Files
File Directories and
Folders
Every storage device has a directory containing a list
of its files
◦ Root directory (like “C:\”)
◦ Subdirectory
◦ Depicted as folders

A computer’s file location is defined by a path

Examples: D:\ is the root of the D drive
Examples: C:\Notes\CS 101\Week 1\notes.txt
Examples: F:\2018\Music\CDs\Prince\
File Formats
A file format refers to the organization and layout of
data that is stored in a file
A file extension usually indicates the format of a file
and the application which was used to create the file
But it does not have to! Just changing the
extension on a file from xlsx to zip does not
make the file a zip file! It needs to be
converted from a spreadsheet to a zipped file
using the zip application.
Applications and Files
Most applications that create files have a file menu
Choices will include Save and Save As
◦ Save saves using same filename, if has been saved once
already
◦ Save asks for new name if it has not been saved before
◦ Save As asks for new name and saves new copy of file
Duplicate – makes another copy with new name but you keep
editing old version
Rename – allows you to change the name of the current file
File Management
The operating system provides an organizational structure to
the computer’s data and programs
Hierarchical structure of directories:
◦ Drives
◦ Folders
◦ and more Folders …
◦ Files
Storage metaphors help you visualize and
mentally organize the files on your disks and
other storage devices
 File Explorer
File Explorer (also known as Windows
Explorer) helps you manipulate files and
folders in the following ways:
◦ Rename
◦ Copy
◦ Move
◦ Delete

Windows offers a set of preconfigured

personal folders, such as My Documents
and My Music, for storing your personal
data files. You can make subdirectories in
these too!
Windows Explorer
NOT the same as Internet Explorer! Windows Explorer is a file
manager
Shows files in different views
Shows files’ information: name, date modified, type, size and
others you can set (Turn menu bar on, then View then menu
choice Choose Details)
Uses Graphical User Interface to let you move files around, copy
them, erase them
Units for measuring file
sizes
One byte = one character, pretty small
1 Kilobyte = 1024 bytes, about a page of text
1 Megabyte = 1024 KBs, a 1000-page book
1 Gigabyte = 1024 MBs (more than 1 billion
bytes), about 1000 books, a library!
1 Terabyte = 1024 GBs (more than 1 trillion
bytes), over 1000 libraries
1 Petabyte = 1024 TBs (more than 1
quadrillion bytes), over 1 million libraries
 File Sizes and Dates
A file contains data, stored as a group of bits
◦ File size is usually measured in bytes, kilobytes, or megabytes

The file date indicates the date that a file was created or last modified
File Sizes and Dates
Why is the file size important?
◦ Memory and Storage Capacity
◦ “How many songs can I fit on my MP3 player?”
◦ “How many pictures can I take with my camera?”
◦ "Did all my data get saved?“
◦ “Did I submit a file for the lab test that was empty?”

Why is the file date important?

◦ History of File Creation and Last Modification
◦ “Which one is the latest version of my paper?”
◦ “Did I submit my lab test on time?”
File Properties
In Windows, right click on a file icon and you see a menu of
things you can do to the file
Last choice on menu is Properties
Look at the Security Tab
Shows the groups or users who can access the file
Shows “permissions” = Modify, Read & execute, Read, Write
◦ Modify = change an existing file
◦ Read = see what’s inside
◦ Read & execute = see what’s inside and run it if executable
◦ Write = create new files, modify existing files
File Management Tips
Use descriptive names
Maintain file extensions – don’t change one unless
you convert the file to that type
Group similar files into a folder
Organize your folders from the top down
Consider using default folders but consider putting
folders inside them – My Documents can be
subdivided as you like!
Do not mix data files and program files in the same
folder
File Management Tips
Don’t store too many files in the root directory –
actually slows down the access
Follow copyright rules
Delete or archive files you no longer need
Be aware of storage locations!
Make Backups!
Zipping a file or files
Files can be compressed by removing the
redundancies in them
Zip also archives them - turns several files
into one file, easier to move, copy, upload,
etc.
Created by Phil Katz in 1989
In Windows, select the files to zip
◦Right click on one of them
◦Choose "Send to compressed folder"
◦You may need to rename the file afterward
You will have more info into archiving on
Searching for files
If you don’t remember where you put a file when you saved it
or when you downloaded it
Every operating system provides a way to search
Windows:
◦ Start button has a search bar at the bottom of its
menu
◦ Windows Explorer windows have a search bar at
the top right corner
◦ can add Search filters
◦ can type in a file extension like JPG to find picture
files
◦ NOT case sensitive so can use JPG or jpg
Shortcuts
Can create another icon which points to a file or
folder or program
Double clicking on it is equivalent to double clicking
on what it points to
But be careful! The shortcut is NOT a copy of the
file! If the original file is moved or deleted, the
shortcut does not work
When submitting lab tests, be careful of this! Do not
send your TA JUST a bunch of shortcuts!