FILES

Computer Files are correctly created name and saved

Name and save computer files

You should be able to:

a) Create a file
b) Name a file
c) Save a file

In mastering this section you need to know the following terms:

Directory – An organizational unit, or container, used to organize folders and files into a
hierarchical structure. You can think of a directory as a file cabinet that contains folders that
contain files. Many graphical user interfaces use the term folder instead of directory.
File – A collection of data or information that has a name, called the filename. Almost all
information stored in a computer must be in a file. Examples of various files are (i) data files, (ii)
text files,(iii) program files, and (iv) directory files.

Create a File
Creating involves developing the document by entering text or numbers, inserting graphical
images, and performing other tasks using an input device such as keyboard, mouse or
microphone.

Naming and Saving Data Files

When you use a word processing package to produce a letter or memo, you need to be able to
give the document a name. Most people develop their own naming conventions, but if you are
using a computer at work, then you should find out if there are any rules or standards in use for
naming data files. It is always very useful to develop a logical approach to the organization of
data. Here are some guidelines to observe:

• Free up disk space by backing-up

• Create subdirectories on the hard drive or given network drive
• Give files sensible names
• Maintain a commitment to organization
• Compress your data
• Use color-coded floppy disks
Data Validation

This is the process of checking data for input errors before being passed on for further
processing. It compares data to a set of rules or values to find out if data is correct. Any errors
will be printed out on to an error report. Errors can then be checked, corrected and re-entered.

Many programs perform a VALIDITY CHECK that analyzes entered data to help ensure that it
is correct. If the entered data fails a validity check, the computer usually displays an error
message and asks you to enter the data again.

Validating data enhances its integrity before the program writes the data on disk. Various types
of validity checks include alphabetical checks, numerical checks, range checks

ELEMENT 3: RETRIEVE DATA

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As you go through this element it will provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitude
required to retrieve data. Your learning facilitator is there to assist you through the various
activities so on completion you should be able to:

1. Establish the source and identity of the information

2. Obtain where required authority to access data.
3. Locate and access data files.
4. Maintain integrity and confidentially of data.
5. Use approved procedure to retrieve information or relevant reports.
6. Print data.

Many of the information retrieval systems in use are based on DATABASE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS. These are sets of programs designed to help people to enter, store, and retrieve
information. To retrieve or select data in a database, you query it.
Query: A request for specific data from the database.

Authority to Access Data and Approved Procedure to Retrieve Information or Relevant

Reports

The issue of access to data and or information could seem to pertain immediately to situations
involving databases. Access privileges may also be applied to a word-processed document as
well as to a spreadsheet. One common feature used to limit access to documents is password
protection. This may be applied to word-processed documents, spreadsheets and databases

Most Database Management System (DBMS) allow you to identify different levels of access
privileges for each field in the database. These access privileges define the activities that a
specific user or group of users can perform.

Access privileges for data involve establishing who can enter new data, change existing data,
delete unwanted data and retrieve data.

For example, in the movie database, a checkout clerk might have read-only-privileges for movie
rating. The clerk could retrieve the movie rating data, but cannot change it. The store manager
by contrast would have full-update privileges to movie data, meaning they can retrieve and
change the data.
DBMS-software that allows you to create, access, and manage a database.

Maintain Integrity and Confidentiality of Data

Data Integrity

For a computer to produce correct information, the data that is inputted into a database must have
integrity. Data integrity is the degree to which data is correct. A misspelled movie title in a
movie database is an example of incorrect data. When a data contains these types of errors, it
loses integrity.

Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) is a computer phrase that states you cannot create information
from data that is incorrect. If you enter incorrect data into a computer (Garbage in), the
computer will produce incorrect information (garbage out). Data integrity is important because
computers generate the information that people use to make decisions and take actions.

A good database system includes validation rules and validation text that will alert the user to
incorrect data, as well as prevent the addition of such data.

Confidentiality

To some extent, protection of data will always be dependent on trustworthiness of the

employees, and therefore companies need to be as careful as possible about who they employ. It
is important to be informed about laws relating to confidentiality, so that you do not
unintentionally disclose information that should be confidential.

Relevant Reports are Retrieved Using Approved Procedure

A report generator, also called a report writer, allows you to design a report on the screen,
retrieve data into report design, and then display or print the report. Report generators are used
only to retrieve data. Report generators allow you to format page, numbers, and dates; titles and
column headings; fonts, font sizes, color etc.

One of the most popular application software used to generate reports is Microsoft Word.

Printing Data

When you sort or search through a database file you can usually have your results either shown
on the screen or printed out.

Printing is the process of sending a file to a printer to generate output on a medium such as
paper.

There will be those instances when you only need to look at an individual record, and seeing this
on the screen is sufficient. You may need things sorted in a particular way in order or you want
a list of particular records, and the output on the screen is satisfactory. You will also need to
produce a hard copy or print-out of the results and so will use the output on the screen to
“preview” the results before final printing.

Make sure that, just as for the word processing package, the printer is set up and can understand
the commands being sent to it from the database software.

ELEMENT 4: AMEND DATA

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As you go through this element it will provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitude
required to amend data. Your learning facilitator is there to assist you through the various
activities so on completion you should be able to:

1. Establish source of data/information for amendment. 2. Locate data to be amended in the file
3. Change and delete data entered using appropriate input device 4. Maintain data integrity.

Amending Data
Quite often the details of one or more fields in a database record need to be changed. For
example, if you are using the database to store names for your birthday party you will want to
alter the names periodically. You will need to locate the data and make the appropriate
alterations. Remember to save any changes made.

ELEMENT 5: USE DOCUMENT LAYOUT AND DATA FORMAT FACILITIES

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As you go through this element it will provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitude
required to use document layout and data format facilities. Your learning facilitator is there to
assist you through the various activities so on completion you should be able to:

1. Interpret document layout and format

2. Format and layout documents according to specifications given
3. Identify, access and use the facilities to achieve format and layout
4. Manipulate data facilities
5. Identify an accurate and complete document

The format and layout of a given document is dependent upon the specifications that should be
met. You may use a host of tools, features and templates in one or a number of applications to
prepare a document. Common formatting features include:

• Fonts (size, style, family, colour)

• Paragraph • Text direction
• Borders and shading • Tables
• Lettering (uppercase, lowercase)
• Tabs • Columns • Bullets and numberings
• Text indents

Most application software provide a number of templates that may also be used to format
documents. Desktop publishing software usually carry the greatest number of templates designed
for formatting purposes.

ELEMENT 6: MONITOR THE OPERATION OF EQUIPMENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES
As you go through this element it will provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitude
required to monitor the operation of equipment. Your learning facilitator is there to assist you
through the various activities so on completion you should be able to:

1. Monitor the system to ensure correct operation of tasks.

2. Interpret routine system messages and refer non-routine messages to appropriate personnel
3. Interpret procedures for dealing with error conditions
4. Monitor output devices and materials

Interpret routine messages that system provides

Any computer system will provide routine messages to the user(s) from time to time as part of
the protection mechanism built into the computer system. Routine messages are quite prevalent
on network systems because there is a greater level of risk in such an environment as compared
to a stand alone system, such as a single computer that is not connected to another. Routine
messages are primarily meant to assure the security of the computer system. They may include
• information on printing of documents
• virus protection software updates
• password details update notification
• archiving of files notification
These messages usually appear in dialog boxes and so demand a response from you, after which
the system will continue to function.

Other non-routine messages may also be generated by the computer. These include:
• Virus detection notification
• Software malfunction notification
• Disk storage notification
• Read/write privilege notification
• Incorrect password details notification
• Software connectivity notification
These may require the input of persons with higher access privileges as well as more knowledge
of the system to make the necessary connections. Increasingly ordinary users are being trained to
carry out minor maintenance activities as part of the strategy to lighten the workload of
information technology personnel in an organization.

Undertake minor maintenance activities

Some minor maintenance activities that you may undertake include:

• Dust inside your computer

• Do all work on the local hard drive.
Copy work that originated on network drives and removable disks onto your hard drive and work
on them there; copy back to the source when you are done.
• Shut down properly
• Organize data files
• Archive old things and delete temporary or outdated files for the hard drive
• Check for disk errors
• Empty the following subdirectories frequently:
• C:\temp;
• C:\windows\temp;
• C:\program files\netscape\users\(your name)\cache

ELEMENT 7: ACCESS AND TRANSMIT INFORMATION VIA THE INTERNET

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As you go through this element it will provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitude
required to access and transmit information via the Internet. Your learning facilitator is there to
assist you through the various activities so on completion you should be able to:

1. Access to the Internet is gained in accordance with the provider’s operating procedures. 2.
Evidence of the ability to negotiate web sites to locate and access specified information and other
services is efficiently demonstrated. 3. E-Mail is sent and retrieved competently.

INTERNET ACCESS

Network: a collection of computers and devices connected together by communications devices

and media.

The world’s largest network is the Internet.

The Internet is a worldwide collection of networks that links together millions of business,
government agencies, educational institutions and individuals. You can access the Internet for a
variety of reasons:
• to send messages to other connected users
• to access wealth of information
• to shop for goods and services
• to meet and converse with people around the world
• for entertainment

Most users connect to the Internet in one of two ways-:

a. through an Internet Service Provider, which is a company that supplies connections to the
Internet as well as website hosting services.
b. through an On line Service Provider, which also provides internet access, as well as a variety
of other specialised content and services such as financial data, hardware and software guides,
news and other similar commodities.

How the Internet works

Information sent over the Internet travels by networks and communications channels owned and
operated by many companies. Home or small business users often connect to the Internet
through a dial-up access. With dial-up-access you can use either a computer or a modem and a
regular telephone line to dial into an Internet Service Provider or Online service Provider.
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Access to Internet is gained in accordance with the provider’s operating procedures.

Two of the most popular services provided by the Internet are

Information access:

Accessing information on the Internet, also known as surfing the Internet, is achieved use of an
application software called a browser as shown in the diagram). This software comes as a part of
operating system and the icon that represents it is usually found on the desktop. Among the many
Internet browsers available, the two most popular ones are 1) Microsoft Internet Explorer, 2)
Netscape Navigator.

Accessing the internet:

Go to your desktop and look for one of this icons internet explorer.
The browser has now ushered you into what is known as cyberspace. All documents in this space
are located at websites and each website has a unique address called a Universal Resource
Locator (URL). The Yahoo site, for example, in the browser diagram above has URL
http://www.yahoo.com. The browser provides an Address bar in which you can type the
particular URL and the browser will seek to locate the site wherever it is in cyberspace.

Cyberspace: A metaphor for describing the non-physical terrain created by computer systems.
Unlike real space, though, exploring cyberspace does not require any physical movement other
than pressing keys on a keyboard or moving a mouse.

What if you do not know the particular website that has the information you need but just has a
strong suspicion that it exists? Search engines exist to assist you to search for such websites and
Yahoo is one of such search engines. Some of the popular search engines are: where the
keywords were found.
• Yahoo
• Google
• Alta Vista
• AOL
• MSN
• Hotbot
Search engine: A program that searches documents for specified keywords and returns a list of
the documents

Email—Electronic Mail
You can create, send, receive, forward, store, print and delete messages using an e-mail
program. Most search engines and Internet Service Providers provide email service.

How to send an e-mail message

1. Start an email program and point to the New Mail Message button.
2. Click the New Mail Message button to display the Message window.
3. Enter the recipient’s e-mail address, the subject, and the message in the Message window.
4. Click the insert file button to attach a JPEG file containing a picture to the message. Locate
the file on your hard disk and click its name. An icon for the file displays the message. Click the
Send button to send the message
5. When Sally receives the e-mail message, she opens the JPEG file to view the picture.
(Illustration below-diagram C)

NB. The steps may be somewhat different with your email provider. You are being advised to
consult the help feature in the software, as well as your colleagues and learning facilitator to
master the steps in composing, sending and receiving mail.
In addition to the actual messages there are also
• techniques in managing address of contacts to improve their accessibility for use.
• techniques in protecting your account from unwanted messages, also known as spam mail.

Email - is the transmission of messages and files via a computer network.

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ELEMENT 8: CLOSE DOWN COMPUTER SYSTEM

LEARNING OUTCOMES

As you go through this element it will provide you with the knowledge, skills and attitude
required to close down computer system. Your learning facilitator is there to assist you through
the various activities so on completion you should be able to:

1. Shut down the computer following the correct sequence 2. Demonstrate safety and protective
procedures in shutting down 3. Identify and report problems in shutting down

Shut Down Computer

Using the mouse

An important thing to remember when working with computers, you should NEVER just switch
your computer off by pressing the power button. Doing so can not only damage the computer. ,
you may also loose any work you have just done. As with switching on, the way to close down
the computer is very similar for most machines.