Mokona Modoki

Actually Posted on 2nd April 2008

Hi Everyone. This week we spent the first part of our lesson, finding out about each others computer. While you didn’t need to record anything down, the goal of at the exercise was to get everyone to bring information about their computers to the class room. By doing so, you prove that you do indeed know how to “Operate a Personal Computer”, also the name of the first module, which we will finish next week. Following our discussion, we covered:

File and Folder Properties

Renaming, Cutting, Copying and Pasting Files

Deleting Files and Using the Recycle Bin.

File and Folder Properties

To find the properties of any file or folder on your computer, you simply click the file or folder with your right mouse button, and select “Properties” from the context menu that appears.

A dialogue box similiar to the following will appear

What you see, may different depending on the file or folder you have right clicked on.

Renaming, Cutting, Copying and Pasting Files

There are many ways to do each of these features in Windows.

To Rename a file or folder, right click the desired file or folder to be Renamed and select “Rename” (not properties) from the context menu that appears. Note: You usually can not rename a file that has the “read only” attribute enabled (the tick box).

To Cut (or Copy) a file or folder, right click the desired file or folder that you want to Cut (or Copy) and select “Cut” (or Copy) from the context menu that appears. When you Cut a file or folder, you will notice that the icon becomes slightly opacified (transparent), indicating that it has been cut and is ready to be pasted elsewhere. Note: Not all files that look opacified (transparent), are files that have been cut and are now ready to be pasted somewhere. Enabling the “Hidden” attribute (the tick box) will also make the icon look opacified.

Remember: When you Cut (or copy) a file, folder, or multiples of both, you then need to paste these somewhere. When file/s or folder/s are copied or cut, they are temporarily stored in the computers memory (RAM). Windows calls this “The Clipboard”. Note: Files that are Cut will be deleted from their original location when pasted.

Normal Icon / File

Icon / File that has been Cut

To Paste any items that you have Cut or Copied to the computers memory, navigate to the location where you want to store the files (via My Computer for example), right click in an empty space (being careful not to click on another icon in the process) and select “Paste” from the context menu that appears. Depending on the accumulative size of the file/s or folder/s you have copied or poasted, you may see a dialogue box appear indicating the progress of the cut or copy process.

Deleting Files and Using the Recycle Bin

I’ve put together a series of links for this topic. The first link pretty says it all, the others are helpful too though.

Cyber Tech Help - How to Delete Files and Folders

The Elder Geek - Delete Un-deletable Files

Geek Girls - Copying and Deleting

Remember; I put these links and resources here for your use. So if they are of no use to you, too hard to understand or you feel they are off topic, then please let me know, via any of the communication channels you have with me. I am more then happy to make changes, source better content or even create fresh content from scratch, just for you! You need only ask …. nicely!