What is the difference between a file and a folder?
What is a file extension and what is it for?
What is an executable file?
What is a hidden file or folder?
To these questions, you and I, my dear reader, will try to find answers.
What is the difference between a file and a folder.
A computer is a device that executes a sequence of commands. These commands must be written down and saved somehow. Files are used to record this information. The file is like a document page. One contains commands, the other contains the data with which it works. The third displays the results of the work. To run a program, sometimes hundreds and sometimes thousands of different files are used. To avoid getting confused in this diversity, we need folders. Just as sheets of documents related to one project are kept in a folder, files related to one program are placed in separate folders.
From this we conclude:
a file is a collection of information of a certain type, collected and recorded on disk;
A folder is a place where files can be located.
Why did I write “...may be located”? Because the folder may have no files. If we create a folder ourselves, it will be empty. The file may also be empty.
Let's try to create a folder. We will create it on the desktop. To do this, click the left mouse button on an empty space on the desktop.
In the menu that opens, select the item “Create" Marked in the figure - 1. Opens extra menu, in which we select the “Folder” item and left-click on it. By default the folder name is " new folder" Once created, this name is highlighted and we can immediately change it by typing the name we want. Rice. New folder.
If you leave the default name and create another folder, it will be named “New Folder(2)”, etc. Agree that if we try to find something, it will be difficult to remember in which folder what was saved after some time has passed. You'll have to open each one and look at the contents.
Therefore, we immediately give the folder a meaningful name so that we know what is in it. If you did not have time to change the name, and it was saved by default, there is nothing wrong with that. This can be corrected at any time. 
Right-click on the folder and select Rename from the menu that opens. The folder name is highlighted, and we can change it; in our example, we will call the folder “Phones”. We go inside the folder, to do this, double-click on this folder with the left mouse button and find ourselves inside the folder. Here we see the inscription “This folder is empty.”
Creating a file
Let's create a file - Text Document. We click on an empty space in the folder (in this case, we have it all free) with the left mouse button, select “Create” in the menu, and then “Text document” in the next menu. 
A document is also created - the default name is “New Text Document”. Change to " Important phone numbers", and press the "Enter" key (or simply click on the free space in the folder).
We have created new file, Text Document. Now it's empty. In order to open it, double-click the left mouse button on the file. By default, the file opens in Notepad. We write the text we need. 
If, after we have written everything, we try to close the Notepad program, a warning window will appear: “You want to save changes to the file" 
– followed by the file name and the path where it is saved. If you click “Save”, “Notepad” closes, the data is saved to our file. If you select “Do not save,” the program closes and changes are not recorded. When you select “Cancel,” editing the document continues.
To correctly close the Notepad program after finishing editing a document, you need to click the left mouse button on the “File” menu item in the upper left corner of the window. 
, select “Save” from the drop-down submenu. After that, “Exit”. 
File types
The folder icon (also called “Icon”) looks like this - .
Since the contents of files can be different, file icons have more variety. Examples of icons: 
Some files store document texts, others drawings or photographs, others music or videos. There are executable files - programs. In order for the computer to understand what is in a particular file, there are file extensions. By default, file extensions are hidden. To see file extensions in operating system Windows 7 need to press a button 
“Start” – “Control Panel” – 
“Folder Options”, Fig. 3, open the “View” tab, in the additional parameters, uncheck the item – “Hide extensions for registered file types”. After that, click the “Apply” button, then “OK”.
Everything is simpler in Windows 8. In the folder, above the icon icons, there is an action panel with objects located in this folder. If we click on the triangle next to the folder picture, a menu with three items opens. In order to see file extensions, you need to click the mouse next to the item of the same name (item - 1). Now we see extensions for our icons (highlighted with frames). It is through these extensions that the computer understands that it is in 
file.
Here are the main types of extensions:
txt, rtf, doc, docx – text documents;
xls, xlsx – spreadsheets;
jpg, jpeg, gif, tiff, bmp, png – graphic files;
avi, mp4, mpeg – video files;
mp3, wav – sound files;
com, exe – executable files, programs;
htm, html – web pages;
ppt, pps – electronic presentations.
Depending on the type of file, by double-clicking the mouse, the operating system opens it in specific program. So a file with the extension .txt is opened in notepad, and .doc - in Microsoft Word or, for example, in OpenOffice (an alternative free, open source office suite). When we have several programs to open a certain type of file, we can open such a file in a program other than the default program. To do this, right-click on the file and context menu select the item “Open with...” - select the required one from the list of suggested programs.
You can change the default program for a certain type of file. To do this, click Start - Control Panel - Default Programs - File Type Association... 
When we select another application for a file, the file icon will also change.
What is an executable file
All program files are executable files. Executable file extensions are .com, .exe. Almost all programs are launched by files with these extensions. Another type of executable file has the extension .bat - this text file with written commands for the operating system.
Hidden files or folders
Important files necessary for the operation of the operating system are hidden from the average user. These files are called system files. We can see these files if in the Windows 7 folder options menu we uncheck “Hide protected files” system files» 
In the figure, number 2 indicates system (hidden) folders, number 3 indicates files. Icon drawings hidden files and folders are translucent. If these files are damaged, the operating system may stop working, so they are made hidden.
Video for this lesson:
Available on every computer. In this lesson you will learn what files and folders are and why they are needed.
What is a file
To better understand what are files and folders I will give you an analogy with stationery. Imagine that you have several sheets of colored paper. They different sizes, colors and shapes. You can put these sheets in your desk drawer where they will be stored and when you need to take a sheet of paper, you will open the desired drawer and take the sheet.
So, on a computer, each piece of paper is a file, and a folder is a box in which you put files.
All data on the computer is stored in the form of files. File– the smallest unit of data in a computer. A film, a text document, a drawing, a song - these are all files.
A sheet of paper has properties: color, size, weight, etc. Each file also has its own properties: size (the amount of space it takes up on the hard drive), name (file name), type (text, music, etc.). To understand what type a file is, you need to look at its name.
The file name is written as “name.extension”.
You can understand the file type by its extension. For example, the file “report.txt” means that you have a text file. The file extension is needed to know which program to open this file. The text file is opened using Notepad. There are a huge number of file extensions, and it is impossible to remember everything.
Why are folders needed?
Let's go back to the pieces of paper. You have a lot different sheets papers of different sizes. It is inconvenient to store them in one box; they get mixed up and it is difficult to find a small leaf among the large ones. It is better to put each type of sheet in a separate box. The same goes for files on your computer. Imagine that you store music files, movies, pictures in one place. It turns out to be a small pile, in which it is very inconvenient to find the desired film or song.
Folders are needed to separate files by type, just like drawers separate paper. You can create as many folders as you like and place files in them. For example: create a “Movies” folder and store movies in it, and store songs in the music folder.
But storing all the songs in the “Music” package is inconvenient. After all, there are many performers there. You can create a folder in the “Music” folder with the name of the artist or the name of the album. So, in the end, we get a directory of folders in which it is convenient to store files.
This concludes the lesson. We will look at how to create folders in the next lesson.
How to use different clip, binder, and ring binders? These and many other questions require sometimes banal, but still clear answers. In this material I will try to answer the most popular of them.
We turn to the omnipresent and omniscient GOOGLE and what do we see in the search hint? A lot of standard requests that almost always remain without sufficient coverage due to their superficial simplicity and apparent banality for potential respondents. But people are searching, after all, people “now” are people of searching, and not of experimentation, as in the good old days... GOOGLE not only gives answers, it also unites those who know with those who search. There are many more seekers than those who know... But the answers are not always accurate and complete, if they exist at all...
The first category are people who actually ask the questions “how to use a folder with a clip?” or "how to use the recorder folder?" Users wait for answers, often without thinking about their essential simplicity and obviousness...
The second - at least once in their life, they have successfully and independently used a folder with a metal mechanism, regardless of its type, it is to them that the questions included in the title may seem absolutely trivial, devoid of novelty, freshness, and not worth their attention... “How can don’t know how to use a folder, is it really impossible to use your brains and hands and try?”: that’s what they might think...
And finally, the third group of people are those to whom the question is actually addressed: “How to use a folder?” It is they who are not at all indifferent to the fate of even prosaic answers; they have to think about how to answer them, such questions, so that everything becomes simple and understandable for everyone.
Due to the fact that we are manufacturers of folders, we identify ourselves with the third group and therefore are obliged to help those who are suffering and give our answer to popular questions. There will be a lot of pictures, but with their help the first ones will be able to become second, having forgotten how it all started for them, and they may also end up third, helping someone who finds themselves faced with a banal triviality
How to use the recorder folder?
As you understand, recorder folders come in different formats: A3, A4, A5. They can be horizontal and vertical, and if expressed in a language understandable to the vast majority computer users Word editor from Microsoft, then the recorder folders can have either “landscape” or “portrait” orientation. But, in any case, they will all be united by the most common and structurally complex ring-type release mechanism of the lever type with a clamping bar:
Look at the pictures below in the text and it will become quite clear to you how to use the recorder folder.
So, let's see. Let's comment a little on what you see. Although there are quite enough images, but... In front of you is a folder recorder in a closed state, in this case there are ring locks that come into contact with the tops of the rings and, as it were, form a lock that fixes the folder lid in the closed position. To gain access inside, you need to open the lid, strain, and with a slight click the lid “bounces” and swings open, providing you with a path to attack.
After opening the folder, you see one of the most widespread miracles of technology - a lever arched release mechanism with a clamp. To use the folder for its intended purpose, that is, insert a sheet or several sheets into it, first click on the clamp and move it as shown in the figure.
Using the lever, open the rings of the mechanism to be able to place the archived sheets of your documents onto the pins of the mechanism. By the way, the design of the recorder folder also implies the presence of auxiliary tools (a hole punch for punching holes in paper) or materials (transparent polypropylene files with perforations into which sheets of paper are inserted). By the way, the inventor of the recorder folder and the hole punch is Friedrich Sennecken. He showed his inventions to the world in 1886 while living in Bonn (Germany).
We put the sheets perforated with a hole punch on the pins of the mechanism, lowered the lever and closed the rings, returned the clamp to its original position and snapped it, thereby clamping the archived sheets of paper (files). That’s it, the folder can be sent to the storage shelf so that you can remove it from there at any time and get to the documents without problems and with pleasure.
How to use a ring binder? Let's look: 
How to use a clip folder (how to use a clip folder)?
The convenience of a folder with a clip (Mini Clip type) or a folder with a clip (Clip Board type, also known as a toad clip) is obvious. In this case, there is no need for auxiliary tools, there is obvious office savings... But not a single such mechanism can hold a large number of sheets, a maximum of 50-60 pieces. The main advantage is that the leaves preserved in this way will not be damaged by the hole punch, but will have their original, intact appearance. However, if recorder folders and folders with rings serve rather to form medium-term archives with a volume of up to 600 sheets (in the case of using 70-80mm folders), then folders with clips and folders with clips are folders for operational documents that should be carried with you and only then, or perhaps not, will they migrate to recorder folders.
When you open a folder or library, you can change the appearance of the files in the window. For example, you can make icons larger (or smaller) or choose a view that will reflect different files Various types information. To make such changes, use the button Toolbar View.
Each time you click the left side of the View button, the view of your files and folders changes by cycling through five different views:
- "Large icons";
- "List";
- "Details", which displays several columns of information about the file;
- "Tile" with smaller icons;
- "Contents", which displays part of the file's contents.
If you click the arrow on the right side of the View button, more options will be available. more choice. Drag the slider higher or lower to fine-tune the size of file and folder icons. Icons change size as you move the slider.
Libraries provide more options thanks to the file organizing function different ways. For example, if you want to organize files in your library by genre (such as Jazz and Classical):
- Click the Start button and select Music.
- In the libraries area (above the list of files) menu Sort by and select Genre.
Searching for files in Windows
Depending on the number of files and how they are organized, finding a file may require sifting through hundreds of files and subfolders—not an easy task. To save time and effort, you can use the search field.
The search field is at the top of each window. To find a file, open the folder or library that's best to start your search, click the search box, and start typing. The search field filters the current view based on the text you enter. Files appear in search results if the query matches the file name, its tags, other file properties, and even text inside a text document.
Looking for file by property(for example, file type), you can narrow your search even before you start typing your query. To do this, click on the search field and select one of the properties listed below the search field. This will add a search filter (such as "type") to your text query, helping you get more accurate results.
If can't find file, you can change the entire search scope by clicking the option at the bottom of the file list. For example, if you can't find a file in a document library, expand your search to other libraries by clicking Libraries. additional information see Search for a file or folder.
Copying and moving files and folders
Sometimes it may be necessary to change the location where files are stored. For example, you may need to move files to a different folder or copy them to removable media(CD or memory card) to give access to it to another person.
Most people copy and move Windows files using a method called "drag and drop". Open the folder containing the file you want to move. Next, open in another window the folder into which you want to move these items. Place the windows side by side on your desktop so you can see the contents of both.
Drag a file or folder from the first folder to the other. That's all.
Using drag and drop, you will notice that sometimes a file or folder is copied, and other times it is moved.
If you drag between two folders on the same hard drive, items will be moved without creating two copies of the same file or folder in the same location.
If you drag to a folder in a different location (such as a network location) or to removable media (such as a CD), the item is copied.
Adviсe:
- Most An easy way to organize two windows on your desktop- this is to use the “Binding” parameter. For more information, see Place windows next to each other on your desktop using the snap feature.
- If you copy or move a file or folder to a library, it is saved to the library's default save location. To learn how to set up path to save the library by default, see Configuring the Library.
- Another way to copy or move a file– drag it from the list of files in a folder or library to the navigation area. In this case, there will be no need to open two separate windows.
Creating and deleting files
Often new Windows files created using the program. For example, a text document can be created in text editor, and the video file in a video editor.
Some programs create the file immediately after opening it. For example, if you open WordPad, a blank page will open. It depicts an empty (and unsaved) file. Start typing, and when you're ready to save your work, click Save. A dialog box will appear, enter a file name that will help you find it again, click Save.
By default, most programs save files in standard folders(“My documents”, “My music”, etc.) - this makes the files easier to find.
If a file is no longer needed, you can delete it from your computer to have more free space and not clutter up your computer unnecessary files. To delete a file, open the folder or library where the file is located and select it. Click Delete key on the keyboard and then in the dialog box Deleting a file Click Yes button.
Opening an existing file
To open file, double click it. Typically, the file is opened in the program in which it was created or edited. For example, the text file will open in a text editor.
But this is not always the case. For example, after double click image file usually opens an image viewer. To change the image, you need to use another program. Right click, select To open with and select the name of the program to run.
File is an element that contains information: text, images or music. Open file may be very similar to a regular text document or image you might see on a desk or in a drawer. On a computer, files are represented by icons, which makes it easy to recognize the file type by the appearance of its icon.
Here are some typical file icons:
Folder is a kind of container that can be used to store files. If we decompose into regular table thousands of paper documents, it will be almost impossible to find the one you need among them.
This is why people often store documents in folders on closet shelves. Folders on a computer perform the same function. Here are some typical folder icons:
In folders may contain other folders. A folder located inside another is usually called a subfolder. You can create any number of subfolders, and each subfolder can contain any number of files and other subfolders.
Using Libraries to Access Files and Folders
When it comes to "improving" Windows, you don't have to start from scratch. To access and organize files and folders in various ways, you can use libraries − new Windows tool.
Below is a list of the four default libraries and their typical uses:
- Document Library. In this library you can organize and organize text files, spreadsheets, presentations and other documents.
By default, the My Documents folder is the repository for all files moved, copied, or saved to a document library.
- Image Library. This library allows you to organize and organize digital images captured from a camera, scanner, or shared by others via email. For more information, see Image management.
By default, the My Pictures folder is the repository for all pictures moved, copied, or saved to the Picture Library.
- Media library. In this library you can organize and organize all digital music, for example, songs extracted from an audio CD or downloaded from the Internet. For more information, see Music Control.
By default, the My Music folder is the repository for all files moved, copied, or saved to your music library.
- Video library. In this library, you can organize and organize videos, such as clips from a digital camera or video camera, or videos downloaded from the Internet.
By default, the My Videos folder is the storage location for all files moved, copied, or saved to the Video Library.
To open libraries Documents, Pictures, or Music, Start menu, and then click Documents, Pictures, and Music.
For more information about libraries, see Working with Libraries.
Windows system window structure
When a folder or library is opened, it appears in a window. Various components of this window make it easier to navigate Windows and make it easier to work with files, folders, and libraries.
Here is a typical window and its components:
Window component |
Usage |
|---|---|
Navigation area |
Using the Navigation Pane, you can access libraries, folders, saved searches, and even entire hard drives. From the Favorites section you can open frequently used folders and search results, and from the Libraries section you can access your libraries. You can also use the Computer folder to view folders and subfolders. |
Back and Forward buttons |
The Back and Forward buttons allow you to move to other (already open) folders and libraries without closing the current window. These buttons work in conjunction with the address bar. For example, after moving from one folder to another using a line, you can use the Back button to return to the previous folder. |
Toolbar |
The toolbar lets you perform common tasks, such as changing the view of folders and files, burning files to a CD, or starting a slide show of digital images. The buttons on the toolbar change, displaying only those that are relevant for each specific case of the task. For example, if you click on an image file, the toolbar will display different buttons than for a music file. |
Address panel |
By using address bar You can move to a different folder or library, or return to a previous folder or library. For more information, see Row navigation. |
Libraries area |
The Libraries pane appears only when you are working in a library (for example, a document library). Using the Libraries area, you can customize your library or organize your files with different properties. For more information, see Working with Libraries. |
Column Headings |
Column headers can be used to change the order of files in the list. For example, by clicking on the left side of a column header, you can change the order in which files and folders are displayed; by clicking on the right side of a column header, you can filter files in a variety of ways. (Note that column headers are only available in Detail mode) |
list of files |
The contents of the current folder or library are displayed here. If you use the search field to search for a file, only files in the current view are displayed (including files in subfolders). |
Search field |
You can enter a word or phrase in the search field to find an item in the current folder or library. The search begins, the introductions have already begun. Therefore, when, for example, the letter “B” is entered, a list of all files whose names begin with the letter “B” appears. For more information, see Find a file or folder. |
Details pane |
The details pane allows you to view a standard set of properties associated with the selected file. File properties are information about the file: author name, date last change and descriptive tags that can be added to the file. |
View area |
The viewing pane allows you to view the contents of most files. By selecting Email, text file or image, you can see the contents of the selected file without opening it in the program. If the viewing area is not visible, turn it on by clicking the button on the toolbar View area. |
All information, in the form of files, recorded on HDD or any other medium for its storage, reading and processing is located in folders. Folders are also called directories. What is a folder? Figuratively speaking, a folder is a kind of container for storing other containers with information -. In a simplified way, we can give an analogy with a filing cabinet, where information is stored in cards. Imagine that cards are files, and folders are boxes with them, in turn, boxes are stored in cabinets.
A folder (directory or directory) is a place on a medium where files or other folders with files are stored. Those. such a storage system can be quite extensive. The main folder contains another folder or folders, which may contain another folder, etc. Nested folders are usually called subfolders or subdirectories. This system was invented to organize stored information on a computer’s hard drive. All folders have names, the names of which are given by the operating system itself, the program, or you yourself, if the directory was created by you. You can create a folder in by clicking right button mouse in the Explorer program window or on the desktop. Clicking the button brings up a menu with expected user actions, where you need to select the “create” menu item with the “folder” drop-down submenu.
The basis or root of this entire system is the root folder.
What is the root folder?
This is the first and main folder (root) in which all the others are located. It has no name and is denoted by the special character “\”. For example, the designation C:\ tells us that this is the root folder of drive C. If you created a “My Music” directory in the root folder, then its path will look like this - C:\My Music. Suppose that in the “My Music” folder you created another one with the name “Rock”, where you will store audio files with rock bands, then in this case its path will be “C:\My Music\Rock. In turn, let's say that you wanted to sort rock music into groups. In this case, it would be logical to create folders with the names of groups in the “Rock” subfolder. Thus, we get a chain of subfolders.
What does the folder look like?
In the operating system Windows folder indicated by a graphic element yellow color in the form of a stationery folder. Icon may vary slightly depending on settings appearance elements.
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