Frustrating, isn't it! You know you typed it! And you know you saved it! But now... it's hiding from you, probably quite deliberately!

Computers are, basically, pretty dumb machines. They need to be told exactly what you want them to do and how, when, and where you want them to do it! If you leave out any part of the instructions, they do one of the only things they really 'know' how to do on their own: they lose your files!

With a little understanding of how files are saved on your PC and on a network, you can make sure that they are saved to the proper place and are easy to find when you want to retrieve them.

Folders and All That Confusing Stuff

The most common aid to visualizing how a PC stores files is to use a file cabinet analogy. Think of the general location where files are stored in your PC as a virtual file cabinet. In your PC, it's a hard drive, the name/address of which is usually c:\ or d:\.

In previous versions of Windows, the highest level of organization on the c:\ drive was called the root directory. Now it's referred to as the top level folder. If you have multiple hard drives, each one has its own top level folder, each with a unique name/identifier.

At work (where you're probably connected to a network), most programs on your PC are stored on the c:\ or d:\ drive; most data files (the documents, spreadsheets, etc. that you produce) are saved to a network drive, for example, drive g:\ or i:\.

Visualize c:\, g:\, and i:\ as file cabinets in your computer office. c:\, g:\, i:\, and other drives may contain numerous folders (the drawers in our file cabinet), each reserved for a certain 'subject' (usually a particular software application) and named appropriately. On all of our PCs at work, there are folders for Windows NT or Windows 95, Program Files (including Microsoft Office), etc. The folders are where the individual programs (or applications) and program data files for those applications are stored. So far, we've got something like this:

Hard Drive (a file cabinet): C:\ (a.k.a. the top level folder)

File Drawers: Windows NT, MS Office

These folders contain general categories. Within each folder (or file drawer), there can be additional divisions: the file cabinet might contain hanging files. The hard drive equivalents are the subfolders .

Microsoft Office is a suite of programs that includes Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. Clip art files, templates, and other stuff that the program needs to run properly are placed in their own subfolders. So we've added a level to our picture: the file cabinet (the c:\ drive) includes a drawer that holds all the parts of the MS Office suite of programs.

Hanging folders in the Microsoft Office Drawer hold manila file folders for the individual programs: Word, Excel, etc. In the manila folders are the files needed by each of the functions - the program files themselves and any other information they need to do your bidding.

You can create folders to help you organize your own files. See the Windows NT article for instructions. For my co-workers, you can find it on the intranet - click on the Training button.

Getting Organized

Virtually all commercial software comes with a 'built-in' installation program - a set of instructions for the computer to follow as it installs the program on the hard drive of your computer. As part of the process, the installation program may create subfolders where various parts of the new software will be stored. For example, a program might store the dictionary for the spell checker, the thesaurus, and the grammar checker in one subfolder, and the clip art pictures in another. That way, when you want to check the spelling or grammar in your document or add a picture to it, the computer knows exactly where to look for the information it needs to get the job done. The program itself organizes all of its files so that it knows where they are located when it needs to find them.

However...

When you create a new file, the program will save your work where it thinks it should go unless you tell it otherwise. You give it instructions by properly naming your file when you save it.

An important part of saving your work is to provide the computer with a sort of road map to where you want the file to be stored. This map is called the path and it tells the computer exactly the route to take to get to the folder where your work should be saved. The path includes all the levels the computer needs to look through to find the folder where you want to save files. If I save a letter composed in Word to my hard drive (the c:\ drive on my PC at home), the path might look like this:

C:\Documents\Correspondence\Personal\

which means that the computer needs to look on the C:\ drive for a folder called \My Documents. When it finds C:\My Documents, it needs to find \Correspondence. In the \Correspondence folder, it will look for yet another folder called \Personal, my document's final resting place (Correspondence is a subfolder I set up myself so I can store similar types of files in the same place).

Notice that each element in the path above is separated from the next by a backslash (\). The backslash after the folder name signals that it is another level in your PC's file scheme and not the name of a file. The file name comes after the final subfolder name and is not followed by a backslash. When I have given my file a name, the whole set of instructions about where the file is located (the path) will be complete:

C:\My Documents\Correspondence\Personal\Memo to Joe re vacation.doc

All of this is merely a very basic, very explicit set of instructions for the computer to follow. You and I may be able to figure out intuitively that our personal correspondence should be stored separately from our business correspondence, but computers simply cannot achieve that level of intellectual activity. You have to tell them everything.

Before discussing how you can put all this stunning information to work, you need to know the rules about document names.

Naming Your Documents

Windows NT & Windows 95/98: In earlier versions of Windows (Windows 3.x), limitations in the computer's instructions on how to be a computer meant you were only allowed to use eight (8) characters to name a document plus a 3-character filename extension, separated from the filename by a period (called a dot). Windows 95/98 and Windows NT removed those restrictions and now filenames - including the path - can be up to 255 characters, with all the spaces you'd like to use, and as many characters after the final 'dot' as are necessary!

If you're using programs that were written to run under DOS or earlier versions of Windows, you'll have to continue to use the 8-character filename + 3-character filename extension for files you create in those programs. You'll know if you can't use long filenames - when you enter the filename, the computer will tell you in no uncertain terms that it is illegal.

For Windows 95/98 or Windows NT, you can use any of the letters, numbers, or characters on the keyboard EXCEPT:

*	asterisk
|	pipe symbol
\	backslash
<	less than
>	greater than
?	question mark
/	forward slash
"	quotation mark
:	colon

In addition, when you name files created in programs that only run under DOS or earlier Windows versions, you won't be able to use the following characters:

.	period (except between filename & extension)
,	comma
;	semicolon
+	plus sign
=	equals sign
[ ]	square brackets

In DOS and Windows 3.x, you cannot use a period except to separate the file name from the file name extension, a 3-letter combination added to the name to identify the file type.

Word automatically adds the extension .doc to all Word documents; Excel adds .xls; etc. Depending on how your computer has been set up, you may not see the extensions. The extensions help each program identify its own files as well letting Windows NT and Windows 95 know which program should be used to view or edit the file. File name extensions should never be changed or deleted.

Even though Windows NT allows long file names, shorter is better! Long file names let you enter a few meaningful words to name your document instead of only 8 letters. For example, if I had written a letter to Mr. Brown about a reservation before long file names were available, I might have called it brownres.doc or brwnresv.doc. With long file names I could call it Brown Resv of June 18 1997.doc or just Brown June 18 Resv.doc.

Since you do have 255 characters available, it isn't necessary to use abbreviations if you choose not to. However, remember that when you're looking through all of your files to find the one you want to open, you'll have to read all those long names. My preference: long enough so that I can easily identity documents, but short enough to identify them quickly.

Saving Your Files

(So you can find them next time!)

There are two ways to save your work in all Windows programs. The first time you save new work, you must use Save As... in the File menu. If you click on Save instead, some programs (like Word) will open the Save As... dialog box anyway! As you continue to work on the file, be sure to save your work from time to time using Save in the File menu, by clicking on the Save button on the tool bar, or by pressing [Ctrl + S] on the keyboard.