Computers 101

Q:
What are Folders?

A: (part one of two)

"Folders," also known as "directories," on your computer work in much the same way that file folders in the real world work. You use them to store stuff and help keep organized. Without them, your hard drive would have thousands of files just floating around on it, making it more than a little difficult to find something you're looking for.

Folders can contain anything. Photos, documents, web pages, favorites, shortcuts, program files, system files ...whatever.

To see some of these little folders, right-click the Start button and select Explore.

One folder you should have on your computer is the "My Documents" folder. Most word processors (and many other programs) use this as the default location for saving information. Within this folder, you can create more folders, keeping yourself even more organized than before.

More on folders tomorrow...

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Tip of the Day

Drag & Drop Madness!

I used to hate dragging and dropping files. I was never sure what Windows was going to do with it. Was it going to be copied? Was it going to be moved? Was I just creating a shortcut to the file? Urrgg! It was enough to drive a geek nuts.

Well, then I started paying attention and realized that Windows actually tells you what it's doing as you move the file. If you see a "+" sign in a little white box, the file is being copied. If you see an arrow, Windows is creating a shortcut. Finally, if you see nothing at all, the file is being moved.

OK here's a new problem. What happens if you're trying to move say, a program file (a file ending in ".exe"), and Windows wants to do a shortcut instead of a move? Or maybe you want to make a copy of a file and Windows wants to move it?

Well, there's an easy solution for that as well. Just drag and drop with your RIGHT mouse button. When you release the button, you'll be given a little menu that allows you to pick Move, Copy, Create Shortcut, or Cancel.

In case you're wondering, I'm a right-click drag and dropper now :-)

--Steve

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Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

Screen It!

Finally, what parents all over have been looking for - a way to read reviews for films, DVD's, and music written specifically to let you know what your children might be seeing or hearing. The easy way to decide if a film or album is appropriate for your children to view or hear.

This site is divided into sections by genre such as: New Movies, All Movies, New Videos, All Videos, DVD, and Music. Choose the area you would like to view, then read the review on the subject of your choice. It goes through each selection and allows you to review every aspect of the movie or song to then make an informed decision as to whether it is appropriate for your child.

It even tells you how likely it is that your child will want to see or hear the piece in question. Check it out!

http://www.screenit.com/

Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?
Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com