The Windows File System and

Windows Explorer
 To move around the file system and
examine your files or get to one you
want (say, to modify, delete or copy it)
you can:
 Start with the My Computer icon on the
desktop and keep double-clicking on the
appropriate folder icons until you’ve
opened the folder where it resides; or
 Run Windows (not Internet) Explorer
 Windows Explorer provides a convenient way
to see the hierarchical tree structure of all the
folders and files on your file system.
 The left pane of the window displays this tree
structure, while the right pane lists the
contents of whatever folder or device has
been selected in the left pane.
 One way of accessing it is through the
Start menu (not available in the CCS
labs):
 Another way is through “My Computer”
on your Desktop.
 Double click on the My Computer icon,
and then right-click on a drive icon (not
A if it does not have any floppy in it)
and choose Explore:
 Contents of that folder with file name, file
size, file type, and file creation date.

Folder that’s open

File names
 The name you give a file can contain up
to 255 characters, including spaces.
 It can’t contain any of the following
characters: \ / : * ? " < > |
 Filenames can also have extensions.
 No 2 files in the same folder can have
the same name.
Extensions--what they are and
how they’re used
 Extensions are strings of (typically) three
characters preceded by a period that are
added to the file name.
 They are usually used to identify the
application that created the file and/or should
be used to modify or display the file.
 The operating system uses the extension to
identify and launch the appropriate
application.
 Common File Extensions
 .doc Word document
 .txt ASCII text file (open in Notepad)
 .htm Web document (open in IE)
 .xls Excel spreadsheet
 .xlc Excel chart
 .mdb Access database
 .ppt PowerPoint presentation
 .exe Application program
The meaning of A: and C:
 Below, when we examine the notion of a full
pathname for a file, we will see that this
pathname always starts with something like
A: We also see A: and C: listed as part of the
“contents” of My Computer.
 These letters indicate which disk the file is
stored on. A: means the floppy drive and C:
means the hard drive.
 Other letters are possible, too,
depending on what other storage
devices are attached to the particular
computer.
 For example, B: is usually another
floppy disk drive, and D: may be used
for a CD drive, but this is customizable.
 E.g., in the CCS labs, C: and D: are both
part of the hard disk (what are called
partitions).
 Note: In the CCS labs, users may create files
in D: or in the C:\Temp folder or on the
desktop. These are the only places on the
hard drive where this is allowed.
 The preferred place is the desktop.
 But you should only put files there
temporarily, deleting them after you’re
through (e.g., after copying them to a floppy
if you want to keep them).
 Furthermore, all files in other locations
in the file system are not allowed to be
modified or deleted by users.
 Digression: How to copy from
one floppy disk to another
 When there’s only one floppy drive
1. Place the source disk in the floppy drive
A:
2. Copy from A: to the desktop.
3. Replace the source disk with the target
disk in the floppy drive.
4. Copy the file from the desktop to A:
5. Delete the file from the desktop.
Problem: How to find a file on
your hard drive
 Go to Start => Find => Files or
Folders ...
 (This feature has, unfortunately, been
disabled in the CCS labs.)
 In the “Named” box, type the name of
the file.
 Make sure you check “Include
subfolders.”
Problem: To find a set of files
with similar names
 Use wildcards.
 There are two wildcards:
 * which covers a string of characters
 ? which covers a single character
Examples
 To refer to all the files that begin with
the string “Report on” phrase it as

Report on*
 To refer to all the files named “Text11”
through “Text43” where these are the
only files with the String “Text” followed
by two digits (and not one or more than
two digits):

Text??
 To find all your Word documents:

*.doc
Problem: Referring to a file by
its full path name
 You sometime have to refer to a file,
either in a document or in a Web page,
by its full path name, which specifies its
exact location in the directory tree
structure, including which hardware
device it’s located on.
How do you specify a full path
name?

 The full path name is the path the

system has to follow in getting from the
root of the tree, in the directory
structure for that drive, all the way
down to the file you want to refer to.
 What is the full path name for the
highlighted file in the following screen?:
Notice that most
of the path name
is in this address
box.
Answer
C:\COM1105\1 Operating Systems\2
Windows Explorer.ppt