European Computer Driving Licence Module 2 – Using the Computer and Managing Files Chapter 2.4 – Working with Files

Compressing Files ZIf you want to send a file as an attachment, compress it so it is faster to send and receive ZAll files of over 500Kb should be compressed Z Windows XP comes with its own compression tool called Compressed Folders Z You can also compress files with WinZip – a very popular shareware program which can be downloaded from the web

Compressed Folders ZCompressing files, Select the file(s) you want to compress, Right click on one of the files and select Send to then Compressed folder from the pop-up menu, A compressed folder icon will appear Z Extracting files, Right click on the compressed file, Select Extract All from the pop-up menu, The Extraction wizard appears, Follow the step-by-step instructions

WinZip ZZipping, Select the files you want to compress, Right-click on one of the files, Select WinZip then Add to xxxx.zip, Click on the Use Evaluation Version button, A zipped file icon will appear Z Unzipping, Right-click on a zipped file icon, Select Winzip then Extract to here, WinZip will unpack all the files in the archive to the folder

Searching for files – part 1 ZClick on Start then Search ZThe Search Companion appears ZClick on All files and folders ZIf you know all or part of the name of the file you are looking for, type it in the document name text box ZYou can also narrow down your search by selecting the C: drive or My Documents

Searching for files – Part 2 ZYou can also narrow your search by adding extra criteria such as:, Date modified, File size, More advanced options including Type of File (eg Word document) ZClick on the Search button ZWindows will search for files that meet the criteria – files will appear in the right-hand pane ZTo open a file, double-click on it

Using Wildcards ZIf you don’t know the exact file name use wild cards ZS*.doc will search for Word documents beginning with S Z*.xls will search for all Excel spreadsheet files Z S?????.doc will search for Word documents where the file name is six letters beginning with S Z ? replaces one character Z * replaces any number of characters

Viewing recently used files ZSome PCs will have a link to recently used documents (depending on how Windows has been set up) ZClick on Start then My Recent Documents ZA list of the last 15 files opened will appear ZTo open a file, click on it once

Viruses ZA virus is a small program designed to damage computer files ZYour PC can “catch” a virus whilst surfing the web, or by sharing files on floppy disks, CDs or attached to s Z You must have antivirus software installed on your PC Z Scan files for viruses before opening them Z Keep your antivirus software updated at least weekly