Home > File Management

File Management

Ever wondered how you can work more efficiently? Tired of trying to pull together the files necessary to print your portfolio, and having no idea where anything is? Do you find yourself looking through countless files, just to find that copy of that weird font you used in a layout you created two years ago, and three reloads ago? Have you lost a project due to a computer problem? No backups?

If so (and even if you haven't yet experienced any of the above), you could benefit from a little information on file management and organization.

The first place to start is with a Glossary of important terms. Read these first, as they are essential to understanding the information about to be presented. There will be a quiz (okay, I am kidding about the quiz, but read them anyway. Very useful!).

Glossary - terms sorted alphabetically
Glossary - terms sorted logically (in order of appearance)

When you have finished reading the glossary, or if you think that you have a good grasp on common technology terms already, you will want to read the following document on Organizational Methods. This document will walk you through the steps of setting up a basic plan for organization, in addition to explaining why such a plan is necessary.

A crucial part of file managment is the keeping of backups. The third document in this series is devoting to illustrating how to keep a backup, and the fourth focuses on why you need a backup. And trust me, there will be a time when you need a backup, and it usually is at the worst possible moment. "I have a backup," could save your grade, or even your job.

These articles were created based on requests from lab users, students in our laptop program, and faculty.