READ: File Operations

Intro

In this activity you will learn about the operations that can be performed with files. The operations you will learn about today are: creating, copying, renaming, moving, and deleting.

Creating

First, you will need to create a file folder to store your work in. You can choose where to create this folder (perhaps in an existing "documents" folder, or right on your desktop workspace).

To create a file folder, you can simply right -click your mouse in the location of your choice and choose New->Folder.

Create a folder in the location of your choice on your computer and name it "file operations assignment".

**SCREENSHOT 1** Take a screenshot of your whole computer screen (not just the folder you created), and using Jing, draw a red circle around your "File Operations Assignment" folder.

Use a Text Editor

Now it's time to create a file to put in your shiny new folder. Your text file should have the following text in it:

Your first and last name
Your age
The city you live in
Your favorite food
Your favorite music

Open a text editor program (such as Notepad in windows). To do this, click "Start" in the bottom left corner of the Windows desktop, click "All Programs", then "Accessories", then "Notepad".
Type in the information above, and save your document in your new folder. Name your new document "text1.txt"

**SCREENSHOT 2** Take a screenshot of your text file. I want to see the 5 answers listed and typed into a text program like Notepad.

Copying

Now create another folder inside the file operations assignment folder. Name this new folder "copies".

You should now see your text1.txt file and the copies folder inside the file operations assignment folder.

**SCREENSHOT 3** Take a screenshot of your whole computer screen (not just the folder you created). I want to see a window open that is name "File Operations Assignment" and inside that folder, I want to see your text1.txt file and the "Copies" folder that you made.

Copying Continued

Let's make a copy of the text1.txt file and place it in the copies folder.

There are several ways to copy your file. First, you can right click on your text1.txt file and select "copy" from the menu. Alternatively, you can left click the text1.txt file icon to select it and then press the 'Ctrl' and 'C' keys together. Congratulations, a copy of the text1.txt file has now been placed on your computer's virtual clipboard and is ready to place somewhere else.

Now double click on your copies folder. It will be empty. Right-click anywhere inside that folder and choose "paste" to place the copy you just made into this folder. You could also use the keyboard shortcut combination 'Ctrl' and 'V' to paste it.

Note: Another common way to copy a text file is to open it with a text editor program and choose the "Save As" option from the file menu. This will allow you to save a copy of the file in a different place or under a different name.

Renaming

You have to admit, text1.txt is not a very good name for the text file you created. You should go back to the file operations assignment folder and name your original text1.txt file something else. I think "about me.txt" is a much better name.

To rename a file, you can just right-click on it and select "rename". When the name of the file is highlighted, you can rename the file by typing the new name. Hit the enter key when you are done, and you have renamed your file.

While you're at it, you might as well rename the copy you made as well. Go to your copies folder and rename the other text file to "copy of about me.txt".

**SCREENSHOT 4** Take a screenshot of your whole computer screen. I want to see a window open that is the folder "Copies" and inside, your re-named text file titled "copy of about me.txt". Circle this file in red with Jing.

Moving

It's time to move a file. The easiest way to move a file is to open the source and destination folders and simply drag the file from one folder to the other with the left mouse button.

So, open the file operations assignment folder and the copies folder at the same time and drag "copy of your about me.txt" back into the file operations assignment folder.

Now the two text files are in the same folder.

**SCREENSHOT 5** Take a screenshot of your whole computer screen. I want to see the two text files in the same "File Operations Assignment" folder. Hint: I should also see a copies folder next to these two files. Circle your two text files in red with Jing.

Deleting

Since your copies folder is now empty, go ahead and delete it. you can select it with your mouse and use the delete button on your keyboard, right-click it and choose "delete", or drag the file to the recycle bin.

**SCREENSHOT 6** Take a screenshot of your whole computer screen. I want to see the two text files in the same "File Operations Assignment" folder without the Copies folder.

Note: On modern operating systems, when you first delete a file, it places it in a folder called recycle bin. The folder has actually just been moved here. If you want to completely remove the file from your computer, you must empty the recycle bin to delete the file permanently.