3. Files and folders: save, find and organise your work

Week 1 of 2

What you will be able to do

• Explain what files and folders are, and read a file name and its extension.
• Save a file where you choose, and find it again.
• Create, rename, move, copy and delete files and folders, and get a file back from the Recycle Bin or Bin.
• Copy files to and from a USB flash drive, and find your Downloads.

Why this matters

"I saved it, but I can't find it" is the most common computer problem for beginners. Knowing where your work is saved, and keeping it organised, saves hours, and every IT job involves working with files: documents, spreadsheets, code and logs.

1. Files, folders and file names

• A file is one piece of saved work: a letter, a photo, a song, a spreadsheet.
• A folder holds files (and other folders), like a cardboard folder in a cabinet.
• A file name has two parts: name.extension, for example CV-draft.docx. The extension tells the computer which app opens it:

Good file names are short and clear, with the date if there are versions: rent-receipt-2026-11.pdf, not scan0001.pdf.

2. Finding your files

Downloads. Files you download from the internet or email go to the Downloads folder unless you choose otherwise. Look there first.

3. Saving: "Save" and "Save as"

• Save (Ctrl + S / Command + S) keeps the latest changes in the same file.
• Save as saves a new copy, and lets you choose the name and the folder. The first time you save a new file, the computer asks where: look at which folder is selected before you press Save.

Save early and often, especially where power can go off without warning.

4. Organising: create, rename, move, copy, delete

Right-click inside a folder (or on a file) to see these options:

Make a simple structure and stick to it, for example a folder Learning with one folder per course inside it.

5. USB flash drives

1. Plug the flash drive into a USB port. It appears in File Explorer, Finder or Files.
2. Copy files to it by dragging, or with copy and paste.
3. Before pulling it out, eject it: right-click it → Eject (Mac: the eject arrow next to its name). Pulling it out while files are copying can damage them.

Flash drives spread viruses. Don't plug in a drive you found, and let your antivirus scan drives from other people (topic 10).

Watch

Windows Basics: Working with Files and Folders

LearnFree · 2 min. Creating, moving and deleting files and folders.

Try it

1. Create a folder called Learning in Documents, and inside it a folder called Computer Basics.
2. Create a short text file (Notepad, TextEdit or Google Docs → Download), name it my-goals.txt, and save it in Computer Basics.
3. Rename it my-learning-goals.txt, copy it to the Desktop, then delete the copy on the Desktop and restore it from the Bin.
4. Download any PDF from the web (a free e-book, a bank brochure) and find it in Downloads. Move it into Learning.

Check your understanding

1. What does a file's extension tell you?
2. Where do downloaded files go unless you choose otherwise?
3. What is the difference between Save and Save as?
4. You deleted a file by mistake. Where do you look first?