Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 142 Unit 1 Computing Fundamentals Folders Folders provide an organizational tool that can be used to keep similar fi les together. Similar fi les may be related to the same event, of the same fi le type, or for any reason meaningful to the user. A folder having the current user’s name appears by default on the Windows desktop, as shown in Figure 4-8. This is the user’s Documents folder. Double-clicking a folder on the desktop launches Windows File Explorer, which displays the content of the folder. A general rule of thumb is to keep only as many fi les in a folder as can be displayed in Windows File Explorer without scrolling. If there are more fi les than that, it is likely the fi les can be organized into subfolders. For example, suppose a user creates a folder name SchoolWork within his or her Documents folder. Items in the Documents folder that are related to schoolwork can then be moved into the SchoolWork folder. This reduces the number of fi les located in the Documents folder. A folder is simply a special type of fi le. Therefore, follow the same naming rules used for other fi les. However, as stated earlier, a folder name does not have a fi le name extension. Libraries In Windows File Explorer, a library is a collection of similar fi les and folders that are displayed together, but that may be stored in different locations. A library displays all the common fi les available to all users and the current user’s fi les in the same view. The library structure was introduced in Windows 7 to help multiple users run the same computer. Unlike a folder, there is no fi le or folder connected to a library. If a library is deleted, the fi les and folders displayed in the library are unaffected. The idea behind a library is there may be several folders on the disk drive containing similar fi les that commonly need to be accessed at the same time. For example, the Pictures library, which appears in Windows File Explorer in the Libraries branch, displays the folders My Pictures and Public Pictures. These folders are not subfolders within a folder named Pictures, they are simply displayed in the library named Pictures for easy access. This is the concept of libraries. User’s folder Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 4-8. The user’s Documents folder appears by default on the Windows desktop. File Sharing There are many types of computer files, from program files such as executables to document files such as songs, photographs, and e-books. However, almost all files are owned by someone. It is unethical and, in many cases, illegal to share files for which you are not the owner. Ethics Ethics