Saving Files Where You Want Them
When writing email, creating documents, spreadsheets, or working
with other types of files, two almost universal functions are Save
and Save As. These appear as selections under the File menu, which
can be found in the top left-hand corner of all programs. When you
save a file, you record (or save) a copy of it to the hard drive so
that you can open it to read and edit again and again.
Save is used for files that have already been named and saved at
least once before. Save takes changes that have been made to the
file and updates the existing saved file with these changes. When
you select Save, you may not even notice that anything has happened,
but the changes you have made to the file are now permanently saved.
In addition to the Save selection under the File menu, there is
often a Save button on the Standard Toolbar that serves the same
function. It looks like a floppy disk (which will no doubt confuse
future generations now that the floppy disk is becoming obsolete). Save As serves two purposes. It is used the first time a new file
is saved, and it is used to change the name of a file being saved.
The first time a file is saved, you tell the computer what the
name of the file will be and where the file is to be stored on your
computer. When you select Save As, a dialog box appears to help you
make the appropriate choices. In fact, if you are working with a new
file that has never been saved before, the Save As dialog box
appears even if you select Save.
The Save As dialog box is common to most programs, from Microsoft
Works and Office to Internet Explorer and AOL. Across the top of the
box is a field with the words Save In to the left. This shows you
where the file will be saved. The location that appears in the Save
In field depends on the default setting of the program in use or
where you last decided to save a file (that location being
automatically repeated as a default preference).
Note the drop down arrow to the right of the Save In field. (See
the Red
Arrow below.) Click on the arrow to reveal a selection of
locations to which you may save the file. Some of the locations
should be familiar to you. Desktop is your desktop. 3 ˝ Floppy A: is
your floppy drive; you can save files to a floppy if you want to
share them with a friend or use them on another computer. My
Documents is the default folder where most Microsoft programs save
their files. You can select other locations as you wish.
Note: You cannot use this list to directly save files
to the CD drives. To save a file onto a blank CD, you must use
a special CD burning software such as Nero, Roxio, or Prassi.
Your version of Windows XP may also have some built-in controls for
burning files to CDs.
A folder like My Documents may have other folders within it.
These are called subfolders. When selecting a location to save your
file, you can double-click on a folder to see if it contains
subfolders into which you might want to save the file. Double-click
on the subfolder to open it. When you have chosen the location you
wish to save the file, move on to naming the file.
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In the example shown here the file is
being saved to the Desktop - because Desktop is in the Save
In box. Once I clicked on the arrow, the list appeared. I
can click any location to change the location of my saved
file - My Documents, the Floppy, or even the Network
Neighborhood.
Naming Your File
But what is the file named? You should
name your file before saving it. By default, some programs
name the file by the first few words typed into it; others
will simply not let you save until you have typed in a name,
still others give it a confusing default name, like
“Untitled1.” The place to name your file is near the
bottom of the Save As dialog box, in the field to the right
of the words File Name |
Type your file name into this box. This file is called untitled1.jpg. This
is not a good file name. I should change it to something
unique and specific like: Our House in Winter.jpg or Lilies
Close Up.jpg.
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If the name is already selected, just start typing and the old
name will be deleted as you type in your name. If the name is not
selected, remove the old name before typing in your new name.
You do not have to type in the extension (the three letter ending
after the period). The program will do that automatically.
In the past, computers were limited as to how many characters
could be typed into the File Name field. Today you may type in as
many as 256 characters and only a very few exceptions apply. You
cannot, for instance, use the / backslash or ? question mark in your
file names. Don’t worry, if you type in something unacceptable, the
computer will either warn you or simply not proceed with the Save
action. With 256 characters, you have every opportunity to give the
file a complete and descriptive name. (Think of the use of a
file name like this. You name a file "budget." Six months from
now you come back to find the file - is it easy to understand what
the file is for, or do you look at the name "budget" and ask
yourself "budget for what?" The file name "Final budget for
Maine Vacation 2006" is much more descriptive and useful.) More Advanced Features
Some common buttons in the Save As dialog boxes are the Back Arrow
and the Up One Level icons which appear to the right of the Save In
field. These allow you to take a step back, or move up one level at
a time if you have chosen the wrong subfolder.
Advanced features in some programs allow you Save As Type, which
is to say change the type of file from its default type. Microsoft
Word, for instance, allows you to save files in various WordPerfect
formats. Excel can save files as CSV (Macintosh) formats. There are
many other choices.
Why Use Save As
You may also Save As if you simply want to save the file you are
working with under a different name, or in a different location. Perhaps the changes you made
need to be approved before becoming permanent. Save the file under a
name such as "Test Changes to Report" instead of its usual name. Or
perhaps you are sending out letters to several people, and although
most of the information is the same, each one has certain changes
that need to be made separately. Use Save As to save each version
out under a different name.
Remember, using Save As and the drop down list at the top of the
Save As dialog box, you can decide where you want to save the file.
When you wish to find the file again, select Open from the File
menu. This time the field at the top of the dialog box is labeled
Look In, but it allows you to navigate through the various locations
and subfolders on your computer, just as when you were finding a
place to save your file. Return to the folder or location where the
file was saved, left-click on the file name to select it, and click
on the Open button in the lower right-hand corner of the dialog box
to open the file.
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