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Work with Files and Folders
What is a File?
A file is a basic unit of storage. A file can be a document, a program, a spreadsheet, a picture, or another type of information.
Each file has a specific name and is separate from any other file. On the computer, files are usually stored in folders. Icons,
or small pictures, symbolize the files and are followed by the file name. The icon depicts the type of program that opens
the file.
In a digital camera, each picture is an individual file. When you take a picture, the camera assigns a unique name to each
picture file. The name consists of letters and numbers, such as Dcp_0057.jpg. It’s a good idea to change the name of the file
to a meaningful name that will later help you identify the picture.
Picture File Formats
Depending on the camera, you may be able to choose the file format in which the camera captures images. Most KODAK cameras
store pictures as JPEG files. The file format defines the way data is stored and laid out on the screen. Some common types
of image file formats are:
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JPEG – A standardized format that many digital cameras use to store images. Most of the new KODAK cameras capture images in
JPEG format. Use this format for images for display on the World Wide Web and images attached to e-mail messages. JPEG stands
for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the group that established this file standard. JPEG is a standardized image compression
mechanism designed for compressing full-color or grayscale images of natural, real-world scenes.
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TIFF – Tagged Image File Format is a versatile and widely supported file format. These files tend to be very large. In most
cases, the file size of a TIFF image is too large to send as an e-mail attachment or to use on the World Wide Web. Only some
KODAK cameras capture images in TIFF format.
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GIF – COMPUSERVE developed the Graphics Interchange Format to allow the exchange of image files across multiple platforms,
like MACINTOSH and WINDOWS-based computers. Although photographs can be saved as GIF files on the computer, they are not captured
as GIF files in the camera.
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BMP – Use the MICROSOFT WINDOWS bitmap file format for graphics primarily for startup screens, desktop images, and screen
savers. This format is not often used for photographs.
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MOV – The QUICKTIME movie file format is used for video clips and animations. Some KODAK cameras capture video clips in MOV
format.
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AVI – Audio Video Interleaved file format developed by Microsoft Corporation for storing video and audio information. Many
different media players can read AVI files. However, there are several different versions of AVI files in use, and not all
players will support all versions.
Some software programs have their own file formats, known as native formats, which are only used by that particular program.
These software programs will save images with unique file extensions that can only be opened with that particular program.
For example, the ADOBE PHOTOSHOP program will rename the file lighthouse.jpg as lighthouse.psd.
What is a Folder?
A folder on a computer has the same function as a folder in a file cabinet. It holds files, such as letters, pictures, reports,
or other folders.
When you open My Documents, you see folders similar to the following:
When you open (double-click) a folder, you often find other folders inside, such as these folders in the My Pictures folder:
Create Folders
An effective way to store your pictures is to create separate folders for groups of pictures. You can categorize the folders
by event, subject, place, or date — for example, Emily’s birthday, Water gardens, Fort Niagara, or 02-10-2002.
You do not need to create all the folders at the same time. You can add new folders as you take more pictures.
Note: The method shown here shows how you can create folders at any time. When you transfer pictures to your computer with
KODAK EASYSHARE Software, you can create a new folder for your pictures at that time.
For this example, we will begin to organize all the photographs taken during the year 2002 in one folder. This is just an
example and may not be the best way for you to organize your photos. Think of an organizational structure way that works best
for you.
To create a new folder:
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Click the Start button.
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The Start menu opens.
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In the Start menu, click My Pictures.
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The My Pictures window opens.
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Double-click the Kodak Pictures folder to open it.
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Note: If you don’t have a Kodak Pictures folder on your computer, create your new folder in the My Pictures folder.
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On the left side of the window under File and Folder Tasks, click Make a new folder.
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Note: Make sure that you do not have a folder or file selected (highlighted). The list of File and Folder Tasks changes when
you select an item.
A New Folder appears. The name of the folder is highlighted so you can immediately type a name for the folder.
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Type an appropriate name — for example, 2002 — and press Enter on the keyboard.
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The folder you created will be the main folder where you place all your photos from that year.
Create Additional Folders
To organize your pictures files and keep them in one place, create additional folders inside the main folder.
To create a folder inside the main folder (in this case, 2002):
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Double-click the folder in which you want to add folders.
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The folder opens into a window.
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On the left side of the window under File and Folder Tasks, click Make a new folder.
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A new folder appears.
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Type a name for this folder and press Enter on the keyboard.
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We will name our folder “Trips.”
Move Files and Folders
You may want to move a file or a folder to place it somewhere you can find it more easily. Perhaps you took a series of pictures
of flowers at a birthday party, and now you want to move those pictures into your “Flowers” folder. Or you may want to move
entire folders when you rearrange your filing system.
WINDOWS XP conveniently offers “Move this file” or “Move this folder” as an option under the Files and Folder Tasks whenever
you select a file or a folder.
To move a file:
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Locate the folder or file you want to move. Do this by drilling down through your folders using My Documents.
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Click the file you want to move.
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The file becomes highlighted and the options under File and Folder Tasks change.
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Click Move this file under File and Folder Tasks on the left side of the window.
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A Move Items window appears. The folder in which your file is currently stored is highlighted.
Next, you need to find the place where you want to move this file by drilling down through the drives, folders, and subfolders
on your computer. Notice that there are plus and minus signs in front of some folders.
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A plus sign
 in front of a folder indicates that there are hidden subfolders in the folder. Click on the plus sign in front of a folder
to see the subfolders. When the hidden subfolders appear, the plus sign turns into a minus sign.
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A minus sign
 in front of a folder indicates that its subfolders are visible. To hide the subfolders, click on the minus sign.
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For this exercise, we will move the selected file to the Trips folder we created in the previous exercise.
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Click the plus sign in front of the Kodak Pictures folder.
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Its hidden subfolders appear.
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Click the plus sign in front of the 2002 folder.
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The Trips folder appears.
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Click the Trips folder to select it, then click the Move button.
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The file is moved into the selected folder. You can no longer see the file in its previous location.
Drag and Drop Files and Folders
“Drag and drop” is another way to move or copy folders and files. Click the folder or file, hold down the mouse button, and
move the mouse to drag the selected item to a new location. You can use drag and drop when you’re rearranging the filing system
for your pictures, when you’ve created a new folder in the wrong place, or when you want to copy your pictures to another
location.
If you drag a picture file from one folder to another, the file no longer appears in the first folder because you moved the
original file into the other folder. But if you drag a picture from a Zip drive onto the desktop or folder on your computer’s
hard drive, you make a copy of the picture file. The original remains on the Zip drive and a copy appears on your desktop.
If you can see the file or folder you want to move and the place where you want to move it on the screen at the same time,
dragging and dropping is an easy way to accomplish the task.
For this exercise, we will move the Pony Ride folder into the 2002 folder.
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Locate the folder you want to move. Do this by drilling down through your folders using My Documents.
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Make sure you can see the place where you want to move the folder.
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Note: If you cannot see the place where you want to move the folder, use the options under File and Folder Tasks to move the
file or folder instead of dragging and dropping.
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Point to the folder you want to move, then press and hold down the left mouse button.
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This highlights the folder.
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While holding down the mouse button, move the mouse to drag the folder to its new location.
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As you drag the mouse, a faint version of the folder appears on the screen. The folder remains in its original place until
you release the mouse button.
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Release the mouse button.
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The Pony ride folder is in its new place. You can no longer see it in its previous location.
To see the folder in its new place:
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Double-click the 2002 folder.
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The 2002 folder opens showing its contents.
Rename Files and Folders
Rename your picture files and folders so you can easily find a particular picture or group of pictures in the future. If you
don’t rename your picture files as you transfer them from the camera to the computer, you can rename them after they are stored
on your computer.
To change the name of an existing file or folder:
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Click the file or folder you want to rename.
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The file becomes highlighted and the list of tasks under File and Folder Tasks changes.
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Click Rename this file under File and Folder Tasks.
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The name of the file becomes highlighted.
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Type a new name for the file and press Enter on the keyboard.
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Delete Files and Folders
If you don’t need files, such as pictures that didn’t turn out the way you wanted, it’s easy to delete them from your computer.
This makes more room on your computer’s hard drive to store other files. If you are deleting picture files, make sure that
they are ones you don’t want or that you have saved somewhere else, like on a CD or Zip disk.
When you delete a folder, all the contents of the folder are also deleted. You should not delete folders except when they
are empty or if you want to permanently delete all the files inside that folder.
We will delete a picture file that we don’t want.
To delete a file:
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Click the mouse once on the file you want to delete.
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The name of the file becomes highlighted and the list of tasks under File and Folder Tasks changes.
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Click Delete this file.
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To delete the file, click Yes in the Confirm File Delete window.
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The deleted file or folder is now in your Recycle Bin.
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