Computer Navigation
Senior 1 · ICT
Computer Navigation
Lesson 5 of 5
18 min
Let's begin
Ishimwe spent an evening typing her Kinyarwanda essay. The next morning she deleted what she thought was an old copy, and then realised it was the only one. Luckily, Windows had not really destroyed it: it was waiting in the Recycle Bin. This lesson shows how to create, save, open and manage files, and how to get a deleted file back.
A full file name has two parts: the name you choose and the extension after the last dot, which tells Windows what kind of file it is and which program opens it.
| Extension | Type of file |
|---|---|
| .txt | Plain text (Notepad) |
| .docx and .odt | Word processor documents (Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer) |
| .xlsx and .ods | Spreadsheets |
| A document to read or print, which looks the same on every device | |
| .jpg and .png | Pictures |
| .mp3 | Sound |
| .mp4 | Video |
| .exe | A program. Open one only if you trust where it came from. |
Windows often hides extensions. To show them in File Explorer: Windows 11, View > Show > File name extensions; Windows 10, the View tab > tick File name extensions.
After that, Save (Ctrl + S) updates the same file. Save As makes a new copy with a different name, place or type, and leaves the old file as it was.
These work exactly as for folders: F2 to rename; Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V to copy; Ctrl + X and Ctrl + V to move; Delete to delete. When renaming, change only the name and keep the extension. If you change it, Windows warns that the file might become unusable.
When you delete a file or folder from the computer's own disk, Windows does not destroy it at once. It moves it to the Recycle Bin, a special folder that keeps deleted items and remembers where each one came from.
Tip
Three things skip the bin: Shift + Delete, flash drives and memory cards, and network drives. Keep a backup of anything important.
Save updates the file; Save As makes a new one.
Which program would normally open each file: (a) budget.xlsx, (b) poem.txt, (c) sports-day.jpg?
Solution: (a) a spreadsheet program; (b) Notepad; (c) a picture viewer such as Photos (or Paint).
Mugisha has a finished letter called letter.docx. He wants to change it for another person but keep the original. What should he do?
Solution: Open it and use Save As with a new name, such as letter-aunt.docx. The original stays unchanged.
A file deleted yesterday from Documents is needed today. The Recycle Bin has not been emptied. Can it be recovered? How?
Solution: Yes. Open the Recycle Bin, right-click the file and choose Restore. It returns to Documents.
Why is it risky to keep your only copy of a project on a flash drive?
Solution: Files deleted from a flash drive skip the Recycle Bin and cannot be restored, and a flash drive is easy to lose or damage. Keep a second copy elsewhere.
Remember
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
