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2: File and Folder Management

Knowing where a document has been placed is very important. Applications rely on documents and other items being in specific folders to operate certain functions. By not using the proper folders, these applications may not work properly. The operating system has already set up multiple folders to make file management simple.

These folders are part of your home directory and are: Applications, Documents, Movies, Music, and Pictures. You will also notice that these folders happen to be on the left hand side of your Finder window.




You should, by default, install all programs in the Applications folder, save all of your documents in the Documents folder, movies in your Movies folder, etc…

Programs such as iTunes search your Music folder for songs that you have imported or downloaded. iPhoto searches your Pictures folder for images that you have downloaded from your camera, and so on. Do not move any of the music or pictures to different folders within the iTunes or iPhoto folder list. Moving them will ruin how they funciton within iTunes or iPhoto.

The main reason for keeping your files organized is so that you know where they are and can easily find them. Imagine the folders as drawers in a filing cabinet. You wouldn’t put a program or application in your Pictures folder.

You can also create new folders within your folders. Thus, if you had a class called W100 and a class called T101, you could create two folders in your Documents folder with the respective names and keep your papers organized better. (Do not attempt to do this within the folder entitled iTunes or iPhoto library, or any folders with years indicated on them in the iPhoto library.)

This article was last edited on May-14-2007 3:35 pm
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