Jan's Working with Windows:

Step-by-Step: Text - Create & Save

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What you will learn:

to open an application from Computer/File Explorer to create a new document to save a document to close an application

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Start with:   

Start a Program from Computer/Explorer

To use this method to open an application, you need to know:
      a. the name of the file that starts the application
      b. what folder the file is in

1. Open a Computer or File Explorer window that shows the contents of the computer.
   (Hint: Double click the My Computer/Computer icon on the Desktop.)
   
2. If necessary, expand drive C and scroll down to the folder Windows.
   
3. Select the folder Windows to show its contents in the right pane.
   
4. In the right pane, scroll until you see the file notepad.exe.

   

   WinXP,Vista, Win7, Win8/Win8.1

   Problem: Filenames do not show the extensions
   Most installations of Windows do not show the file name extensions by default. Anyone who works with many types of documents will understand why hiding the extension is a bad idea!

   Solution: Open Folder Options, in a Computer or File Explorer window and change a setting:

   WinXP: Open the Tools menu and select Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Uncheck the box for 'Hide extensions for known file types'. Click on OK and your change will be applied.

   Vista/Win7: Click the Organize button, and then Folder and Search Options. Click the View tab. Uncheck the box for 'Hide extensions for known file types'. Click on OK and your change will be applied.

   Win8: On the View ribbon tab, click the button Options and then on the View tab. Check the box 'File name extensions' to show the extensions.

5. Double-click on notepad.exe to start the program.
   Notepad opens with a blank document ready for your typing.

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Create a Document

1. Type the first line:
    This is a sample document. 
   
2. Press the ENTER key to get a new line.
   
3. Type the second line:
      I wrote it in Notepad. 
   
4. Press the ENTER key twice to get a blank line.
   
5. Type your name.
   
6. Press the ENTER key to get a new line.
   
7. Select from the menu bar  Edit  >  Time\Date  to insert the current time and date.
   
8. Press the ENTER key to get a new line.
   
9. Type the name of the course you are taking that these lessons are part of.

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Save a Document

1.  Insert the Class disk into the drive or USB port, if it is not already there.
   
2. Select from the menu bar  File  >  Save .

   Since this document has not been saved before, you will see the Save As dialog box. For most applications the Save In text box shows the folder last used to save something, even if it was by a different program. Others programs have a default folder for saving files.

3. Inspect this window and its menus.
   In  WinXP you can click on the Help button in the title bar of this dialog box and then click on each part of the window in turn to see what it is for. This helpful feature was dropped in later versions for some reason.
   
4. Navigate to the folder you want to save in:
   
   WinXP

   1. Click on the down arrow for the text box Save in: to display a simplified folder tree.

       

      Manage files & folders in dialog: While in an Open or Save As dialog box, you can do most of the tasks that you learned to do in My Computer and Explorer, like rename, move, copy, delete. Popup menus are available, too. You can even create a new folder using the New Folder button  on the toolbar.

       Some applications are not entirely happy with doing these things inside a dialog box. They may lock up or crash. So test your applications before you try to manage files within a dialog box. You wouldn't want crash the program before you actually saved your work!

   2. Click on the icon for the drive for your removable media, in the drop list.
      The dialog box changes to show the contents of the Class disk, including the folders that you created in the previous lessons.

      Problem: Flash drive did not show in drop list
      Sometimes the list does not show a removable drive until you have used it.
      Solution: Select My Computer in the drop list. The drives will show in the pane below. Double-click your flash drive from there to show its contents

     Vista, Win7, Win8: The Save dialog opens with a folder tree and contents pane which show the last folder to which you saved a file.

   1. If necessary, in the folder tree, scroll to see your Class disk and then click its name.
      It's contents display at the right.
5. Double-click on the folder my docs and then double-click on win project2.
   
6. At the bottom of the dialog, in the text box File name: type  doc 1  .
   Yes, there is a space in this name!
   
7.  Click on the down arrow in the text box Save as type: to see what your choices are. There are not many for Notepad, but other programs may have a long list of file types to choose from.
   
8. Select the type Text Documents.
   
9.   Click on the Save button.
   The file is saved.
   The complete path looks something like:
     e:\my docs\win project2\doc 1.txt , where the letter for your drive may be different. It depends on what kind of removable media you are using and how many USB devices are connected to your computer.

   Remember - spaces are important in a path, too!

   The title bar of Notepad changes to include the new name, with a txt extension automatically added. Most applications have a default extension to add to a filename if you don't type it in yourself.

   To see what extensions an application uses on its saved files, click on the down arrow in the 'Save as type' box. In an Open dialog box, on the other hand, this list will show what extensions the program can open. But it may not be able to save in those types. For example, Microsoft Word can open Lotus Word Pro documents (extension lwp) but cannot save in that format. It's a one-way translation.

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Close Application

1. Click the Close button on the Title bar.
   Notepad closes.

If you made changes to your document since the last time you saved it, a dialog will appear that asks if you want to save the document. Only you know if you need to save those changes.