Tech Tools: Saving your Work

How you name and organise your folders and files is important. Imagine trying to find your essay that's due in 2 hours. You want to be able to quickly and easily find your files. 

 Spend some time setting up your folders. Ask yourself:

• How do I want to use my folders?
• How have I organised my files in the past and did that method work well or not?

Use the same naming pattern for all of your files

• Include the course code and the essay topic in the name of the files. 
• Include the date that you last worked on the file. This will help you keep track of the latest version.

Here is an example...

Microsoft Word automatically saves your work every 10 minutes. However, it is a good ideas to click SAVE every now and then, just in case. 

Think about where you want to save your work. You can save your files in different places:

• in a folder on your device
• in an online location like OneDrive. 
• on a USB memory stick
• some people email themselves copies of the files every now and then

Watch this video to learn how to save your files in the location you prefer.

Word: Saving and Sharing Documents by LearnFree

Think about how you organise your folders and files. You want to make it easy to find the documents you are looking for. 

• Give your folders useful names that you will remember. Naming them using the course codes is a good idea. 
• Set your folders up in a consistent way. If they are all set up in the same way, this will make it easier for you to find your files. 

If you don't like the above method, try the ABC Folder Method.

Can't find your saved essay?

Your file names become more important if you have forgotten where you saved the file or if you accidently saved it in the wrong place. 

• If you can guess all or part of the file name, you can type it into the search bar in your File Explorer. This can help you locate your lost file.

Hot Tip: Use the same naming patterns for ALL files

If you have used the same naming patterns for all files, you are more likely to be able to guess the name of your file, and therefore, find it.

Try these different methods for finding your lost files

• If you worked on your file recently, check your Recent Files in your File Explorer
• If you worked on your file recently, open the application (e.g., Word) and check your Recent Files
• Check the Downloads folder if you downloaded a file from the internet
• Check the Documents folder
• Type the file name or keywords into the search bar in the File Explorer
• Check the Recycle Bin folder in case you accidently delete the file

This video by LearnFree shows you how to use some of the above methods for finding your lost files