Computer Competency
File Management for Windows XP - Part II
Floppy Disk Formats
Floppy disks come in a variety of formatting flavors. When working with library users, the a major formatting difference to be aware of is the difference between a floppy disk that is formatted for IBM and
compatibles (or Windows) and one that is formatted for Macintosh. If a Windows PC attempts to open a Macintosh floppy, an error message will occur stating: “The disk in drive A is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?”
Windows-based computers cannot read floppy disks that are formatted for Macintosh. Mac users can be directed to the Weber 2nd floor Mac Lab. However, not even all Windows PC floppy disks are
created equal. A floppy disk formatted for Windows 98 can create problems for a user who attempts to open it on a Windows XP computer. Since most public computers throughout the library use Windows XP as the operating system, users with Window 98 formatted floppy disks occasionally have the same error message appear as the hapless Mac user.
In the EIC there is now a “Disk Recovery” station that allows Windows 98 floppies to be read. The file contents from a user’s disk can be copied to a library provided Windows XP formatted floppy that the user can take with them.
How to Format a Floppy Disk
Most new floppy disks are pre-formatted for IBM (Windows). To re-format or completely erase a floppy disk in Windows:
1. Double click on “My Computer” 2. Right click on “3½ Floppy (A:)” 3. Click “Format”
Printing Preferences
From any software application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, etc.), the method for getting to the “Print” window is the same:
1. Click on “File” 2. Click on “Print”
The “look and feel” of the window for printing preferences may vary depending on the version of Windows operating system and the software application that is being used.
The “Print” window will give users the opportunity to: • Change to a different printer
• Select a range of pages to print • Select the number of copies to print
By clicking on the “Properties” button, even more print options can be specified:
• Pages per sheet (up to sixteen pages per sheet possible) • Print quality
The “Properties” window allows users to change page orientation from Portrait to Landscape
Page Setup
Page Setup allows the user to set font preferences for the document paper size, page orientation (portrait or landscape), and margins. To display the “Page Setup:”
1. Click on “File”
2. Click on “Page Setup”
The “Page Setup” window for Microsoft Word allows the user to select:
• Page size (letter, legal, etc.) can be adjusted in Layout • Margins (top, bottom, left, right)
Printer Selection and Management
It is possible to have a variety of printers added to one computer in order for the user to have a choice.
One way to select or add a printer to a computer is to click on “Start” and select “Settings” then “Printers”
The “Printers” window shows all of the printers currently available from the computer.
No matter how many printers are added to a computer, there is always one printer that is the default printer. Unless instructed otherwise, all software applications on the computer will direct (or spool) print jobs to the printer that is designated as the default printer. In Windows XP the default printer can be identified by a check marked printer icon.
To change the default printer, right click on the printer icon of choice and select the “Set As Default” command.
To add another printer double click on “Add Printer” then: 1. Click “Next” from the wizard pop-up
2. Select “A network printer” radio button; click “Next” 3. Select “Connect to this printer” radio button, click “Next” 4. Double click on the printer server name (Piranha) 5. Find and highlight the printer name; click “Next”
6. Answer “Yes” or “No” to: “Do you want to use this printer as your default printer?”
7. Click “Next” 8. Click “Finish”
To cancel a print job (you must be very fast!):
1. Double click on the printer icon to show the print queue 2. Highlight the document on the queue
3. Hit the “Delete” key or click “Document” and select “Cancel” from the pull-down menu
File extensions are a 2-4 character code, preceded by a period, and automatically added to the end of a file name when you save a document, e.g. thisfile.doc. Computer operating systems generally recognize common file extensions and will automatically open the file in the correct application if the application resides on the machine. For example, double clicking on a file with the extension .doc, will start up the application,
Microsoft WORD, and open the file in the application window.
Below are some common file formats:
Extension File Type Software needed to open
.asc Text Any editor/wordprocessor
.avi Video Windows Media Player
.bmp Graphic MS Paint, Imaging
.doc Text MS Word
.exe Executable program
.gif Graphic Any graphical web browser,
PaintShop Pro
.htm, html Multimedia Any graphical web browser .jpg, .jpeg Graphic Imaging, PaintShop Pro, any
graphical web browser
.mdb Database MS Access
.mpg, mpeg .mov
Video Windows Media Player
Quicktime
.pdf Text Acrobat Reader
.png Graphic Any graphical web browser,
PaintShop Pro
.ppt Presentation MS Powerpoint
.ra, .ram Audio RealAudio
.rtf Text Almost any word processor
.tif Graphic Imaging, PaintShop Pro
.txt Text Almost any word processor
.xls Spreadsheet MS Excel
.wav, .wave Audio Windows Media Player
.wps Text MS Works, MS Word 2000
.zip Pkzip compressed Pkzip, Winzip, Enzip For more information on these or other file extensions:
Check out these websites: • http://filext.com/
• http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileFormatA/ • http://www.matisse.net/files/formats.html
• http://www.webopedia.com/
