CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
 
Beginner's Guide to Word 2000:
4

File Management
 

Saving Files

Microsoft Word automatically saves all your files as Word documents in a particular location (default folder). This section describes how you can save a document to a floppy disk and how you can save a file as something other than a Word document (as an earlier version of Word or as a WordPerfect document, for example).
 
Note: Instructions for saving a Word document file without specifying a location (i.e., saving to the default location) are described in the "Saving a Document" section of "Bare Bones Basics".

Saving a File to a Floppy Disk

Do the following in order to save a file to a floppy disk.
  1. Make sure the file you want to save is open on your computer screen.
  2. If you want to keep a file on your computer's hard disk as well as saving it to a floppy disk, save the file as you normally would before continuing.
  3. Place a formatted disk in the floppy disk drive.
  4. Click File on the Menu Bar and choose (click) Save As.
  5. In the "Save As" dialog box, click in the "Save in:" menu box or on the arrow to the right of the menu box to see the hierarchy of disk drives and folders on your computer. (See Figure 1, below.) 
  6. To save a file on the A drive, click "3 1/2 inch floppy (A:)" [if you have a B drive and want to save the file there, click "3 1/2 inch floppy (B:)"]. 
  7. Make sure you also give the file a name, and then click the Save button. 
 
FIGURE 1. "Save As" Dialog Box Showing Storage Location Hierarchy'Save As' Dialog Box Showing Storage Location Hierarchy
 
Notes:
  • Once you have selected the A (or B) drive for saving a file, that drive will remain selected until you exit Word. If you want to save a file to the default location (such as the Personal folder on the C drive), choose the appropriate location from the "Save in:" list in the "Save As" dialog box.
  • On some campus computers, the default location for saving a document is the  "3 1/2 inch floppy (A:)" disk drive (in a student computer workroom, for example). If "3 1/2 inch floppy (A:)" is the "Save in:" area at the top of the "Save As" dialog box, all you have to do is make sure you insert a formatted disk into the disk drive and name the document before saving.
  • If "3 1/2 inch floppy (A:)" is the drive specified and you don't have a disk in that drive, you'll get an error message telling you the "Selected floppy disk drive is not in use" and to "Check to make sure a floppy disk is inserted."

Saving a File as Something Other Than a Word 2000 Document

When you are working in Word, the program assumes you want to save what you are working on as a Word document (and most of the time you do!), so that is the file type displayed in the "Save as type:" area at the bottom of the "Save As" dialog box (see Figure 2, below). Sometimes, though, you may want to save your document in some other format. If you use Word 97 or 2000 on campus and use an earlier version of Word or some other word processor at home, for example, you may need to save a file in a different format so that it will open properly in your other word processor.

To save a document as something other than a Word document, do the following.

Preparatory Steps:

  1. Make sure the file you want to save is open on your computer screen.
  2. If you want to save the file as a Word 2000 file as well as some other file type, save the file as you normally would before continuing — or save to floppy disk (see instructions above).
  3. If you want to save the file to a floppy disk (and it's likely that you do since you probably want to transport the file to another computer), place a formatted disk in the floppy disk drive.
File-Saving Procedure:
  1. Click File on the Menu Bar and choose (click) Save As.
  2. In the "Save As" dialog box, click in the "Save as type:" menu box or on the arrow to the right of the menu box to see a list of the file types you can choose from (see Figure 2, below). 
  3. Use the scroll bar (if necessary) to find the file type you want (such as Word 6.0/95, Word 5.1 for Macintosh, or WordPerfect 5.1), and click the file type to select it. If you don't find the word processor you want, choose Rich Text Format. 
  4. If you're saving to a floppy disk, be sure to make the appropriate choice from the "Save in:" menu [e.g., "3 1/2 inch floppy (A:)"]. 
  5. Type a file name in the "File name:" text box. The appropriate extension will for the file type chosen will be associated with the file automatically (even if you don't see it!). If you're saving to a DOS or Windows 3.1 file type (such as Word 6.0 for Windows) be sure to restrict the length of the file name to a maximum of eight characters (with no spaces). 
  6. When you are finished, click the Save button to complete the "save as" procedure. 
 
FIGURE 2. "Save As" Dialog Box with File Types List Displayed'Save As' Dialog Box with File Types List Displayed
 

Deleting Documents

When you no longer need a document it is a good idea to delete it. You can delete a document in six easy steps.
  1. Make sure the document you want to delete is not open. If the file is open, Word will not allow you to delete it.
  2. Click the Open button on the Standard Toolbar.
  3. Locate and select (i.e., click once to highlight) the name of the document you want to delete. If you would like to delete several files at the same time, you can hold down the CTRL key and click the name of each file until all to be deleted are highlighted.
  4. Click the stylized X button at the top of the dialog box (or tap the DELETE key on your keyboard).
  5. A dialog box will appear asking if you're sure you want to send the file(s) to the Recycle Bin. If you want to delete the file(s), click the Yes button. If you have changed your mind and don't want to delete the file(s), click the No button.
  6. When you're finished, click the Cancel button in the Open dialog box (this will not cancel your deletions). 

How to Restore a Deleted File

If you delete a file by mistake, you can restore it from the Windows Recycle Bin (unless you've emptied the Recycle Bin since you deleted the document). 
  1. Double-click the Recycle Bin to display the Recycle Bin window — or right-click the Recycle Bin and choose Open from the pop-up menu that appears. 
  2. Click the name of the file you want to restore. You can select more than one document by holding down the CTRL key and clicking the name of each file until all to be restored are highlighted.
  3. Click File on the menu bar and choose Restore. The highlighted file will be restored to the folder from which it was deleted. If you highlighted several file names, all will be restored to the appropriate folders.

File Management QuickTips

See also the following ITR QuickTips guides regarding Windows (and Office) file management:
Top  |  Contents  |  Start  |  Basics  |  Formatting  |  File Management  |  Learn More  |  Glossary  | Features Table
Prepared by Gail Said Johnson, User Support Services
March 20, 2001

 

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