禅道导出csv文件_禅与文件和文件夹组织的艺术

禅道导出csv文件

Is your desktop a paragon of neatness, or is it overflowing with so many icons that you’re scared to look at it? If you’ve been putting off getting organized because the task is too huge or daunting, or you don’t know where to start, we’ve got 40 tips to get you on the path to zen mastery of your digital filing system.

您的桌面是整洁的典范吗，还是它充满了太多让您不敢看的图标？如果您因任务太大或令人生畏而推迟组织工作，或者您不知道从哪里开始，那么我们有40条技巧可以帮助您精通数字归档系统。

For all those readers who would like to get their files and folders organized, or, if they’re already organized, better organized—we have compiled a complete guide to getting organized and staying organized, a comprehensive article that will hopefully cover every possible tip you could want.

对于所有希望将文件和文件夹组织化，或者如果已经将它们整理得井井有条的读者，我们编写了一份完整的指南，以使文章井井有条，井井有条，希望您能涵盖所有可能的技巧你可能想要。

Signs that Your Computer is Poorly Organized

迹象表明您的计算机管理不善

If your computer is a mess, you’re probably already aware of it. But just in case you’re not, here are some tell-tale signs:

如果您的计算机混乱不堪，您可能已经意识到了。但是，以防万一，以下是一些明显的迹象：

Your Desktop has over 40 icons on it
您的桌面上有40多个图标
“My Documents” contains over 300 files and 60 folders, including MP3s and digital photos
“我的文档”包含300多个文件和60个文件夹，其中包括MP3和数码照片
You use the Windows’ built-in search facility whenever you need to find a file
每当您需要查找文件时，都可以使用Windows的内置搜索工具
You can’t find programs in the out-of-control list of programs in your Start Menu
您无法在“开始”菜单中的程序失控列表中找到程序
You save all your Word documents in one folder, all your spreadsheets in a second folder, etc
您将所有Word文档保存在一个文件夹中，所有电子表格都保存在另一个文件夹中，依此类推
Any given file that you’re looking for may be in any one of four different sets of folders
您要查找的任何给定文件都可以位于四组不同的文件夹中的任何一组中

But before we start, here are some quick notes:

但是在开始之前，这里有一些快速注意事项：

We’re going to assume you know what files and folders are, and how to create, save, rename, copy and delete them
我们假设您知道什么是文件和文件夹，以及如何创建，保存，重命名，复制和删除它们
The organization principles described in this article apply equally to all computer systems. However, the screenshots here will reflect how things look on Windows (usually Windows 7). We will also mention some useful features of Windows that can help you get organized.

本文介绍的组织原则同样适用于所有计算机系统。但是，此处的屏幕快照将反映Windows(通常是Windows 7)上的外观。我们还将提到Windows的一些有用功能，这些功能可以帮助您井井有条。
Everyone has their own favorite methodology of organizing and filing, and it’s all too easy to get into “My Way is Better than Your Way” arguments. The reality is that there is no perfect way of getting things organized. When I wrote this article, I tried to keep a generalist and objective viewpoint. I consider myself to be unusually well organized (to the point of obsession, truth be told), and I’ve had 25 years experience in collecting and organizing files on computers. So I’ve got a lot to say on the subject. But the tips I have described here are only one way of doing it. Hopefully some of these tips will work for you too, but please don’t read this as any sort of “right” way to do it.

每个人都有自己喜欢的组织和归档方法，并且很容易陷入“我的方式胜于你的方式”的论点。 现实情况是，有越来越有组织的事情没有完美的方式。 当我写这篇文章时，我试图保持一个通论和客观的观点。 我认为自己的组织能力异常出色(以至于痴迷，说实话)，并且我在收集和整理计算机上的文件方面拥有25年的经验。 因此，关于这个主题我有很多话要说。 但是，我在这里描述的技巧只是一种实现方式。 希望这些技巧中的一些也对您有用，但是请不要将其视为任何“正确”的方法。

At the end of the article we’ll be asking you, the reader, for your own organization tips.

在本文的结尾，我们将向读者询问您自己的组织提示。

为什么要费心组织呢？ (Why Bother Organizing At All?)

For some, the answer to this question is self-evident. And yet, in this era of powerful desktop search software (the search capabilities built into the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Start Menus, and third-party programs like Google Desktop Search), the question does need to be asked, and answered.

对于某些人来说，这个问题的答案是不言而喻的。但是，在这个功能强大的桌面搜索软件时代(Windows Vista和Windows 7的“开始”菜单内置了搜索功能，以及Google桌面搜索之类的第三方程序)，确实需要提出并回答问题。

I have a friend who puts every file he ever creates, receives or downloads into his My Documents folder and doesn’t bother filing them into subfolders at all. He relies on the search functionality built into his Windows operating system to help him find whatever he’s looking for. And he always finds it. He’s a Search Samurai. For him, filing is a waste of valuable time that could be spent enjoying life!

我有一个朋友，他将他曾经创建，接收或下载的每个文件放入“ 我的文档”文件夹，并且根本不用将它们归档到子文件夹中。他依靠Windows操作系统内置的搜索功能来帮助他找到所需的内容。他总是找到它。他是搜寻武士。对他来说，归档是浪费宝贵的时间，可将其用于享受生活！

It’s tempting to follow suit. On the face of it, why would anyone bother to take the time to organize their hard disk when such excellent search software is available? Well, if all you ever want to do with the files you own is to locate and open them individually (for listening, editing, etc), then there’s no reason to ever bother doing one scrap of organization. But consider these common tasks that are not achievable with desktop search software:

跟风是很诱人的。从表面上看，当拥有如此出色的搜索软件时，为什么有人会花时间组织硬盘？好吧，如果您想要对自己拥有的文件做的只是单独查找和打开它们(以进行聆听，编辑等)，那么就没有理由费心做一个废纸scrap。但是请考虑以下桌面搜索软件无法实现的常见任务：

Find files manually. Often it’s not convenient, speedy or even possible to utilize your desktop search software to find what you want. It doesn’t work 100% of the time, or you may not even have it installed. Sometimes its just plain faster to go straight to the file you want, if you know it’s in a particular sub-folder, rather than trawling through hundreds of search results.

手动查找文件 。通常，使用桌面搜索软件来查找您想要的东西并不方便，Swift，甚至不可能。它不能100％地工作，或者您甚至可能没有安装它。有时，如果您知道文件位于特定的子文件夹中，则直接进入所需的文件会更快，而不是浏览数百个搜索结果。
Find groups of similar files (e.g. all your “work” files, all the photos of your Europe holiday in 2008, all your music videos, all the MP3s from Dark Side of the Moon, all your letters you wrote to your wife, all your tax returns). Clever naming of the files will only get you so far. Sometimes it’s the date the file was created that’s important, other times it’s the file format, and other times it’s the purpose of the file. How do you name a collection of files so that they’re easy to isolate based on any of the above criteria? Short answer, you can’t.

查找类似文件的组 (例如，所有“工作”文件，2008年欧洲假期的所有照片，所有音乐视频， 《月之暗面》中的所有MP3，您给妻子的所有来信，所有纳税申报单)。巧妙地命名文件只会使您大开眼界。有时重要的是文件的创建日期，有时是文件格式，有时是文件的目的。如何命名文件集合，以便根据上述任何标准轻松隔离文件？简短的答案，你不能。
Move files to a new computer. It’s time to upgrade your computer. How do you quickly grab all the files that are important to you? Or you decide to have two computers now – one for home and one for work. How do you quickly isolate only the work-related files to move them to the work computer?

将文件移动到新计算机上 。现在该升级您的计算机了。您如何快速获取对您重要的所有文件？或者您决定现在拥有两台计算机，一台用于家庭，一台用于工作。您如何快速仅隔离与工作相关的文件以将其移至工作计算机？
Synchronize files to other computers. If you have more than one computer, and you need to mirror some of your files onto the other computer (e.g. your music collection), then you need a way to quickly determine which files are to be synced and which are not. Surely you don’t want to synchronize everything?

将文件同步到其他计算机 。如果您有一台以上的计算机，并且需要将某些文件镜像到另一台计算机上(例如，音乐收藏)，则需要一种方法来快速确定要同步的文件和不同步的文件。您肯定不想同步所有内容吗？
Choose which files to back up. If your backup regime calls for multiple backups, or requires speedy backups, then you’ll need to be able to specify which files are to be backed up, and which are not. This is not possible if they’re all in the same folder.

选择要备份的文件 。如果您的备份方案要求进行多次备份，或者需要快速备份，那么您将需要指定要备份的文件，而不是要备份的文件。如果它们都在同一文件夹中，则这是不可能的。

Finally, if you’re simply someone who takes pleasure in being organized, tidy and ordered (me! me!), then you don’t even need a reason. Being disorganized is simply unthinkable.

最后，如果您只是一个乐于组织，整理和命令(我！我！)的人，那么您甚至不需要理由。杂乱无章简直是不可想象的。

整理提示 (Tips on Getting Organized)

Here we present our 40 best tips on how to get organized. Or, if you’re already organized, to get better organized.

在这里，我们介绍了如何组织的40条最佳技巧。或者，如果您已经组织起来，则可以更好地组织起来。

Tip #1. Choose Your Organization System Carefully

提示1。 仔细选择您的组织系统

The reason that most people are not organized is that it takes time. And the first thing that takes time is deciding upon a system of organization. This is always a matter of personal preference, and is not something that a geek on a website can tell you. You should always choose your own system, based on how your own brain is organized (which makes the assumption that your brain is, in fact, organized).

大多数人没有组织的原因是这需要时间。花费时间的第一件事是确定组织系统。这始终是个人喜好问题， 并不是网站上的极客可以告诉您的事情。您应该始终根据自己大脑的组织方式来选择自己的系统(这假设您的大脑实际上是组织起来的)。

We can’t instruct you, but we can make suggestions:

我们无法指导您，但我们可以提出建议：

You may want to start off with a system based on the users of the computer. i.e. “My Files”, “My Wife’s Files”, My Son’s Files”, etc. Inside “My Files”, you might then break it down into “Personal” and “Business”. You may then realize that there are overlaps. For example, everyone may want to share access to the music library, or the photos from the school play. So you may create another folder called “Family”, for the “common” files.
您可能要从基于计算机用户的系统开始。例如“我的文件”，“妻子的文件”，“儿子的文件”等。在“我的文件”中，您可以将其细分为“个人”和“业务”。然后，您可能会意识到存在重叠。例如，每个人都可能希望共享对音乐库或学校演奏中的照片的访问权限。因此，您可以为“常用”文件创建另一个名为“家庭”的文件夹。
You may decide that the highest-level breakdown of your files is based on the “source” of each file. In other words, who created the files. You could have “Files created by ME (business or personal)”, “Files created by people I know (family, friends, etc)”, and finally “Files created by the rest of the world (MP3 music files, downloaded or ripped movies or TV shows, software installation files, gorgeous desktop wallpaper images you’ve collected, etc).” This system happens to be the one I use myself. See below:

您可以根据每个文件的“来源”来决定文件的*别的细分。换句话说，谁创建了文件。您可能拥有“由我(业务或个人)创建的文件”，“由我认识的人(家人，朋友等)创建的文件”，最后是“世界其他地方创建的文件(MP3音乐文件，已下载或翻录)电影或电视节目，软件安装文件，您收集的精美桌面墙纸图像等)。” 这个系统恰好是我自己使用的那个系统。见下文：

Mark is for files created by me

标记用于我创建的文件

VC is for files created by my company (Virtual Creations)

VC用于由我公司创建的文件(虚拟创作)

Others is for files created by my friends and family

其他用于我的朋友和家人创建的文件

Data is the rest of the world

数据是世界的其余部分

Also,

也，

Settings is where I store the configuration files and other program data files for my installed software (more on this in tip #34, below).

设置是我存储已安装软件的配置文件和其他程序数据文件的位置(有关更多信息，请参见下面的提示＃34)。
Each folder will present its own particular set of requirements for further sub-organization. For example, you may decide to organize your music collection into sub-folders based on the artist’s name, while your digital photos might get organized based on the date they were taken. It can be different for every sub-folder!

每个文件夹都将呈现其自己的特定要求集合，以供进一步的子组织使用。例如，您可能决定根据艺术家的名字将音乐收藏整理到子文件夹中，而数字照片可能会根据拍摄日期进行整理。每个子文件夹都可以不同！
Another strategy would be based on “currentness”. Files you have yet to open and look at live in one folder. Ones that have been looked at but not yet filed live in another place. Current, active projects live in yet another place. All other files (your “archive”, if you like) would live in a fourth folder. (And of course, within that last folder you’d need to create a further sub-system based on one of the previous bullet points).
另一种策略将基于“当前性”。您尚未打开并在一个文件夹中查看的文件。已经查看过但尚未提交的人在另一个地方生活。当前活跃的项目位于另一个地方。所有其他文件(如果需要，您的“存档”文件)将位于第四个文件夹中。 (当然，在最后一个文件夹中，您需要根据前面的要点之一创建另一个子系统)。

Put some thought into this – changing it when it proves incomplete can be a big hassle! Before you go to the trouble of implementing any system you come up with, examine a wide cross-section of the files you own and see if they will all be able to find a nice logical place to sit within your system.

考虑一下-在证明不完整时进行更改可能会很麻烦！在尝试实施您自己的任何系统之前，请检查您拥有的文件的横截面是否很大，看看它们是否都能在您的系统中找到合适的逻辑位置。

Tip #2. When You Decide on Your System, Stick to It!

提示＃ 2。当您决定使用系统时，请坚持使用！

There’s nothing more pointless than going to all the trouble of creating a system and filing all your files, and then whenever you create, receive or download a new file, you simply dump it onto your Desktop. You need to be disciplined – forever! Every new file you get, spend those extra few seconds to file it where it belongs! Otherwise, in just a month or two, you’ll be worse off than before – half your files will be organized and half will be disorganized – and you won’t know which is which!

没有什么麻烦的了，无非是创建系统并归档所有文件的所有麻烦，然后无论何时创建，接收或下载新文件，只需将其转储到桌面上即可。您需要受纪律–永远！您收到的每个新文件，都要花几秒钟的时间将其归档到所属位置！ 否则，在短短的一两个月之内，您的情况就会比以前更糟–一半的文件将被组织，而一半的文件将被杂乱无章– 而且您将不知道哪个是哪个！

Tip #3. Choose the Root Folder of Your Structure Carefully

提示＃ 3.仔细选择结构的根文件夹

Every data file (document, photo, music file, etc) that you create, own or is important to you, no matter where it came from, should be found within one single folder, and that one single folder should be located at the root of your C: drive (as a sub-folder of C:\). In other words, do not base your folder structure in standard folders like “My Documents”. If you do, then you’re leaving it up to the operating system engineers to decide what folder structure is best for you. And every operating system has a different system! In Windows 7 your files are found in C:\Users\YourName, whilst on Windows XP it was C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\My Documents. In UNIX systems it’s often /home/YourName.

您创建，拥有或对您而言重要的每个数据文件(文档，照片，音乐文件等)，无论它来自何处，都应在一个文件夹中找到，并且一个文件夹应位于根目录下C：驱动器(作为C：\的子文件夹)。换句话说，没有基地，如“我的文档”标准文件夹的文件夹结构。如果这样做，则由操作系统工程师决定哪种文件夹结构最适合您。每个操作系统都有不同的系统！在Windows 7中，您的文件位于C：\ Users \ YourName中 ，而在Windows XP中，您的文件位于C ：\ Documents and Settings \ YourName \ My Documents中 。在UNIX系统中，通常是/ home / YourName 。

These standard default folders tend to fill up with junk files and folders that are not at all important to you. “My Documents” is the worst offender. Every second piece of software you install, it seems, likes to create its own folder in the “My Documents” folder. These folders usually don’t fit within your organizational structure, so don’t use them! In fact, don’t even use the “My Documents” folder at all. Allow it to fill up with junk, and then simply ignore it. It sounds heretical, but: Don’t ever visit your “My Documents” folder! Remove your icons/links to “My Documents” and replace them with links to the folders you created and you care about!

这些标准的默认文件夹往往会填满对您来说根本不重要的垃圾文件和文件夹。 “我的文档”是最严重的违法者。您安装的每第二个软件似乎都喜欢在“我的文档”文件夹中创建自己的文件夹。这些文件夹通常不适合您的组织结构，因此请不要使用它们！实际上，甚至根本不使用“我的文档”文件夹。让它充满垃圾，然后直接忽略它。听起来很异端，但是：永远不要访问“我的文档”文件夹！删除您的“我的文档”图标/链接，然后将其替换为您所创建的文件夹的链接，您就很在意！

Create your own file system from scratch! Probably the best place to put it would be on your D: drive – if you have one. This way, all your files live on one drive, while all the operating system and software component files live on the C: drive – simply and elegantly separated. The benefits of that are profound. Not only are there obvious organizational benefits (see tip #10, below), but when it comes to migrate your data to a new computer, you can (sometimes) simply unplug your D: drive and plug it in as the D: drive of your new computer (this implies that the D: drive is actually a separate physical disk, and not a partition on the same disk as C:). You also get a slight speed improvement (again, only if your C: and D: drives are on separate physical disks).

从头开始创建自己的文件系统！放置它的最佳位置可能是D：驱动器-如果有的话。这样，您的所有文件都存放在一个驱动器上，而所有操作系统和软件组件文件都存放在C：驱动器上-简洁而优雅地分离。这样做的好处是深远的。不仅有明显的组织上的好处(请参阅下面的提示10)，而且要将数据迁移到新计算机时，您可以(有时)只需拔下D：驱动器并将其作为D：驱动器插入您的新计算机(这意味着D：驱动器实际上是一个单独的物理磁盘，而不是与C：在同一磁盘上的分区)。您还会略微提高速度(同样，仅当C：和D：驱动器位于单独的物理磁盘上时)。

Warning: From tip #12, below, you will see that it’s actually a good idea to have exactly the same file system structure – including the drive it’s filed on – on all of the computers you own. So if you decide to use the D: drive as the storage system for your own files, make sure you are able to use the D: drive on all the computers you own. If you can’t ensure that, then you can still use a clever geeky trick to store your files on the D: drive, but still access them all via the C: drive (see tip #17, below).

警告：从下面的技巧12中，您会发现，在您拥有的所有计算机上都具有完全相同的文件系统结构(包括文件所在的驱动器)实际上是一个好主意。因此，如果您决定使用D：驱动器作为自己文件的存储系统，请确保能够在所有拥有的计算机上使用D：驱动器。如果不能确定，则仍然可以使用巧妙的怪异技巧将文件存储在D：驱动器上，但仍可以通过C：驱动器访问所有文件(请参阅下面的提示17)。

If you only have one hard disk (C:), then create a dedicated folder that will contain all your files – something like C:\Files. The name of the folder is not important, but make it a single, brief word.

如果只有一个硬盘( C :) ，则创建一个专用文件夹，其中将包含您的所有文件–类似于C：\ Files 。文件夹的名称并不重要，但请使其成为一个简短的单词。

There are several reasons for this:

有几个原因：

When creating a backup regime, it’s easy to decide what files should be backed up – they’re all in the one folder!
创建备份方案时，很容易决定应备份哪些文件-它们都在一个文件夹中！
If you ever decide to trade in your computer for a new one, you know exactly which files to migrate
如果您决定用电脑换一台新电脑，那么您将确切知道要迁移的文件
You will always know where to begin a search for any file
您将永远知道从哪里开始搜索任何文件
If you synchronize files with other computers, it makes your synchronization routines very simple. It also causes all your shortcuts to continue to work on the other machines (more about this in tip #24, below).
如果您与其他计算机同步文件，则同步例程非常简单。它还会导致所有快捷方式在其他计算机上继续起作用(有关更多信息，请参见下面的技巧24)。

Once you’ve decided where your files should go, then put all your files in there – Everything! Completely disregard the standard, default folders that are created for you by the operating system (“My Music”, “My Pictures”, etc). In fact, you can actually relocate many of those folders into your own structure (more about that below, in tip #6).

一旦决定了文件的存放位置，然后将所有文件放到那里– 一切！ 完全忽略操作系统为您创建的标准默认文件夹(“我的音乐”，“我的图片”等)。实际上，您实际上可以将许多文件夹重新放置到您自己的结构中(有关更多信息，请参见技巧6)。

The more completely you get all your data files (documents, photos, music, etc) and all your configuration settings into that one folder, then the easier it will be to perform all of the above tasks.

您越完整地将所有数据文件(文档，照片，音乐等) 和所有配置设置都放入该文件夹，则执行上述所有任务越容易。

Once this has been done, and all your files live in one folder, all the other folders in C:\ can be thought of as “operating system” folders, and therefore of little day-to-day interest for us.

一旦这项工作已经完成，并且所有的文件都在一个文件夹中，在C中所有其他文件夹：\可以被认为是，因此小天到一天的利息我们“操作系统”的文件夹。

Here’s a screenshot of a nicely organized C: drive, where all user files are located within the \Files folder:

这是一个组织良好的C：驱动器的屏幕截图，其中所有用户文件都位于\ Files文件夹中：

Tip #4. Use Sub-Folders

提示＃ 4.使用子文件夹

This would be our simplest and most obvious tip. It almost goes without saying. Any organizational system you decide upon (see tip #1) will require that you create sub-folders for your files. Get used to creating folders on a regular basis.

这将是我们最简单，最明显的提示。几乎不用说。您决定使用的任何组织系统(请参阅提示1)都将要求您为文件创建子文件夹。习惯于定期创建文件夹。

Tip #5. Don’t be Shy About Depth

提示＃ 5。不要害羞的深度

Create as many levels of sub-folders as you need. Don’t be scared to do so. Every time you notice an opportunity to group a set of related files into a sub-folder, do so. Examples might include: All the MP3s from one music CD, all the photos from one holiday, or all the documents from one client.

根据需要创建多个级别的子文件夹。不要害怕这样做。每当您发现有机会将一组相关文件分组到一个子文件夹中时，就这样做。示例可能包括：一张音乐CD中的所有MP3，一个假期中的所有照片或一个客户端中的所有文档。

It’s perfectly okay to put files into a folder called C:\Files\Me\From Others\Services\WestCo Bank\Statements\2009. That’s only seven levels deep. Ten levels is not uncommon. Of course, it’s possible to take this too far. If you notice yourself creating a sub-folder to hold only one file, then you’ve probably become a little over-zealous. On the other hand, if you simply create a structure with only two levels (for example C:\Files\Work) then you really haven’t achieved any level of organization at all (unless you own only six files!). Your “Work” folder will have become a dumping ground, just like your Desktop was, with most likely hundreds of files in it.

将文件放入C：\ Files \ Me \ FromOthers \ Services \ WestCo Bank \ Statements \ 2009文件夹中是完全可以的。深度只有七个级别。十个级别并不罕见。当然，有可能走得太远。如果您发现自己创建了一个仅包含一个文件的子文件夹，那么您可能会变得有些热心。另一方面，如果仅创建一个只有两个级别的结构(例如C：\ Files \ Work )，那么您实际上根本没有达到任何级别的组织(除非您只有六个文件！)。就像您的桌面一样，“工作”文件夹将成为垃圾场，其中可能包含数百个文件。

Tip #6. Move the Standard User Folders into Your Own Folder Structure

提示＃ 6.将标准用户文件夹移到您自己的文件夹结构中

Most operating systems, including Windows, create a set of standard folders for each of its users. These folders then become the default location for files such as documents, music files, digital photos and downloaded Internet files. In Windows 7, the full list is shown below:

包括Windows在内的大多数操作系统都会为其每个用户创建一组标准文件夹。然后，这些文件夹将成为文件(例如文档，音乐文件，数码照片和下载的Internet文件)的默认位置。在Windows 7中，完整列表如下所示：

Some of these folders you may never use nor care about (for example, the Favorites folder, if you’re not using Internet Explorer as your browser). Those ones you can leave where they are. But you may be using some of the other folders to store files that are important to you. Even if you’re not using them, Windows will still often treat them as the default storage location for many types of files. When you go to save a standard file type, it can become annoying to be automatically prompted to save it in a folder that’s not part of your own file structure.

其中一些您可能永远不会使用或关心的文件夹(例如，如果您未使用Internet Explorer作为浏览器，则为“ 收藏夹”文件夹)。那些你可以离开他们的地方。但是您可能正在使用其他一些文件夹来存储对您来说很重要的文件。即使您没有使用它们，Windows仍然经常将它们视为许多文件类型的默认存储位置。当您保存标准文件类型时，会自动提示您将其保存在您自己的文件结构之外的文件夹中，这会很烦人。

But there’s a simple solution: Move the folders you care about into your own folder structure! If you do, then the next time you go to save a file of the corresponding type, Windows will prompt you to save it in the new, moved location.

但是有一个简单的解决方案：将您关心的文件夹移到您自己的文件夹结构中！如果这样做，则下次下次保存相应类型的文件时，Windows会提示您将其保存在新的移动位置。

Moving the folders is easy. Simply drag-and-drop them to the new location. Here’s a screenshot of the default My Music folder being moved to my custom personal folder (Mark):

移动文件夹很容易。只需将它们拖放到新位置即可。这是将默认的“ 我的音乐”文件夹移动到我的自定义个人文件夹( Mark )的屏幕截图：

Tip #7. Name Files and Folders Intelligently

提示＃7 。 智能命名文件和文件夹

This is another one that almost goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway: Do not allow files to be created that have meaningless names like Document1.doc, or folders called New Folder (2). Take that extra 20 seconds and come up with a meaningful name for the file/folder – one that accurately divulges its contents without repeating the entire contents in the name.

这又是一个几乎不用说，但我们会反正说：不要允许创建的文件具有意义的名字，如Document1.doc，或文件夹名为新建文件夹(2)。 花费额外的20秒钟时间，为文件/文件夹提供一个有意义的名称-可以准确地泄露其内容，而无需重复名称中的全部内容。

Tip #8. Watch Out for Long Filenames

提示＃8 。 当心长文件名

Another way to tell if you have not yet created enough depth to your folder hierarchy is that your files often require really long names. If you need to call a file Johnson Sales Figures March 2009.xls (which might happen to live in the same folder as Abercrombie Budget Report 2008.xls), then you might want to create some sub-folders so that the first file could be simply called March.xls, and living in the Clients\Johnson\Sales Figures\2009 folder.

判断是否尚未为文件夹层次结构创建足够深度的另一种方法是，文件通常需要很长的名称。如果您需要调用Johnson Sales Figures March 2009.xls文件(它可能恰好与Abercrombie Budget Report 2008.xls放在同一文件夹中)，则您可能需要创建一些子文件夹，以便第一个文件可以简称为March.xls ，位于Clients \ Johnson \ Sales Figures \ 2009文件夹中。

A well-placed file needs only a brief filename!

放置正确的文件只需要一个简短的文件名！

Tip #9. Use Shortcuts! Everywhere!

提示＃9 。 使用快捷键！ 到处！

This is probably the single most useful and important tip we can offer. A shortcut allows a file to be in two places at once.

这可能是我们可以提供的最有用和最重要的提示。快捷方式允许文件一次位于两个位置。

Why would you want that? Well, the file and folder structure of every popular operating system on the market today is hierarchical. This means that all objects (files and folders) always live within exactly one parent folder. It’s a bit like a tree. A tree has branches (folders) and leaves (files). Each leaf, and each branch, is supported by exactly one parent branch, all the way back to the root of the tree (which, incidentally, is exactly why C:\ is called the “root folder” of the C: drive).

你为什么要那个？嗯，当今市场上每个流行的操作系统的文件和文件夹结构都是分层的 。这意味着所有对象(文件和文件夹)始终位于一个父文件夹中。它有点像一棵树。一棵树有树枝(文件夹)和树叶(文件)。每个叶子和每个分支都仅由一个父分支支持，一直返回到树的根(顺便说一句，这正是C：\被称为C：驱动器的“根文件夹”的原因)。

That hard disks are structured this way may seem obvious and even necessary, but it’s only one way of organizing data. There are others: Relational databases, for example, organize structured data entirely differently. The main limitation of hierarchical filing structures is that a file can only ever be in one branch of the tree – in only one folder – at a time. Why is this a problem? Well, there are two main reasons why this limitation is a problem for computer users:

以这种方式构造硬盘可能看起来很明显，甚至是必要的，但这只是组织数据的一种方式。还有其他一些：例如，关系数据库以完全不同的方式组织结构化数据。分层文件结构的主要限制是，文件一次只能位于树的一个分支中，一次只能位于一个文件夹中。为什么这是个问题？嗯，此限制是计算机用户遇到问题的两个主要原因：

The “correct” place for a file, according to our organizational rationale, is very often a very inconvenient place for that file to be located. Just because it’s correctly filed doesn’t mean it’s easy to get to. Your file may be “correctly” buried six levels deep in your sub-folder structure, but you may need regular and speedy access to this file every day. You could always move it to a more convenient location, but that would mean that you would need to re-file back to its “correct” location it every time you’d finished working on it. Most unsatisfactory.

“正确”的地方为一个文件，根据我们的组织原理，是非常往往是非常不方便的地方该文件被找到。仅仅因为它被正确归档并不意味着它容易实现。您的文件可能“正确”地埋入了子文件夹结构的六个层次中，但是您每天可能需要定期且快速地访问此文件。您始终可以将其移至更方便的位置，但这意味着您每次完成处理后都需要将其重新归档到其“正确”位置。最不满意。
A file may simply “belong” in two or more different locations within your file structure. For example, say you’re an accountant and you have just completed the 2009 tax return for John Smith. It might make sense to you to call this file 2009 Tax Return.doc and file it under Clients\John Smith. But it may also be important to you to have the 2009 tax returns from all your clients together in the one place. So you might also want to call the file John Smith.doc and file it under Tax Returns\2009. The problem is, in a purely hierarchical filing system, you can’t put it in both places. Grrrrr!

文件可以简单地“属于”文件结构中两个或多个不同的位置。例如，假设您是一名会计师，而您刚刚完成了约翰·史密斯(John Smith)的2009年纳税申报表。您可能会将此文件称为2009 Tax Return.doc并将其归档在Clients \ John Smith下 。但是，将所有客户的2009年纳税申报单集中在一个地方对您来说也很重要。因此，您可能还需要调用文件John Smith.doc并将其保存在Tax Return \ 2009下 。问题是，在纯粹的分层文件系统中，您不能在两个地方都放它。 rr！

Fortunately, Windows (and most other operating systems) offers a way for you to do exactly that: It’s called a “shortcut” (also known as an “alias” on Macs and a “symbolic link” on UNIX systems). Shortcuts allow a file to exist in one place, and an icon that represents the file to be created and put anywhere else you please. In fact, you can create a dozen such icons and scatter them all over your hard disk. Double-clicking on one of these icons/shortcuts opens up the original file, just as if you had double-clicked on the original file itself.

幸运的是，Windows(和大多数其他操作系统)为您提供了一种完全做到这一点的方法：它称为“快捷方式”(在Mac上也称为“别名”，在UNIX系统上也称为“符号链接”)。快捷方式允许一个文件存在一个位置，并且一个代表该文件的图标可以创建并放置在您喜欢的其他位置。实际上，您可以创建十几个这样的图标并将它们分散在硬盘上。双击这些图标/快捷方式之一将打开原始文件，就像您双击原始文件本身一样。

Consider the following two icons:

考虑以下两个图标：

The one on the left is the actual Word document, while the one on the right is a shortcut that represents the Word document. Double-clicking on either icon will open the same file. There are two main visual differences between the icons:

左边的一个是实际的Word文档，而右边的一个是代表 Word文档的快捷方式。双击任一图标将打开相同的文件。图标之间在视觉上有两个主要区别：

The shortcut will have a small arrow in the lower-left-hand corner (on Windows, anyway)
快捷方式的左下角将有一个小箭头(无论如何，在Windows上)
The shortcut is allowed to have a name that does not include the file extension (the “.docx” part, in this case)
快捷方式允许使用不包含文件扩展名的名称(在本例中为“ .docx”部分)

You can delete the shortcut at any time without losing any actual data. The original is still intact. All you lose is the ability to get to that data from wherever the shortcut was.

您可以随时删除快捷方式，而不会丢失任何实际数据。原件仍然完好无损。您失去的就是从快捷方式所在的位置获取数据的能力。

So why are shortcuts so great? Because they allow us to easily overcome the main limitation of hierarchical file systems, and put a file in two (or more) places at the same time. You will always have files that don’t play nice with your organizational rationale, and can’t be filed in only one place. They demand to exist in two places. Shortcuts allow this! Furthermore, they allow you to collect your most often-opened files and folders together in one spot for convenient access. The cool part is that the original files stay where they are, safe forever in their perfectly organized location.

那么为什么快捷键这么好？因为它们使我们能够轻松克服分层文件系统的主要限制，并将文件同时放在两个(或多个)位置。您将始终拥有与您的组织理论相矛盾的文件，并且不能仅在一个地方进行归档。他们要求在两个地方存在。快捷方式可以做到这一点！此外，它们使您可以将最常打开的文件和文件夹集中在一起，以方便访问。最酷的部分是原始文件会保留在原处，并始终安全地存放在它们井井有条的位置。

So your collection of most often-opened files can – and should – become a collection of shortcuts!

因此，您最常打开的文件的集合可以而且应该成为快捷方式的集合！

If you’re still not convinced of the utility of shortcuts, consider the following well-known areas of a typical Windows computer:

如果您仍然不相信快捷方式的实用程序，请考虑典型Windows计算机的以下众所周知的区域：

The Start Menu (and all the programs that live within it)
开始菜单(及其中包含的所有程序)
The Quick Launch bar (or the Superbar in Windows 7)
快速启动栏(或Windows 7中的超级栏)
The “Favorite folders” area in the top-left corner of the Windows Explorer window (in Windows Vista or Windows 7)
Windows资源管理器窗口(在Windows Vista或Windows 7中)左上角的“收藏夹”区域
Your Internet Explorer Favorites or Firefox Bookmarks
您的Internet Explorer收藏夹或Firefox书签

Each item in each of these areas is a shortcut! Each of those areas exist for one purpose only: For convenience – to provide you with a collection of the files and folders you access most often.

这些领域中的每一项都是捷径！这些区域中的每个区域仅出于一个目的而存在：为了方便起见-为您提供最常访问的文件和文件夹的集合。

It should be easy to see by now that shortcuts are designed for one single purpose: To make accessing your files more convenient. Each time you double-click on a shortcut, you are saved the hassle of locating the file (or folder, or program, or drive, or control panel icon) that it represents.

到现在为止，应该容易看出快捷方式是为一种目的而设计的： 为了使访问文件更加方便 。每次双击快捷方式，都会省去查找它所代表的文件(或文件夹，程序，驱动器或控制面板图标)的麻烦。

Shortcuts allow us to invent a golden rule of file and folder organization:

快捷方式使我们发明了文件和文件夹组织的黄金法则：

“Only ever have one copy of a file – never have two copies of the same file. Use a shortcut instead”

“只有一个文件的副本–从来没有同一文件的两个副本。请改用快捷方式”

(this rule doesn’t apply to copies created for backup purposes, of course!)

(当然，此规则不适用于为备份目的而创建的副本！)

There are also lesser rules, like “don’t move a file into your work area – create a shortcut there instead”, and “any time you find yourself frustrated with how long it takes to locate a file, create a shortcut to it and place that shortcut in a convenient location.”

还有一些较小的规则，例如“不要将文件移到工作区中，而是在其中创建快捷方式”，以及“每当发现文件定位需要多长时间而感到沮丧时，创建该文件的快捷方式，然后将该快捷方式放在方便的位置。”

So how to we create these massively useful shortcuts? There are two main ways:

那么，如何创建这些非常有用的快捷方式呢？主要有两种方法：

“Copy” the original file or folder (click on it and type Ctrl-C, or right-click on it and select Copy):

“复制”原始文件或文件夹(单击它并键入Ctrl-C ，或右键单击它并选择复制 )：

Then right-click in an empty area of the destination folder (the place where you want the shortcut to go) and select

然后右键单击目标文件夹的空白区域(要使用快捷方式的位置)，然后选择

Paste shortcut:

粘贴快捷方式 ：
Right-drag (drag with the right mouse button) the file from the source folder to the destination folder. When you let go of the mouse button at the destination folder, a menu pops up:

用鼠标右键将文件从源文件夹拖到目标文件夹中(用鼠标右键拖动)。放开目标文件夹的鼠标按钮时，将弹出一个菜单：

Select

选择

Create shortcuts here.

在此处创建快捷方式 。

Note that when shortcuts are created, they are often named something like Shortcut to Budget Detail.doc (windows XP) or Budget Detail – Shortcut.doc (Windows 7). If you don’t like those extra words, you can easily rename the shortcuts after they’re created, or you can configure Windows to never insert the extra words in the first place (see our article on how to do this).

请注意，创建快捷方式后，它们通常被命名为“ Budget Detail.doc的快捷方式” (Windows XP)或“ Budget Detail – Shortcut.doc” (Windows 7)。如果您不喜欢这些多余的单词，则可以在创建快捷方式后轻松对其进行重命名，或者可以将Windows配置为从不首先插入多余的单词(请参阅有关如何执行此操作的文章 )。

And of course, you can create shortcuts to folders too, not just to files!

当然，您也可以创建文件夹的快捷方式，而不仅仅是文件！

Bottom line:

底线：

Whenever you have a file that you’d like to access from somewhere else (whether it’s convenience you’re after, or because the file simply belongs in two places), create a shortcut to the original file in the new location.

每当您有想要从其他地方访问的文件时(无论是为了方便起见，还是因为该文件仅属于两个地方)，请在新位置创建指向原始文件的快捷方式。

Tip #10. Separate Application Files from Data Files

提示10 。 将应用程序文件与数据文件分开

Any digital organization guru will drum this rule into you. Application files are the components of the software you’ve installed (e.g. Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop or Internet Explorer). Data files are the files that you’ve created for yourself using that software (e.g. Word Documents, digital photos, emails or playlists).

任何数字组织专家都将把这个规则传达给您。应用程序文件是您已安装的软件(例如Microsoft Word，Adobe Photoshop或Internet Explorer)的组件。数据文件是您使用该软件为自己创建的文件(例如，Word文档，数码照片，电子邮件或播放列表)。

Software gets installed, uninstalled and upgraded all the time. Hopefully you always have the original installation media (or downloaded set-up file) kept somewhere safe, and can thus reinstall your software at any time. This means that the software component files are of little importance. Whereas the files you have created with that software is, by definition, important. It’s a good rule to always separate unimportant files from important files.

始终可以安装，卸载和升级软件。希望您始终将原始安装媒体(或下载的设置文件)保存在安全的地方，从而可以随时重新安装软件。这意味着软件组件文件并不重要。根据定义，您使用该软件创建的文件很重要。始终将重要文件与重要文件分开是一个好规则。

So when your software prompts you to save a file you’ve just created, take a moment and check out where it’s suggesting that you save the file. If it’s suggesting that you save the file into the same folder as the software itself, then definitely don’t follow that suggestion. File it in your own folder! In fact, see if you can find the program’s configuration option that determines where files are saved by default (if it has one), and change it.

因此，当您的软件提示您保存刚刚创建的文件时，请花点时间检查一下建议您保存该文件的位置。如果建议您将文件与软件本身保存在同一文件夹中，那么绝对不要遵循该建议。将其归档在您自己的文件夹中！实际上，请查看是否可以找到该程序的配置选项，该选项确定默认情况下文件的保存位置(如果有)，然后进行更改。

Tip #11. Organize Files Based on Purpose, Not on File Type

提示＃1 1.组织基于文件的目的，而不是在文件类型

If you have, for example a folder called Work\Clients\Johnson, and within that folder you have two sub-folders, Word Documents and Spreadsheets (in other words, you’re separating “.doc” files from “.xls” files), then chances are that you’re not optimally organized. It makes little sense to organize your files based on the program that created them. Instead, create your sub-folders based on the purpose of the file. For example, it would make more sense to create sub-folders called Correspondence and Financials. It may well be that all the files in a given sub-folder are of the same file-type, but this should be more of a coincidence and less of a design feature of your organization system.

例如，如果您有一个名为Work \ Clients \ Johnson的文件夹，并且在该文件夹中有两个子文件夹，即Word Documents和Spreadsheets (换句话说，就是将“ .doc”文件与“ .xls”文件分开) )，那么您可能没有得到最佳组织。根据创建文件的程序来组织文件几乎没有意义。而是根据文件的用途创建子文件夹。例如，创建名为Correspondence and Financials的子文件夹将更有意义。给定子文件夹中的所有文件很可能是相同的文件类型，但这应该更多的是巧合，而更少的是组织系统的设计功能。

Tip #12. Maintain the Same Folder Structure on All Your Computers

提示＃ 12.在所有计算机上保持相同的文件夹结构

In other words, whatever organizational system you create, apply it to every computer that you can. There are several benefits to this:

换句话说，无论您创建什么组织系统，都将其应用到您可以使用的每台计算机上。这有几个好处：

There’s less to remember. No matter where you are, you always know where to look for your files
无需记住。无论您身在何处，都始终知道在哪里查找文件
If you copy or synchronize files from one computer to another, then setting up the synchronization job becomes very simple
如果将文件从一台计算机复制或同步到另一台计算机，则设置同步作业将变得非常简单
Shortcuts can be copied or moved from one computer to another with ease (assuming the original files are also copied/moved). There’s no need to find the target of the shortcut all over again on the second computer
快捷方式可以轻松地从一台计算机复制或移动到另一台计算机(假设原始文件也已复制/移动)。无需在第二台计算机上再次找到快捷方式的目标
Ditto for linked files (e.g Word documents that link to data in a separate Excel file), playlists, and any files that reference the exact file locations of other files.

链接文件(例如，链接到单独的Excel文件中的数据的Word文档)，播放列表以及引用其他文件的确切文件位置的任何文件也是如此。

This applies even to the drive that your files are stored on. If your files are stored on C: on one computer, make sure they’re stored on C: on all your computers. Otherwise all your shortcuts, playlists and linked files will stop working!

这甚至适用于存储文件的驱动器。如果文件存储在一台计算机上的C：上，请确保文件存储在所有计算机上的C：上。否则，您的所有快捷方式，播放列表和链接的文件将停止工作！

Tip #13. Create an “Inbox” Folder

提示＃ 13.创建一个“收件箱”文件夹

Create yourself a folder where you store all files that you’re currently working on, or that you haven’t gotten around to filing yet. You can think of this folder as your “to-do” list. You can call it “Inbox” (making it the same metaphor as your email system), or “Work”, or “To-Do”, or “Scratch”, or whatever name makes sense to you. It doesn’t matter what you call it – just make sure you have one!

创建一个自己的文件夹，在其中存储您当前正在处理的所有文件或尚未提交的所有文件。您可以将此文件夹视为您的“待办事项”列表。您可以将其称为“收件箱”(使其与电子邮件系统具有相同的隐喻)，“工作”，“待办事项”或“从头开始”，或任何您认为有意义的名称。叫什么都无所谓–只要确定有一个！

Once you have finished working on a file, you then move it from the “Inbox” to its correct location within your organizational structure.

一旦完成了文件的处理，就可以将其从“收件箱”移动到组织结构中的正确位置。

You may want to use your Desktop as this “Inbox” folder. Rightly or wrongly, most people do. It’s not a bad place to put such files, but be careful: If you do decide that your Desktop represents your “to-do” list, then make sure that no other files find their way there. In other words, make sure that your “Inbox”, wherever it is, Desktop or otherwise, is kept free of junk – stray files that don’t belong there.

您可能希望将桌面用作此“收件箱”文件夹。对或错，大多数人都会这么做。这不是一个坏的地方放这样的文件，但要注意：如果你决定，你的桌面代表你的“待办事项”列表，然后确保没有其他文件，找到自己的方式存在。换句话说，请确保您的“收件箱”(无论位于桌面还是其他位置)都没有垃圾-不属于其中的杂散文件。

So where should you put this folder, which, almost by definition, lives outside the structure of the rest of your filing system? Well, first and foremost, it has to be somewhere handy. This will be one of your most-visited folders, so convenience is key. Putting it on the Desktop is a great option – especially if you don’t have any other folders on your Desktop: the folder then becomes supremely easy to find in Windows Explorer:

那么，应该将这个文件夹放置在哪里，该文件夹几乎按照定义位于其他文件系统的结构之外？好吧，首先，它必须在方便的地方。这将是您访问量最大的文件夹之一，因此便利是关键。将其放在桌面上是一个不错的选择–尤其是在桌面上没有其他文件夹的情况下：在Windows资源管理器中可以非常轻松地找到该文件夹：

You would then create shortcuts to this folder in convenient spots all over your computer (“Favorite Links”, “Quick Launch”, etc).

然后，您将在整个计算机上的方便位置创建此文件夹的快捷方式(“收藏夹链接”，“快速启动”等)。

Tip #14. Ensure You have Only One “Inbox” Folder

提示＃ 14.确保只有一个“收件箱”文件夹

Once you’ve created your “Inbox” folder, don’t use any other folder location as your “to-do list”. Throw every incoming or created file into the Inbox folder as you create/receive it. This keeps the rest of your computer pristine and free of randomly created or downloaded junk. The last thing you want to be doing is checking multiple folders to see all your current tasks and projects. Gather them all together into one folder.

创建“收件箱”文件夹后，请勿将任何其他文件夹位置用作“待办事项列表”。在创建/接收文件时，将每个传入或创建的文件都放入“收件箱”文件夹中。这样可以使计算机的其余部分保持原始状态，并且不会出现随机创建或下载的垃圾邮件。您要做的最后一件事是检查多个文件夹以查看当前的所有任务和项目。将它们全部聚集到一个文件夹中。

Here are some tips to help ensure you only have one Inbox:

以下提示可帮助确保您只有一个收件箱：

Set the default “save” location of all your programs to this folder.
将所有程序的默认“保存”位置设置到此文件夹。
Set the default “download” location for your browser to this folder.
将浏览器的默认“下载”位置设置为此文件夹。
If this folder is not your desktop (recommended) then also see if you can make a point of not putting “to-do” files on your desktop. This keeps your desktop uncluttered and Zen-like:

如果此文件夹不是您的桌面(推荐)，则还可以查看是否可以不在桌面上放置“待办事项”文件。这可以使您的桌面整洁而又像Zen：

(the Inbox folder is in the bottom-right corner)

( 收件箱文件夹位于右下角)

Tip #15. Be Vigilant about Clearing Your “Inbox” Folder

提示＃ 15.警惕清除“收件箱”文件夹

This is one of the keys to staying organized. If you let your “Inbox” overflow (i.e. allow there to be more than, say, 30 files or folders in there), then you’re probably going to start feeling like you’re overwhelmed: You’re not keeping up with your to-do list. Once your Inbox gets beyond a certain point (around 30 files, studies have shown), then you’ll simply start to avoid it. You may continue to put files in there, but you’ll be scared to look at it, fearing the “out of control” feeling that all overworked, chaotic or just plain disorganized people regularly feel.

这是保持井井有条的关键之一。如果您让“收件箱”溢出(例如，其中可以容纳30个以上的文件或文件夹)，那么您可能会开始觉得自己不知所措：您跟不上待办事项清单。一旦收件箱超出某个点(研究显示，大约有30个文件)，您就可以开始避免它。您可能会继续将文件放在其中，但由于害怕所有工作过度，混乱甚至只是杂乱无章的人经常感到的“失控”感觉，因此害怕查看它。

So, here’s what you can do:

因此，您可以执行以下操作：

Visit your Inbox/to-do folder regularly (at least five times per day).

定期访问您的收件箱/待办事项文件夹(每天至少五次)。
Scan the folder regularly for files that you have completed working on and are ready for filing. File them immediately.
定期扫描文件夹以查找您已完成处理并准备归档的文件。立即归档。
Make it a source of pride to keep the number of files in this folder as small as possible. If you value peace of mind, then make the emptiness of this folder one of your highest (computer) priorities
使此文件夹中的文件数尽可能少成为自豪感。如果您高枕无忧，则将此文件夹的空置设置为最高优先级(计算机)之一
If you know that a particular file has been in the folder for more than, say, six weeks, then admit that you’re not actually going to get around to processing it, and move it to its final resting place.
如果您知道某个特定文件在文件夹中的存放时间已超过六个星期，那么请承认您实际上并没有打算处理该文件并将其移至最终的存放位置。

Tip #16. File Everything Immediately, and Use Shortcuts for Your Active Projects

Tip # 16. File Everything Immediately, and Use Shortcuts for Your Active Projects

As soon as you create, receive or download a new file, store it away in its “correct” folder immediately. Then, whenever you need to work on it (possibly straight away), create a shortcut to it in your “Inbox” (“to-do”) folder or your desktop. That way, all your files are always in their “correct” locations, yet you still have immediate, convenient access to your current, active files. When you finish working on a file, simply delete the shortcut.

As soon as you create, receive or download a new file, store it away in its “correct” folder immediately . Then, whenever you need to work on it (possibly straight away), create a shortcut to it in your “Inbox” (“to-do”) folder or your desktop. That way, all your files are always in their “correct” locations, yet you still have immediate, convenient access to your current, active files. When you finish working on a file, simply delete the shortcut.

Ideally, your “Inbox” folder – and your Desktop – should contain no actual files or folders. They should simply contain shortcuts.

Ideally, your “Inbox” folder – and your Desktop – should contain no actual files or folders. They should simply contain shortcuts .

Tip #17. Use Directory Symbolic Links (or Junctions) to Maintain One Unified Folder Structure

Tip # 17. Use Directory Symbolic Links (or Junctions) to Maintain One Unified Folder Structure

Using this tip, we can get around a potential hiccup that we can run into when creating our organizational structure – the issue of having more than one drive on our computer (C:, D:, etc). We might have files we need to store on the D: drive for space reasons, and yet want to base our organized folder structure on the C: drive (or vice-versa).

Your chosen organizational structure may dictate that all your files must be accessed from the C: drive (for example, the root folder of all your files may be something like C:\Files). And yet you may still have a D: drive and wish to take advantage of the hundreds of spare Gigabytes that it offers. Did you know that it’s actually possible to store your files on the D: drive and yet access them as if they were on the C: drive? And no, we’re not talking about shortcuts here (although the concept is very similar).

Your chosen organizational structure may dictate that all your files must be accessed from the C: drive (for example, the root folder of all your files may be something like C:\Files ). And yet you may still have a D: drive and wish to take advantage of the hundreds of spare Gigabytes that it offers. Did you know that it's actually possible to store your files on the D: drive and yet access them as if they were on the C: drive? And no, we're not talking about shortcuts here (although the concept is very similar).

By using the shell command mklink, you can essentially take a folder that lives on one drive and create an alias for it on a different drive (you can do lots more than that with mklink – for a full rundown on this programs capabilities, see our dedicated article). These aliases are called directory symbolic links (and used to be known as junctions). You can think of them as “virtual” folders. They function exactly like regular folders, except they’re physically located somewhere else.

By using the shell command mklink , you can essentially take a folder that lives on one drive and create an alias for it on a different drive (you can do lots more than that with mklink – for a full rundown on this programs capabilities, see our dedicated article ). These aliases are called directory symbolic links (and used to be known as junctions ). You can think of them as “virtual” folders. They function exactly like regular folders, except they're physically located somewhere else.

For example, you may decide that your entire D: drive contains your complete organizational file structure, but that you need to reference all those files as if they were on the C: drive, under C:\Files. If that was the case you could create C:\Files as a directory symbolic link – a link to D:, as follows:

For example, you may decide that your entire D: drive contains your complete organizational file structure, but that you need to reference all those files as if they were on the C: drive, under C:\Files . If that was the case you could create C:\Files as a directory symbolic link – a link to D: , as follows:

mklink /d c:\files d:\

mklink /dc:\files d:\

Or it may be that the only files you wish to store on the D: drive are your movie collection. You could locate all your movie files in the root of your D: drive, and then link it to C:\Files\Media\Movies, as follows:

mklink /d c:\files\media\movies d:\

mklink /dc:\files\media\movies d:\

(Needless to say, you must run these commands from a command prompt – click the Start button, type cmd and press Enter)

(Needless to say, you must run these commands from a command prompt – click the Start button, type cmd and press Enter )

Tip #18. Customize Your Folder Icons

Tip # 18. Customize Your Folder Icons

This is not strictly speaking an organizational tip, but having unique icons for each folder does allow you to more quickly visually identify which folder is which, and thus saves you time when you’re finding files. An example is below (from my folder that contains all files downloaded from the Internet):

This is not strictly speaking an organizational tip, but having unique icons for each folder does allow you to more quickly visually identify which folder is which, and thus saves you time when you're finding files. An example is below (from my folder that contains all files downloaded from the Internet):

To learn how to change your folder icons, please refer to our dedicated article on the subject.

To learn how to change your folder icons, please refer to our dedicated article on the subject .

Tip #19. Tidy Your Start Menu

Tip # 19. Tidy Your Start Menu

The Windows Start Menu is usually one of the messiest parts of any Windows computer. Every program you install seems to adopt a completely different approach to placing icons in this menu. Some simply put a single program icon. Others create a folder based on the name of the software. And others create a folder based on the name of the software manufacturer. It’s chaos, and can make it hard to find the software you want to run.

The Windows Start Menu is usually one of the messiest parts of any Windows computer. Every program you install seems to adopt a completely different approach to placing icons in this menu. Some simply put a single program icon. Others create a folder based on the name of the software. And others create a folder based on the name of the software manufacturer. It's chaos, and can make it hard to find the software you want to run.

Thankfully we can avoid this chaos with useful operating system features like Quick Launch, the Superbar or pinned start menu items.

Even so, it would make a lot of sense to get into the guts of the Start Menu itself and give it a good once-over. All you really need to decide is how you’re going to organize your applications. A structure based on the purpose of the application is an obvious candidate. Below is an example of one such structure:

Even so, it would make a lot of sense to get into the guts of the Start Menu itself and give it a good once-over. All you really need to decide is how you're going to organize your applications. A structure based on the purpose of the application is an obvious candidate. Below is an example of one such structure:

In this structure, Utilities means software whose job it is to keep the computer itself running smoothly (configuration tools, backup software, Zip programs, etc). Applications refers to any productivity software that doesn’t fit under the headings Multimedia, Graphics, Internet, etc.

In this structure, Utilities means software whose job it is to keep the computer itself running smoothly (configuration tools, backup software, Zip programs, etc). Applications refers to any productivity software that doesn't fit under the headings Multimedia , Graphics , Internet , etc.

In case you’re not aware, every icon in your Start Menu is a shortcut and can be manipulated like any other shortcut (copied, moved, deleted, etc).

In case you're not aware, every icon in your Start Menu is a shortcut and can be manipulated like any other shortcut (copied, moved, deleted, etc).

With the Windows Start Menu (all version of Windows), Microsoft has decided that there be two parallel folder structures to store your Start Menu shortcuts. One for you (the logged-in user of the computer) and one for all users of the computer. Having two parallel structures can often be redundant: If you are the only user of the computer, then having two parallel structures is totally redundant. Even if you have several users that regularly log into the computer, most of your installed software will need to be made available to all users, and should thus be moved out of the “just you” version of the Start Menu and into the “all users” area.

To take control of your Start Menu, so you can start organizing it, you’ll need to know how to access the actual folders and shortcut files that make up the Start Menu (both versions of it). To find these folders and files, click the Start button and then right-click on the All Programs text (Windows XP users should right-click on the Start button itself):

To take control of your Start Menu, so you can start organizing it, you'll need to know how to access the actual folders and shortcut files that make up the Start Menu (both versions of it). To find these folders and files, click the Start button and then right-click on the All Programs text (Windows XP users should right-click on the Start button itself):

The Open option refers to the “just you” version of the Start Menu, while the Open All Users option refers to the “all users” version. Click on the one you want to organize.

A Windows Explorer window then opens with your chosen version of the Start Menu selected. From there it’s easy. Double-click on the Programs folder and you’ll see all your folders and shortcuts. Now you can delete/rename/move until it’s just the way you want it.

A Windows Explorer window then opens with your chosen version of the Start Menu selected. From there it's easy. Double-click on the Programs folder and you'll see all your folders and shortcuts. Now you can delete/rename/move until it's just the way you want it.

Note: When you’re reorganizing your Start Menu, you may want to have two Explorer windows open at the same time – one showing the “just you” version and one showing the “all users” version. You can drag-and-drop between the windows.

Note: When you're reorganizing your Start Menu, you may want to have two Explorer windows open at the same time – one showing the “just you” version and one showing the “all users” version. You can drag-and-drop between the windows.

Tip #20. Keep Your Start Menu Tidy

Tip #20 . Keep Your Start Menu Tidy

Once you have a perfectly organized Start Menu, try to be a little vigilant about keeping it that way. Every time you install a new piece of software, the icons that get created will almost certainly violate your organizational structure.

So to keep your Start Menu pristine and organized, make sure you do the following whenever you install a new piece of software:

Check whether the software was installed into the “just you” area of the Start Menu, or the “all users” area, and then move it to the correct area.
Check whether the software was installed into the “just you” area of the Start Menu, or the “all users” area, and then move it to the correct area.
Remove all the unnecessary icons (like the “Read me” icon, the “Help” icon (you can always open the help from within the software itself when it’s running), the “Uninstall” icon, the link(s)to the manufacturer’s website, etc)
Remove all the unnecessary icons (like the “Read me” icon, the “Help” icon (you can always open the help from within the software itself when it's running), the “Uninstall” icon, the link(s)to the manufacturer's website, etc)
Rename the main icon(s) of the software to something brief that makes sense to you. For example, you might like to rename Microsoft Office Word 2010 to simply Word

Rename the main icon(s) of the software to something brief that makes sense to you. For example, you might like to rename Microsoft Office Word 2010 to simply Word
Move the icon(s) into the correct folder based on your Start Menu organizational structure
Move the icon(s) into the correct folder based on your Start Menu organizational structure

And don’t forget: when you uninstall a piece of software, the software’s uninstall routine is no longer going to be able to remove the software’s icon from the Start Menu (because you moved and/or renamed it), so you’ll need to remove that icon manually.

And don't forget: when you uninstall a piece of software, the software's uninstall routine is no longer going to be able to remove the software's icon from the Start Menu (because you moved and/or renamed it), so you'll need to remove that icon manually.

Tip #21. Tidy C:\

Tip # 21. Tidy C:\

The root of your C: drive (C:\) is a common dumping ground for files and folders – both by the users of your computer and by the software that you install on your computer. It can become a mess.

The root of your C: drive ( C:\ ) is a common dumping ground for files and folders – both by the users of your computer and by the software that you install on your computer. It can become a mess.

There’s almost no software these days that requires itself to be installed in C:\. 99% of the time it can and should be installed into C:\Program Files. And as for your own files, well, it’s clear that they can (and almost always should) be stored somewhere else.

There's almost no software these days that requires itself to be installed in C:\ . 99% of the time it can and should be installed into C:\Program Files . And as for your own files, well, it's clear that they can (and almost always should) be stored somewhere else.

In an ideal world, your C:\ folder should look like this (on Windows 7):

Note that there are some system files and folders in C:\ that are usually and deliberately “hidden” (such as the Windows virtual memory file pagefile.sys, the boot loader file bootmgr, and the System Volume Information folder). Hiding these files and folders is a good idea, as they need to stay where they are and are almost never needed to be opened or even seen by you, the user. Hiding them prevents you from accidentally messing with them, and enhances your sense of order and well-being when you look at your C: drive folder.

Note that there are some system files and folders in C:\ that are usually and deliberately “hidden” (such as the Windows virtual memory file pagefile.sys , the boot loader file bootmgr , and the System Volume Information folder). Hiding these files and folders is a good idea, as they need to stay where they are and are almost never needed to be opened or even seen by you, the user. Hiding them prevents you from accidentally messing with them, and enhances your sense of order and well-being when you look at your C: drive folder.

Tip #22. Tidy Your Desktop

Tip # 22. Tidy Your Desktop

The Desktop is probably the most abused part of a Windows computer (from an organization point of view). It usually serves as a dumping ground for all incoming files, as well as holding icons to oft-used applications, plus some regularly opened files and folders. It often ends up becoming an uncontrolled mess. See if you can avoid this. Here’s why…

Application icons (Word, Internet Explorer, etc) are often found on the Desktop, but it’s unlikely that this is the optimum place for them. The “Quick Launch” bar (or the Superbar in Windows 7) is always visible and so represents a perfect location to put your icons. You’ll only be able to see the icons on your Desktop when all your programs are minimized. It might be time to get your application icons off your desktop…
Application icons (Word, Internet Explorer, etc) are often found on the Desktop, but it's unlikely that this is the optimum place for them. The “Quick Launch” bar (or the Superbar in Windows 7) is always visible and so represents a perfect location to put your icons. You'll only be able to see the icons on your Desktop when all your programs are minimized. It might be time to get your application icons off your desktop…
You may have decided that the Inbox/To-do folder on your computer (see tip #13, above) should be your Desktop. If so, then enough said. Simply be vigilant about clearing it and preventing it from being polluted by junk files (see tip #15, above). On the other hand, if your Desktop is not acting as your “Inbox” folder, then there’s no reason for it to have any data files or folders on it at all, except perhaps a couple of shortcuts to often-opened files and folders (either ongoing or current projects). Everything else should be moved to your “Inbox” folder.

You may have decided that the Inbox/To-do folder on your computer (see tip #13, above) should be your Desktop. If so, then enough said. Simply be vigilant about clearing it and preventing it from being polluted by junk files (see tip #15, above). On the other hand, if your Desktop is not acting as your “Inbox” folder, then there's no reason for it to have any data files or folders on it at all, except perhaps a couple of shortcuts to often-opened files and folders (either ongoing or current projects). Everything else should be moved to your “Inbox” folder.

In an ideal world, it might look like this:

Tip #23. Move Permanent Items on Your Desktop Away from the Top-Left Corner

Tip # 23. Move Permanent Items on Your Desktop Away from the Top-Left Corner

When files/folders are dragged onto your desktop in a Windows Explorer window, or when shortcuts are created on your Desktop from Internet Explorer, those icons are always placed in the top-left corner – or as close as they can get. If you have other files, folders or shortcuts that you keep on the Desktop permanently, then it’s a good idea to separate these permanent icons from the transient ones, so that you can quickly identify which ones the transients are. An easy way to do this is to move all your permanent icons to the right-hand side of your Desktop. That should keep them separated from incoming items.

When files/folders are dragged onto your desktop in a Windows Explorer window, or when shortcuts are created on your Desktop from Internet Explorer, those icons are always placed in the top-left corner – or as close as they can get. If you have other files, folders or shortcuts that you keep on the Desktop permanently , then it's a good idea to separate these permanent icons from the transient ones, so that you can quickly identify which ones the transients are. An easy way to do this is to move all your permanent icons to the right-hand side of your Desktop. That should keep them separated from incoming items.

Tip #24. Synchronize

Tip #24 . Synchronize

If you have more than one computer, you’ll almost certainly want to share files between them. If the computers are permanently attached to the same local network, then there’s no need to store multiple copies of any one file or folder – shortcuts will suffice. However, if the computers are not always on the same network, then you will at some point need to copy files between them. For files that need to permanently live on both computers, the ideal way to do this is to synchronize the files, as opposed to simply copying them.

If you have more than one computer, you'll almost certainly want to share files between them. If the computers are permanently attached to the same local network, then there's no need to store multiple copies of any one file or folder – shortcuts will suffice. However, if the computers are not always on the same network, then you will at some point need to copy files between them. For files that need to permanently live on both computers, the ideal way to do this is to synchronize the files, as opposed to simply copying them.

We only have room here to write a brief summary of synchronization, not a full article. In short, there are several different types of synchronization:

Where the contents of one folder are accessible anywhere, such as with Dropbox

Where the contents of one folder are accessible anywhere, such as with Dropbox
Where the contents of any number of folders are accessible anywhere, such as with Windows Live Mesh

Where the contents of any number of folders are accessible anywhere, such as with Windows Live Mesh
Where any files or folders from anywhere on your computer are synchronized with exactly one other computer, such as with the Windows “Briefcase”, Microsoft SyncToy, or (much more powerful, yet still free) SyncBack from 2BrightSparks. This only works when both computers are on the same local network, at least temporarily.

Where any files or folders from anywhere on your computer are synchronized with exactly one other computer, such as with the Windows “Briefcase”, Microsoft SyncToy , or (much more powerful, yet still free) SyncBack from 2BrightSparks. This only works when both computers are on the same local network, at least temporarily.

A great advantage of synchronization solutions is that once you’ve got it configured the way you want it, then the sync process happens automatically, every time. Click a button (or schedule it to happen automatically) and all your files are automagically put where they’re supposed to be.

A great advantage of synchronization solutions is that once you've got it configured the way you want it, then the sync process happens automatically, every time. Click a button (or schedule it to happen automatically) and all your files are automagically put where they're supposed to be.

If you maintain the same file and folder structure on both computers, then you can also sync files depend upon the correct location of other files, like shortcuts, playlists and office documents that link to other office documents, and the synchronized files still work on the other computer!

Tip #25. Hide Files You Never Need to See

Tip #25 . Hide Files You Never Need to See

If you have your files well organized, you will often be able to tell if a file is out of place just by glancing at the contents of a folder (for example, it should be pretty obvious if you look in a folder that contains all the MP3s from one music CD and see a Word document in there). This is a good thing – it allows you to determine if there are files out of place with a quick glance. Yet sometimes there are files in a folder that seem out of place but actually need to be there, such as the “folder art” JPEGs in music folders, and various files in the root of the C: drive. If such files never need to be opened by you, then a good idea is to simply hide them. Then, the next time you glance at the folder, you won’t have to remember whether that file was supposed to be there or not, because you won’t see it at all!

If you have your files well organized, you will often be able to tell if a file is out of place just by glancing at the contents of a folder (for example, it should be pretty obvious if you look in a folder that contains all the MP3s from one music CD and see a Word document in there). This is a good thing – it allows you to determine if there are files out of place with a quick glance. Yet sometimes there are files in a folder that seem out of place but actually need to be there, such as the “folder art” JPEGs in music folders, and various files in the root of the C: drive. If such files never need to be opened by you, then a good idea is to simply hide them. Then, the next time you glance at the folder, you won't have to remember whether that file was supposed to be there or not, because you won't see it at all!

To hide a file, simply right-click on it and choose Properties:

To hide a file, simply right-click on it and choose Properties :

Then simply tick the Hidden tick-box:

Tip #26. Keep Every Setup File

Tip # 26. Keep Every Setup File

These days most software is downloaded from the Internet. Whenever you download a piece of software, keep it. You’ll never know when you need to reinstall the software.

These days most software is downloaded from the Internet. Whenever you download a piece of software, keep it . You'll never know when you need to reinstall the software.

Further, keep with it an Internet shortcut that links back to the website where you originally downloaded it, in case you ever need to check for updates.

See tip #33 below for a full description of the excellence of organizing your setup files.

Tip #27. Try to Minimize the Number of Folders that Contain Both Files and Sub-folders

Tip #27 . Try to Minimize the Number of Folders that Contain Both Files and Sub-folders

Some of the folders in your organizational structure will contain only files. Others will contain only sub-folders. And you will also have some folders that contain both files and sub-folders. You will notice slight improvements in how long it takes you to locate a file if you try to avoid this third type of folder. It’s not always possible, of course – you’ll always have some of these folders, but see if you can avoid it.

Some of the folders in your organizational structure will contain only files. Others will contain only sub-folders. And you will also have some folders that contain both files and sub-folders. You will notice slight improvements in how long it takes you to locate a file if you try to avoid this third type of folder. It's not always possible, of course – you'll always have some of these folders, but see if you can avoid it.

One way of doing this is to take all the leftover files that didn’t end up getting stored in a sub-folder and create a special “Miscellaneous” or “Other” folder for them.

One way of doing this is to take all the leftover files that didn't end up getting stored in a sub-folder and create a special “Miscellaneous” or “Other” folder for them.

Tip #28. Starting a Filename with an Underscore Brings it to the Top of a List

Tip # 28. Starting a Filename with an Underscore Brings it to the Top of a List

Further to the previous tip, if you name that “Miscellaneous” or “Other” folder in such a way that its name begins with an underscore “_”, then it will appear at the top of the list of files/folders.

The screenshot below is an example of this. Each folder in the list contains a set of digital photos. The folder at the top of the list, _Misc, contains random photos that didn’t deserve their own dedicated folder:

The screenshot below is an example of this. Each folder in the list contains a set of digital photos. The folder at the top of the list, _Misc , contains random photos that didn't deserve their own dedicated folder:

Tip #29. Clean Up those CD-ROMs and (shudder!) Floppy Disks

Tip # 29. Clean Up those CD-ROMs and (shudder!) Floppy Disks

Have you got a pile of CD-ROMs stacked on a shelf of your office? Old photos, or files you archived off onto CD-ROM (or even worse, floppy disks!) because you didn’t have enough disk space at the time? In the meantime have you upgraded your computer and now have 500 Gigabytes of space you don’t know what to do with? If so, isn’t it time you tidied up that stack of disks and filed them into your gorgeous new folder structure?

Have you got a pile of CD-ROMs stacked on a shelf of your office? Old photos, or files you archived off onto CD-ROM (or even worse, floppy disks!) because you didn't have enough disk space at the time? In the meantime have you upgraded your computer and now have 500 Gigabytes of space you don't know what to do with? If so, isn't it time you tidied up that stack of disks and filed them into your gorgeous new folder structure?

So what are you waiting for? Bite the bullet, copy them all back onto your computer, file them in their appropriate folders, and then back the whole lot up onto a shiny new 1000Gig external hard drive!

那你还在等什么？ Bite the bullet, copy them all back onto your computer, file them in their appropriate folders, and then back the whole lot up onto a shiny new 1000Gig external hard drive!

Useful Folders to Create (Useful Folders to Create)

This next section suggests some useful folders that you might want to create within your folder structure. I’ve personally found them to be indispensable.

This next section suggests some useful folders that you might want to create within your folder structure. I've personally found them to be indispensable.

The first three are all about convenience – handy folders to create and then put somewhere that you can always access instantly. For each one, it’s not so important where the actual folder is located, but it’s very important where you put the shortcut(s) to the folder. You might want to locate the shortcuts:

The first three are all about convenience – handy folders to create and then put somewhere that you can always access instantly. For each one, it's not so important where the actual folder is located, but it's very important where you put the shortcut(s) to the folder. You might want to locate the shortcuts:

On your Desktop
On your Desktop
In your “Quick Launch” area (or pinned to your Windows 7 Superbar)
In your “Quick Launch” area (or pinned to your Windows 7 Superbar)
In your Windows Explorer “Favorite Links” area
In your Windows Explorer “Favorite Links” area

Tip #30. Create an “Inbox” (“To-Do”) Folder

Tip #30 . Create an “Inbox” (“To-Do”) Folder

This has already been mentioned in depth (see tip #13), but we wanted to reiterate its importance here. This folder contains all the recently created, received or downloaded files that you have not yet had a chance to file away properly, and it also may contain files that you have yet to process. In effect, it becomes a sort of “to-do list”. It doesn’t have to be called “Inbox” – you can call it whatever you want.

This has already been mentioned in depth (see tip #13), but we wanted to reiterate its importance here. This folder contains all the recently created, received or downloaded files that you have not yet had a chance to file away properly, and it also may contain files that you have yet to process. In effect, it becomes a sort of “to-do list”. It doesn't have to be called “Inbox” – you can call it whatever you want.

Tip #31. Create a Folder where Your Current Projects are Collected

Tip #31 . Create a Folder where Your Current Projects are Collected

Rather than going hunting for them all the time, or dumping them all on your desktop, create a special folder where you put links (or work folders) for each of the projects you’re currently working on.

Rather than going hunting for them all the time, or dumping them all on your desktop, create a special folder where you put links (or work folders) for each of the projects you're currently working on.

You can locate this folder in your “Inbox” folder, on your desktop, or anywhere at all – just so long as there’s a way of getting to it quickly, such as putting a link to it in Windows Explorer’s “Favorite Links” area:

You can locate this folder in your “Inbox” folder, on your desktop, or anywhere at all – just so long as there's a way of getting to it quickly, such as putting a link to it in Windows Explorer's “Favorite Links” area:

Tip #32. Create a Folder for Files and Folders that You Regularly Open

Tip # 32. Create a Folder for Files and Folders that You Regularly Open

You will always have a few files that you open regularly, whether it be a spreadsheet of your current accounts, or a favorite playlist. These are not necessarily “current projects”, rather they’re simply files that you always find yourself opening. Typically such files would be located on your desktop (or even better, shortcuts to those files). Why not collect all such shortcuts together and put them in their own special folder?

You will always have a few files that you open regularly, whether it be a spreadsheet of your current accounts, or a favorite playlist. These are not necessarily “current projects”, rather they're simply files that you always find yourself opening. Typically such files would be located on your desktop (or even better, shortcuts to those files). Why not collect all such shortcuts together and put them in their own special folder?

As with the “Current Projects” folder (above), you would want to locate that folder somewhere convenient. Below is an example of a folder called “Quick links”, with about seven files (shortcuts) in it, that is accessible through the Windows Quick Launch bar:

See tip #37 below for a full explanation of the power of the Quick Launch bar.

Tip #33. Create a “Set-ups” Folder

Tip # 33. Create a “Set-ups” Folder

A typical computer has dozens of applications installed on it. For each piece of software, there are often many different pieces of information you need to keep track of, including:

The original installation setup file(s). This can be anything from a simple 100Kb setup.exe file you downloaded from a website, all the way up to a 4Gig ISO file that you copied from a DVD-ROM that you purchased.
The original installation setup file(s). This can be anything from a simple 100Kb setup.exe file you downloaded from a website, all the way up to a 4Gig ISO file that you copied from a DVD-ROM that you purchased.
The home page of the software manufacturer (in case you need to look up something on their support pages, their forum or their online help)
The home page of the software manufacturer (in case you need to look up something on their support pages, their forum or their online help)
The page containing the download link for your actual file (in case you need to re-download it, or download an upgraded version)
The page containing the download link for your actual file (in case you need to re-download it, or download an upgraded version)
The serial number
The serial number
Your proof-of-purchase documentation
Your proof-of-purchase documentation
Any other template files, plug-ins, themes, etc that also need to get installed
Any other template files, plug-ins, themes, etc that also need to get installed

For each piece of software, it’s a great idea to gather all of these files together and put them in a single folder. The folder can be the name of the software (plus possibly a very brief description of what it’s for – in case you can’t remember what the software does based in its name). Then you would gather all of these folders together into one place, and call it something like “Software” or “Setups”.

For each piece of software, it's a great idea to gather all of these files together and put them in a single folder. The folder can be the name of the software (plus possibly a very brief description of what it's for – in case you can't remember what the software does based in its name). Then you would gather all of these folders together into one place, and call it something like “Software” or “Setups”.

If you have enough of these folders (I have several hundred, being a geek, collected over 20 years), then you may want to further categorize them. My own categorization structure is based on “platform” (operating system):

The last seven folders each represents one platform/operating system, while _Operating Systems contains set-up files for installing the operating systems themselves. _Hardware contains ROMs for hardware I own, such as routers.

Within the Windows folder (above), you can see the beginnings of the vast library of software I’ve compiled over the years:

Within the Windows folder (above), you can see the beginnings of the vast library of software I've compiled over the years:

An example of a typical application folder looks like this:

Tip #34. Have a “Settings” Folder

Tip #34 . Have a “Settings” Folder

We all know that our documents are important. So are our photos and music files. We save all of these files into folders, and then locate them afterwards and double-click on them to open them. But there are many files that are important to us that can’t be saved into folders, and then searched for and double-clicked later on. These files certainly contain important information that we need, but are often created internally by an application, and saved wherever that application feels is appropriate.

We all know that our documents are important. So are our photos and music files. We save all of these files into folders, and then locate them afterwards and double-click on them to open them. But there are many files that are important to us that can't be saved into folders, and then searched for and double-clicked later on. These files certainly contain important information that we need, but are often created internally by an application, and saved wherever that application feels is appropriate.

A good example of this is the “PST” file that Outlook creates for us and uses to store all our emails, contacts, appointments and so forth. Another example would be the collection of Bookmarks that Firefox stores on your behalf.

And yet another example would be the customized settings and configuration files of our all our software. Granted, most Windows programs store their configuration in the Registry, but there are still many programs that use configuration files to store their settings.

Imagine if you lost all of the above files! And yet, when people are backing up their computers, they typically only back up the files they know about – those that are stored in the “My Documents” folder, etc. If they had a hard disk failure or their computer was lost or stolen, their backup files would not include some of the most vital files they owned. Also, when migrating to a new computer, it’s vital to ensure that these files make the journey.

Imagine if you lost all of the above files! And yet, when people are backing up their computers, they typically only back up the files they know about – those that are stored in the “My Documents” folder, etc. If they had a hard disk failure or their computer was lost or stolen, their backup files would not include some of the most vital files they owned. Also, when migrating to a new computer, it's vital to ensure that these files make the journey.

It can be a very useful idea to create yourself a folder to store all your “settings” – files that are important to you but which you never actually search for by name and double-click on to open them. Otherwise, next time you go to set up a new computer just the way you want it, you’ll need to spend hours recreating the configuration of your previous computer!

It can be a very useful idea to create yourself a folder to store all your “settings” – files that are important to you but which you never actually search for by name and double-click on to open them. Otherwise, next time you go to set up a new computer just the way you want it, you'll need to spend hours recreating the configuration of your previous computer!

So how to we get our important files into this folder? Well, we have a few options:

Some programs (such as Outlook and its PST files) allow you to place these files wherever you want. If you delve into the program’s options, you will find a setting somewhere that controls the location of the important settings files (or “personal storage” – PST – when it comes to Outlook)
Some programs (such as Outlook and its PST files) allow you to place these files wherever you want. If you delve into the program's options, you will find a setting somewhere that controls the location of the important settings files (or “personal storage” – PST – when it comes to Outlook)
Some programs do not allow you to change such locations in any easy way, but if you get into the Registry, you can sometimes find a registry key that refers to the location of the file(s). Simply move the file into your Settings folder and adjust the registry key to refer to the new location.
Some programs do not allow you to change such locations in any easy way, but if you get into the Registry, you can sometimes find a registry key that refers to the location of the file(s). Simply move the file into your Settings folder and adjust the registry key to refer to the new location.
Some programs stubbornly refuse to allow their settings files to be placed anywhere other then where they stipulate. When faced with programs like these, you have three choices: (1) You can ignore those files, (2) You can copy the files into your Settings folder (let’s face it – settings don’t change very often), or (3) you can use synchronization software, such as the Windows Briefcase, to make synchronized copies of all your files in your Settings folder. All you then have to do is to remember to run your sync software periodically (perhaps just before you run your backup software!).

Some programs stubbornly refuse to allow their settings files to be placed anywhere other then where they stipulate. When faced with programs like these, you have three choices: (1) You can ignore those files, (2) You can copy the files into your Settings folder (let's face it – settings don't change very often), or (3) you can use synchronization software, such as the Windows Briefcase, to make synchronized copies of all your files in your Settings folder. All you then have to do is to remember to run your sync software periodically (perhaps just before you run your backup software!).

There are some other things you may decide to locate inside this new “Settings” folder:

Exports of registry keys (from the many applications that store their configurations in the Registry). This is useful for backup purposes or for migrating to a new computer
Exports of registry keys (from the many applications that store their configurations in the Registry). This is useful for backup purposes or for migrating to a new computer
Notes you’ve made about all the specific customizations you have made to a particular piece of software (so that you’ll know how to do it all again on your next computer)

Notes you've made about all the specific customizations you have made to a particular piece of software (so that you'll know how to do it all again on your next computer)
Shortcuts to webpages that detail how to tweak certain aspects of your operating system or applications so they are just the way you like them (such as how to remove the words “Shortcut to” from the beginning of newly created shortcuts). In other words, you’d want to create shortcuts to half the pages on the How-To Geek website!
Shortcuts to webpages that detail how to tweak certain aspects of your operating system or applications so they are just the way you like them (such as how to remove the words “Shortcut to” from the beginning of newly created shortcuts). In other words, you'd want to create shortcuts to half the pages on the How-To Geek website!

Here’s an example of a “Settings” folder:

Here's an example of a “Settings” folder:

Windows Features that Help with Organization (Windows Features that Help with Organization)

This section details some of the features of Microsoft Windows that are a boon to anyone hoping to stay optimally organized.

Tip #35. Use the “Favorite Links” Area to Access Oft-Used Folders

Tip # 35. Use the “Favorite Links” Area to Access Oft-Used Folders

Once you’ve created your great new filing system, work out which folders you access most regularly, or which serve as great starting points for locating the rest of the files in your folder structure, and then put links to those folders in your “Favorite Links” area of the left-hand side of the Windows Explorer window (simply called “Favorites” in Windows 7):

Once you've created your great new filing system, work out which folders you access most regularly, or which serve as great starting points for locating the rest of the files in your folder structure, and then put links to those folders in your “Favorite Links” area of the left-hand side of the Windows Explorer window (simply called “Favorites” in Windows 7):

Some ideas for folders you might want to add there include:

Your “Inbox” folder (or whatever you’ve called it) – most important!

Your “Inbox” folder (or whatever you've called it) – most important!
The base of your filing structure (e.g. C:\Files)

The base of your filing structure (eg C:\Files )
A folder containing shortcuts to often-accessed folders on other computers around the network (shown above as Network Folders)

A folder containing shortcuts to often-accessed folders on other computers around the network (shown above as Network Folders )
A folder containing shortcuts to your current projects (unless that folder is in your “Inbox” folder)
A folder containing shortcuts to your current projects (unless that folder is in your “Inbox” folder)

Getting folders into this area is very simple – just locate the folder you’re interested in and drag it there!

Getting folders into this area is very simple – just locate the folder you're interested in and drag it there!

Tip #36. Customize the Places Bar in the File/Open and File/Save Boxes

Tip #36 . Customize the Places Bar in the File/Open and File/Save Boxes

Consider the screenshot below:

The highlighted icons (collectively known as the “Places Bar”) can be customized to refer to any folder location you want, allowing instant access to any part of your organizational structure.

Note: These File/Open and File/Save boxes have been superseded by new versions that use the Windows Vista/Windows 7 “Favorite Links”, but the older versions (shown above) are still used by a surprisingly large number of applications.

The easiest way to customize these icons is to use the Group Policy Editor, but not everyone has access to this program. If you do, open it up and navigate to:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer > Common Open File Dialog

If you don’t have access to the Group Policy Editor, then you’ll need to get into the Registry. Navigate to:

If you don't have access to the Group Policy Editor, then you'll need to get into the Registry. Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ comdlg32 \ Placesbar

It should then be easy to make the desired changes. Log off and log on again to allow the changes to take effect.

Tip #37. Use the Quick Launch Bar as a Application and File Launcher

Tip # 37. Use the Quick Launch Bar as a Application and File Launcher

That Quick Launch bar (to the right of the Start button) is a lot more useful than people give it credit for. Most people simply have half a dozen icons in it, and use it to start just those programs. But it can actually be used to instantly access just about anything in your filing system:

For complete instructions on how to set this up, visit our dedicated article on this topic.

For complete instructions on how to set this up, visit our dedicated article on this topic .

Tip #38. Put a Shortcut to Windows Explorer into Your Quick Launch Bar

Tip #38 . Put a Shortcut to Windows Explorer into Your Quick Launch Bar

This is only necessary in Windows Vista and Windows XP. The Microsoft boffins finally got wise and added it to the Windows 7 Superbar by default.

Windows Explorer – the program used for managing your files and folders – is one of the most useful programs in Windows. Anyone who considers themselves serious about being organized needs instant access to this program at any time. A great place to create a shortcut to this program is in the Windows XP and Windows Vista “Quick Launch” bar:

To get it there, locate it in your Start Menu (usually under “Accessories”) and then right-drag it down into your Quick Launch bar (and create a copy).

To get it there, locate it in your Start Menu (usually under “Accessories”) and then right-drag it down into your Quick Launch bar (and create a copy ).

Tip #39. Customize the Starting Folder for Your Windows 7 Explorer Superbar Icon

Tip #39 . Customize the Starting Folder for Your Windows 7 Explorer Superbar Icon

If you’re on Windows 7, your Superbar will include a Windows Explorer icon. Clicking on the icon will launch Windows Explorer (of course), and will start you off in your “Libraries” folder. Libraries may be fine as a starting point, but if you have created yourself an “Inbox” folder, then it would probably make more sense to start off in this folder every time you launch Windows Explorer.

If you're on Windows 7, your Superbar will include a Windows Explorer icon. Clicking on the icon will launch Windows Explorer (of course), and will start you off in your “Libraries” folder. Libraries may be fine as a starting point, but if you have created yourself an “Inbox” folder, then it would probably make more sense to start off in this folder every time you launch Windows Explorer.

To change this default/starting folder location, then first right-click the Explorer icon in the Superbar, and then right-click Properties: Then, in Target field of the Windows Explorer Properties box that appears, type %windir%\explorer.exe followed by the path of the folder you wish to start in. For example:

To change this default/starting folder location, then first right-click the Explorer icon in the Superbar, and then right-click Properties : Then, in Target field of the Windows Explorer Properties box that appears, type %windir%\explorer.exe followed by the path of the folder you wish to start in. For example:

%windir%\explorer.exe C:\Files

If that folder happened to be on the Desktop (and called, say, “Inbox”), then you would use the following cleverness:

%windir%\explorer.exe shell:desktop\Inbox

Then click OK and test it out.

Tip #40. Ummmmm….

No, that’s it. I can’t think of another one. That’s all of the tips I can come up with. I only created this one because 40 is such a nice round number…

不，就是这样。 I can't think of another one. That's all of the tips I can come up with. I only created this one because 40 is such a nice round number…

Case Study – An Organized PC (Case Study – An Organized PC)

To finish off the article, I have included a few screenshots of my (main) computer (running Vista). The aim here is twofold:

To give you a sense of what it looks like when the above, sometimes abstract, tips are applied to a real-life computer, and
To give you a sense of what it looks like when the above, sometimes abstract, tips are applied to a real-life computer, and
To offer some ideas about folders and structure that you may want to steal to use on your own PC.
To offer some ideas about folders and structure that you may want to steal to use on your own PC.

Let’s start with the C: drive itself. Very minimal. All my files are contained within C:\Files. I’ll confine the rest of the case study to this folder:

Let's start with the C: drive itself. Very minimal. All my files are contained within C:\Files . I'll confine the rest of the case study to this folder:

That folder contains the following:

Mark: My personal files

Mark : My personal files
VC: My business (Virtual Creations, Australia)

VC : My business (Virtual Creations, Australia)
Others contains files created by friends and family

Others contains files created by friends and family
Data contains files from the rest of the world (can be thought of as “public” files, usually downloaded from the Net)

Data contains files from the rest of the world (can be thought of as “public” files, usually downloaded from the Net)
Settings is described above in tip #34

Settings is described above in tip #34

The Data folder contains the following sub-folders:

Audio: Radio plays, audio books, podcasts, etc

Audio : Radio plays, audio books, podcasts, etc
Development: Programmer and developer resources, sample source code, etc (see below)

Development : Programmer and developer resources, sample source code, etc (see below)
Humour: Jokes, funnies (those emails that we all receive)

Humour : Jokes, funnies (those emails that we all receive)
Movies: Downloaded and ripped movies (all legal, of course!), their scripts, DVD covers, etc.

Movies : Downloaded and ripped movies (all legal, of course!), their scripts, DVD covers, etc.
Music: (see below)

Music : (see below)
Setups: Installation files for software (explained in full in tip #33)

Setups : Installation files for software (explained in full in tip #33)
System: (see below)

System : (see below)
TV: Downloaded TV shows

TV : Downloaded TV shows
Writings: Books, instruction manuals, etc (see below)

Writings : Books, instruction manuals, etc (see below)

The Music folder contains the following sub-folders:

Album covers: JPEG scans

Album covers : JPEG scans
Guitar tabs: Text files of guitar sheet music

Guitar tabs : Text files of guitar sheet music
Lists: e.g. “Top 1000 songs of all time”

Lists : eg “Top 1000 songs of all time”
Lyrics: Text files

Lyrics : Text files
MIDI: Electronic music files

MIDI : Electronic music files
MP3 (representing 99% of the Music folder): MP3s, either ripped from CDs or downloaded, sorted by artist/album name

MP3 (representing 99% of the Music folder): MP3s, either ripped from CDs or downloaded, sorted by artist/album name
Music Video: Video clips

Music Video : Video clips
Sheet Music: usually PDFs

Sheet Music : usually PDFs

The Data\Writings folder contains the following sub-folders:

(all pretty self-explanatory)

The Data\Development folder contains the following sub-folders:

Again, all pretty self-explanatory (if you’re a geek)

Again, all pretty self-explanatory (if you're a geek)

The Data\System folder contains the following sub-folders:

These are usually themes, plug-ins and other downloadable program-specific resources.

The Mark folder contains the following sub-folders:

From Others: Usually letters that other people (friends, family, etc) have written to me

From Others : Usually letters that other people (friends, family, etc) have written to me
For Others: Letters and other things I have created for other people

For Others : Letters and other things I have created for other people
Green Book: None of your business

Green Book : None of your business
Playlists: M3U files that I have compiled of my favorite songs (plus one M3U playlist file for every album I own)

Playlists : M3U files that I have compiled of my favorite songs (plus one M3U playlist file for every album I own)
Writing: Fiction, philosophy and other musings of mine

Writing : Fiction, philosophy and other musings of mine
Mark Docs: Shortcut to C:\Users\Mark

Mark Docs : Shortcut to C:\Users\Mark
Settings: Shortcut to C:\Files\Settings\Mark

Settings : Shortcut to C:\Files\Settings\Mark

The Others folder contains the following sub-folders:

The VC (Virtual Creations, my business – I develop websites) folder contains the following sub-folders:

And again, all of those are pretty self-explanatory.

结论 (Conclusion)

These tips have saved my sanity and helped keep me a productive geek, but what about you? What tips and tricks do you have to keep your files organized? Please share them with us in the comments. Come on, don’t be shy…

翻译自: https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/15677/zen-and-the-art-of-file-and-folder-organization/