In part 1 of Taking Control with Windows Explorer, you discover several ways to open Windows Explorer.  Part 2 covers creating your own folders.  This tip, part 3, will show how to specify in any windows program such as Word or Excel how to save to a specific folder.

Using File, Save As

When working in any program, you save work you want to keep into a file.  Giving it an appropriate name has always been important.  But many people, though they might give files relevant names, do not pay close attention to WHERE the file is saved.  Some just save everything in My Documents.  Do this for several months and My Documents can become a huge listing of every saved file on a mix of topics: some drafts, some finished and ready to print, some maybe needing deleted, some sent to Bob, some to Susan, some may be graphic files, some attempts to learn spreadsheets.  You get the picture: a beast.  Well, beast, be gone.

Saving  Files to Folders

When working in any program such as Word, when you're ready to save to a folder go to File, Save As.  This brings on the Save As dialog box.  Though this box  has many buttons, the focus here is on those involved in saving files.

So, a document is open, you're ready to save and you go to File, Save As and get this:

At the top is the Save in: area.  Clicking the arrow on the right  gives access to the "beginning" of your hard drive--to C:. 

 Selecting C: from the list means you will then see all of the main folders on your hard drive.  

Your drive will of course have different folders than illustrated here.  And it may also look different depending on which one of these buttons, found on the upper right of the box,  is depressed: 

The next step is to find the desired folder, perhaps using the vertical/horizontal scroll bar.  When the folder is in view, double click on it.  This selects the folder, placing it in the Save in: box at the top.  You'll also now see any subfolders that are part of that just-selected folder as shown here:

If the file you're saving pertains to a course in year 2000, common sense says you probably want to double click on the subfolder 2000.  That done, you see this:

Okay.  We're getting somewhere.  The document you're saving is regarding a course in year 2000 for Telecommunications.  So, you know what to do now.  And doing it gives this:

Now all you have to do is name the file in the File name: at the bottom--a file that will be stored in the location (or path) C:/Courses/2000/Telecomm.

In Windows Explorer, the file displays for opening, deleting, moving, copying, or other activities--all from within your Explorer window.  How to do these activities?  Hint: with a file selected like Syllabus-Spring.doc, see what's available when right clicking on it, or when going to the File or Edit menus.