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Organizing Your Computer
Ellen Martin-LaFleur
A New Leaf, LLC
Have you been searching your computer for a proposal you wrote three months ago? Or maybe you are looking for an email that you just know your son sent in June. If your email and computer files aren’t organized, you could be losing a lot of precious time searching for your electronic information.
Think of electronic files just the same as ordinary paper files in a file cabinet. A computer file system can be set up in the same way as paper files are set up. Create folders and subfolders for the files and be consistent in your naming scheme.
When saving documents be sure to click “Save As” and then navigate your way to the appropriate folder for that document. This will keep the document from going to that mysterious place that computers sometimes send our documents when we don’t specify exactly where we want them saved.
Put thought into naming your files and be descriptive. Take advantage of the 255 character limit on file names. Use descriptive words that will ensure you know what the file contains. Think about the different ways that you might think of the file the same as you would for physical files. If you are saving a budget form, when you are looking for it again, what will you look for?
Think of all of the possibilities and name your file accordingly. Taking this much time to think about it on the front end will also help to trigger your memory when looking for the file later.
There is an easier way, if you don’t have time to create folders and move files around, Enfish may be your answer. Enfish will reduce the amount of time that you spend searching for files and emails. This software application allows you to search your hard drive in the same way that you search the internet.
Enter a word or phrase in the Find Toolbar and Enfish will look through its index of information and quickly return a list of all items containing the word or phrase you entered. This includes documents from your PC, networked folders and intranet, as well as email, contacts, appointments, and tasks.
Enfish not only allows you to find items, but also gives you the ability to view, delete, and modify the files right there within the Enfish program. For example, you can reply to, forward, or delete an email right from your Enfish results list.
I recommend installing the software at the end of the day and allowing it to index your hard drive overnight. As you add new documents and receive new email Enfish will index the files in the background.
Technology is a wonderful thing and you should use it to your advantage. A tool like Enfish can literally save hours of search time, and of course, time is money.
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