Lab $6$ Requirements:

For this lab, you$$ll need a desktop or laptop computer running Windows or macOS. The instructions are generalized; they provide helpful guidelines but not specific steps. You may have to do some exploring to find all the tools needed to complete the assignment, but that is

all part of the learning experience.

Assignment:

$1.$ Examine your desktop computer, laptop, or cloud drive and total up your organizational points as described below:

Count the icons on your desktop. If you have fewer than $20,$ award yourself $1$ point.

Check the root directory $($Macintosh HD or Windows C:$).$ Award yourself $1$ point if there are only folders and no files there.

Examine the folders listed under your username. Give yourself $1$ point if you can identify the kinds of files that each one contains.

Open each of the folders listed under your username. Award yourself $1$ point if none of the folders is empty.

Open the Documents folder. Award yourself $1$ point if you have fewer than $100$ files $($not counting folders$)$ listed there.

If you use one set of folders for your personal data and another set of folders for school or work data, award yourself $1$ point.

Open the folder that contains most of your photos. Give yourself $1$ point if the photos are organized into subfolders according to date, subject, or other criteria.

Browse files on your storage device. If you don$$t seem to have unnecessary duplicates, give yourself $1$ point.

If you can launch any program in fewer than $5$ seconds, award yourself $1$ point.

If files and folders that you use frequently are in your Quick Access or Favorites list, add another point to your score.

$2.$ Evaluate your score.

$8-10$ points: You$$re organized!

$5-7$ points: You$$re on the right track.$|$

$0-4$ points: It is not too late to get organized.

$3.$ Make a backup of your data files. Do it$.$

If you have a backup, make sure it is current. If you have no backup, at least copy your data files to a USB flash drive. How much space does your backup require?

$4.$ Switch to Details view $($PC$)$ or List view $($Macs$).$

For organizing files, the Details and List views provide the best visual picture of the folder hierarchy. After your files are in order, you may want to use a different view for everyday file access.

Use the View menu to experiment with various $\backslash$views$.$ You may also explore the Sort options to see how they affect the arrangement of folders and files.

When you are finished exploring, return to the List view.

On a PC$,$ select View and then select Details. Also use the Sort by option to select Type and Ascending, which lists all of the subfolders, followed by files.

On a Mac, select the List view and sort by Kind, which groups all of the subfolders together. Don$$t worry if the subfolders are not at the top of the list.

$5.$ Organize your Quick Access or Favorites list.

On PCs running Windows $10$ and $11,$ the Quick Access list is a handy location for the folders that you use most frequently. On earlier versions of Windows and on Macs, the Favorites list is the recommended location for preconfigured personal folders titled Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Downloads.

If the Quick Access or Favorites folder already contains the preconfigured personal folders, skip this step. Otherwise, locate your preconfigured folders and drag them to the Quick Access or Favorites list.

On a Mac, you$$ll find the preconfigured personal folders listed under Macintosh HD$/$Users$/$YourUserName$.$ On a PC$,$ you$$ll find these folders on drive C: under Users$\backslash$YourUserName$.$

$6.$ Add project subfolders to the Quick Access or Favorites list.

Folders in the Quick Access or Favorites area can be accessed with a single click. Consider the projects that you are currently working on and the folders that you access most frequently. Are there any additional folders that you would like to add to the Quick Access or Favorites list?

Drag additional folders to the Quick Access or Favorites list as necessary.

Tip: Don$$t let the Quick Access or Favorites list get too long or it will no longer be a quick way to access folders. When the number of folders in the list exceeds $20,$ it is time to remove folders that are less frequently used. To remove a folder, right$-$click it and select the Remove option or the Unpin option. Do not select the Delete option unless you want to move the folder and its contents to the trash.

$7.$ Clean up your desktop.

The desktop should be reserved for files that you access on a daily basis. For example, the desktop is a good place for a To$-$Do list. You may also store frequently used programs there, though the Start menu and taskbar are