Information Technology Fundamentals – Using File Systems

Using File Systems

The handling of files is one of the most dependable features of any operating system. The operating system maintains files, directories, and their paths so that humans may access massive amounts of data with ease. Managing files might consist of the three major components listed below.

• Managing File Storage
• Manipulation of files and folders
• Securing files

Let's examine each of them individually.

Managing File Storage

On the hard drives of every system, various files are stored in various locations. In modern operating systems, it is simple to store and access these files. The following sections may be included in the management of file storage:

Folders and Paths: Folders and paths of folders are organised hierarchically, with root drives such as 'C' at the top level, folders and subfolders at the middle level, and our desired file/folder at the bottom/current level. The path of the folder is displayed in the Windows OS address bar.

File Structure: The file structure resembles a tree structure For quick access to folders and files, the Windows environment includes navigation pane, Quick Access, and Recently used folders, among others.

File Management Tools: Each operating system has its own tool for managing files, such as "File Explorer Utility tool" for Windows, "finder utility tool" for MacOS, and "files utility tool" for Linux.

File/folder Properties: It defines Metadata, which is "data about data." There are fundamental file attributes such as (read only, hidden, Archive) and advanced file attributes such as in the properties of any file (indexing, compression, encryption). It also gives file size, creation and modification dates, file name, and numerous more properties.

Manipulating File

Manipulating files entails performing certain operations on the data files created by various applications. For instance, we may need to modify, rename, copy, relocate, or remove a file. The following paragraphs outline the most frequent Windows file modifications.

• Opening, modifying, and saving documents
• Renaming and Shortcut Creation
• Moving, Cutting, Copying
• Searching and Ordering
• Selecting multiple files
• Displaying documents and modifying views
• Deleting, Restoring

Securing Files

Any computer system requires the protection of files. We can prevent unauthorized access to our files by other users of our computer. We safeguard our files against unwanted access and protect data containing confidential information. There are two primary methods for safeguarding files. The first involves files and folders permissions in the properties area, while the second involves a separate method for backing up and restoring data.

File and Folders Permission

To set the rights for a folder, right-click the folder in File Explorer, select Properties, and then select the Security tab. On the Security tab, we can view the permissions for individual users and user groups. For example, the Administrators group contains all user accounts with Administrator access. Likewise, we can alter their privileges by clicking the edit icon. The following diagram depicts the folder's Windows permissions.

Backing Up and Restoring Data 

When we back up, we store data on the back end so that, should we lose our data, we can easily recover it from the back end. The backend can consist of external hard drives, online storage, and other options. The two most prevalent methods for backing up and recovering data in the present day are:

• Using Backup tool Softwares: Softwares such as storagecraft, shadowprotect, backup utility in Windows 7, and file history in Windows8 and beyond are utilized to back up and restore data. Similarly, online storage services such as One drive, Google Drive, etc. are used to back up and restore lost data.
• By manually copying our data to external drives: Storing our data for backup on external devices such as hard drives, optical discs, and solid-state flash memories, etc.