Organizing your data

	How to Keep your Computer Clean by The F@t Guy

Data Organization by the Front-end Folders Method.

The very first thing to understand about computing is where to put your stuff... Notice that I didn't say "where your stuff is". There is a significant difference. After all, If you put your stuff somewhere, chances are you will be able to find it right where you put it!

A whole lot of time has been put into the concept of "guiding" you to save your stuff in one place. A lot of effort has been invested into making the concept of saving your files "intuitive". The only problem is that no one ever stops to tell the user how to use it. It is assumed that everyone understands the basic concepts involved in storing data.

While many folks understand right away that their "stuff" is in "My Documents", very few consider that going any further is even possible. They are content to leave things as the computer wants them, figuring this is easier and better than asserting themselves. But it isn't what the computer "wants". In fact, the computer couldn't care less. This is just that "guiding" and "intuitive" part showing itself, while not being very intuitive at all...

I don't mean to make you think the "My Documents" concept is bad, it is quite an improvement. Since you are always prompted to save to "My Documents", it is likely that your stuff is there. Therefore, when you wish to open a document, it is fairly logical that the "open" dialog points you to your "My Documents" as well. Whether you know it or not, this action simply "guides" you into the beginnings of your very first "front-end" folder.

The definition of a front-end folder is a folder where data (stuff) of a certain kind (documents, downloads, pictures, etc.) are shipped or saved to for further "filing" into sub-folders within the front-end structure. In other words, A front-end folder is the root folder of a structure made up of other folders and sub-folders, each containing data (stuff) in an organized fashion.

Your "My Documents" folder is your foremost "front-end" folder. If you are like most folks, your "My Documents" folder is overflowing with files in the root because all your programs have been suggesting that you save something there. Well, that's alright, I suppose, but how do you find any particular thing? There are way too many files to easily pick something out of the pile.

You also have a "front-end" folder called "My Pictures" within the "My Documents" folder. This, of course, is where your pictures wind up when you shovel them out of your camera. Again, If you are like most folks, this folder is packed full of pictures with names like "AE001.JPG". Hunnerts of em.

Yet another front-end , called "My Music" also resides within My Documents. This is where all your music winds up. There are others too, depending upon what you are doing...The point being that programs often "set up" a front end for themselves within your "My Documents" structure, which further accelerates your commitment to this method. Bonifide Windows front ends seem to follow the "My Folder" naming convention.

Now, here's the tricky part that no one ever told you:

The objective when working with front-end folders is to keep the root of the folder as clean as possible. Use the root of the folder only for things you are currently processing so that they are easy to find and access. everything else should be processed back into a sub folder structure in a logical manner, so that you can find the stuff later.

You see, it is up to you to create sub folders. You will still be able to get to the files in the sub folders... When your "open file" dialog comes up, you'll be able to see all the subfolders just fine; You'll just have to drill down a bit. The sub folder structure is up to you- "My Documents" sub folders named Business, Receipts, Checkbook, and Underpants are not uncommon.

Some folks prefer a strict sub folder set dependant upon type: All their Word documents go into a sub folder called "Documents", all their Excel documents go into a folder called "Spreadsheets", and so on.

Other folks might rather store things according to subject or project: A folder called "Spring Show" would contain all things of all types having to do with the spring show.

It really depends on what works for you... You lay it out and maintain it according to your own preferences.

Each "Front-end" should have it's own sub folder structure. For instance, make a "Family Reunion 2005" folder inside of "My Pictures" and pick out all those family reunion photos... cut them out of the root and paste them inside the "Family Reunion 2005" folder. you can then go through the pictures you've pasted and rename them from "AE001.JPG" to something more useful, like "Uncle Ed eating peanut butter.jpg" (don't forget to put the .JPG on the end- that's what tells Windows that it's a picture)

Rinse and Repeat this organizational process until you have organized all of your front-end folders, and then just keep it that way. It is more a way-of-thinking than a dyed-in-the-wool only-one-way-to-do-it kind of thing. Soon you will be accustomed to your new style, and will easily conform to your new way of doing things.

Some things moved into a subfolder just stay there and live there... A database, for instance. There is really no need to have a database saved into the root of My Documents... in fact, it might be dangerous to leave it in the root, where it might get deleted by mistake. Better to move it to "My Documents\Business\Databases" or "My Documents\Personal\CD Titles". Once there, it just hangs out... once you adjust your shortcuts to point to the new location, it will open just like it did the old way.

Other things may be saved back into the subfolders, never even hitting the root folder- Suppose you are writing a letter to a client. When it is finished and it is time to save the letter, you save it to a folder just for such things:
"My Documents\Business\Client\Letters"

Or to a particular folder for that exact client:
"My Documents\Business\Clients\Hooplemier"

Once you master this method, and it is working for you, then there are only two things to remember:

First, ALWAYS save to your folders. Never save things to the desktop, or anywhere other than your folders. If you don't have a place to put it, save it to the root of which-ever front-end it best belongs in.

Second, when something lands in the root of My Documents, or My Downloads, or My Pictures... Unless you are using it today, it should BUG you that it is there. Do what you need to to process it and get it filed away.

**Another thing to remember, it is not useful to get carried away with front-ends. For example, if you have a business folder inside of your My Documents, it may indeed be a front-end for all your business stuff, but be careful with the "I-don't-know-where-to-put-its" in this case. The weird stuff should stay in the root (My Documents) rather than in the root of the Business folder (Until you decide where to put it in the Business folder)... Otherwise you wind up with too many areas to manage. A good rule of thumb is: When one front-end is inside another, the root front-end should handle the unknown items.

You are not limited to the front-ends that Windows provides you with either. You can make your own front-ends, depending upon your own needs.

A good example would be my "DOWNLOADS" folder. In the course of my business I download scads of programs, drivers, and other assorted tech-stuff. Over time I found I needed a robust front-end for all this stuff. What I created is the "Downloads" folder. In the root of Downloads there are only two folders: "Unzipped" and "Zipfiles". Everything I download is saved to the root of Downloads.

If the downloaded file is a compressed file (zip, arj, etc), I use my compression utility (7zip, WinZip) to unzip it... guess where... Yep. every time I "unzip", the files are directed to the "unzipped" folder. One doesn't always know what you will get when you unzip, Sometimes all is contained in a single folder, sometimes there are hundreds of files. It can be an horrible experience to try to clean up these dregs when unzipped into an unintended place. That is what Unzipped is for- A convenient empty folder to unzip into, where "how the files unzip" doesn't matter.

When I run the enclosed program, I decide if I like it/need it or not.

If I need it, the original zipped package will be cut from the root of Downloads and filed in one of the many subdirectories of the Zipfiles folder.

If I don't need it, it is uninstalled, and the original zip is deleted.

Either way, the contents of Unzipped are deleted to get rid of all the flotsam that would normally be "somewhere" on my computer, and to make it ready for the next time I need it...

This makes for a very useful folder structure specifically designed to handle downloads. It works for me.

Front ends can be anywhere you want them, and for any purpose you can imagine. Front ends can be within other front ends, even several subfolders down, though normally this is bad practice. It is always nice to clean up your front ends before backing up, so it is useful to concentrate your front ends in the root of your main structure, where they can be processed in an orderly fashion.

You need not stay within the "My Documents" structure either (though, unless fairly accomplished, I wish you would). My own "My Documents" has been redirected to it's very own partition (D: drive), My development area TFGDEV is another entire partition (E: drive). My Storage partiton (F:) actually has my Client, Music, Image, and ISO front ends within it. Each of these has it's own "front end" structures and different sorts of organization.

The benefit of using this process is two-fold: First, when your mother calls up and asks if you can get her a copy of that picture of Uncle Ed eating peanut butter, you will be able to whiz right to the Family Reunion folder and find the exact thing you are looking for; And secondly, it makes it WAY easier to back up.

Yet another benefit is that your master backups will also be easy to navigate as the folder structure will be present there too.