Choosing WHERE to Save a File on a PC


At the top, in the "Save in" box, it says "My Documents."  This is where your file will be stored.  You can choose a different place to store your files and this will be discussed below. But for now, My Documents is a good place for beginners to save files because it is easy to find!  We will save your file in the "My Documents" folder.  At the bottom of the box, we see the box to put the File Name.  By default, a Word document uses the first sentence as a file name, but you should give it a name that reflects what the file is about.   The names are usually short, but they don't have to be.  They DO help you know what the file is about without having to open the file to figure it out.  We could name this file "Saving files" or "How to save a file."  Type in your new name.  If necessary, delete the default name first by clicking at the end of default file name and backspacing until the name is gone.  When your file has a name, click on the Save button.  Your file will now be saved in your My Documents folder (or a different location of your choice).  If you would like to save your file in a DIFFERENT place besides the My Documents folder, here is how to do it.

As before, Click on File in the menu bar and choose Save As.  Click on Save As and you will get the Save as box as shown up above.  This time, click on the small arrow next to My Documents in the "Save in" box:
 

A drop down menu will appear, listing places that you may like to save your file:

This list shows places on my computer where a file could be saved.  You will have different things listed here, but some things will be the same as well.  Notice that the "My Documents" folder in the list is highlighted and blue.  This is because it has been selected and is currently where the file will be stored until you select something else.
  • If you'd like your file stored on your desktop, click on Desktop. 
  • You could save your file on a floppy disk--you would choose 3 1/2 in Floppy (A:). 
  • I have an external hard drive, I could save files there--I would choose "Local Disk )F:"
  • I could save a file on a media card (such as a camera card) by selecting Memory Card Reader (G:) or (H:)
  • I have numerous folders on my desktop, they are listed toward the bottom.  You could select one of your own folders and save files in any of them.
  • You could save your file in an FTP Location, which means you would upload them to another computer via the Internet.

Click on a location from the list to save your file.  This new location will be displayed in the "Save in" box, and a list of files in that location will be shown.  Below I selected my floppy drive (A:) which already has 2 files in it.

Now click on the Save button, and your file will be saved to the location you have selected.


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