` #:747
`
`\tiake It Easy to Track Down
`he Files in Your Computer
`PC fO&U~
`....•.......•
`LA WRENCEJ. MAGID
`
`difference. Both the Windows
`95/98 and Mac operating systems
`allow you to view your files alpha(cid:173)
`betically as well as by da.te or size.
`Both operating systems also allow .
`you to use long file names so the
`name of the file can be meaningful.
`But even with a long file name, you
`can have difficulty finding the one
`you want, especially if you have
`thousands of them.
`To make my life easier, I've
`come up with some naming con(cid:173)
`ventions based on the content of
`the file. For correspondence files, I
`use "L TR" (short for "letter") as
`the first three characters so my
`New Year letter to my niece Jane
`might be called "LTR Jane Jan99."
`In addition to this column, I write
`freelance articles for some maga(cid:173)
`zines, so I've given each publica(cid:173)
`tion its own three-digit code so I
`can quickly find the files associated
`with that publication.
`Even my personal financial re(cid:173)
`cords have a consistent style. My
`1999 Quicken file, for example, is
`"Magid99" so I can easily distin(cid:173)
`guish it from other files.
`Still, even if you're well(cid:173)
`organized, it's sometimes hard to
`find exactly what you're looking
`for. If the file contains text, such as
`a word-processing file, you can
`locate it if you know any word or
`string inside the file. Windows 98
`has a "find" feature that lets you
`search by text as well as by file
`name. Macintosh OS 8 has a similar
`feature, and Mac OS 8.5 has Sher(cid:173)
`lock, which makes it even easier to
`search for data on your hard drive
`and on the Internet.
`Finding photographs can be a bit
`more challenging. You can't just
`type in "find me that picture of
`Aunt Linda wearing that stupid
`yellow hat." But if you right-click
`on any folder in Windows 98, you
`can check the box that says, "en(cid:173)
`able thumbnail view." If you then
`. select "thumbnail view" from the
`"view" menu, you'll see a small
`image of each file in the folder.
`Please see FOCUS, C15 ·
`
`sometimes have trouble finding
`my keys and wallet, but when
`[
`it comes to finding data on my
`C, I can locate almost anything
`·itbin seconds.
`I've organized my hard drive
`1to separate folders for all of my
`tajor projects. And I've come up
`·ith some file- naming conventions
`1at make it relatively easy to find
`hat I'm looking for. Finally, some
`~atures built into Windows 95/98
`nd the Mac, along with a couple of
`ommercial programs make file
`nding even easier.
`Let's start with the basics. Both
`1e Windows and Macintosh oper(cid:173)
`ting systems allow you to create
`s many folders and subfolders as
`ou need. I have one called Data
`nd, inside that folder, are ·subfold(cid:173)
`rs for all my major projects.
`Some Windows programs auto(cid:173)
`tatically save their files in a folder
`alled My Documents, but if you
`ave lots of files for a variety of
`ifferent types of projects, it prob(cid:173)
`bly makes sense to create sepa(cid:173)
`ate folders or sub-folders for each
`roject. Both Mac and Windows let
`ou place folders inside of folders,
`•ut don't get carried away. Too
`:tany levels of folders can actually
`lake it even harder to navigate
`·our hard drive.
`Some people like to keep all of
`heir business files in one folder
`tnd personal ones in another. Or,
`rou might have one folder for your
`Jb, another for personal finances
`. nd one for any hobbies or side
`>usinesses. If your PC is used by
`nore than one person, it's a good
`jea to have separate folders for
`~ach user. That way it's easier for
`!ach user to find his or her own
`vork and it's less probable that
`·omeone will accidentally erase or
`vrite over a another user's file.
`How you name files can make a
`
`January 11, 1999
`
`FOCUS.
`
`Continued from C4
`While the tools built into Win(cid:173)
`dows 98 and 95 are useful, there are
`some even more powerful pro(cid:173)
`grams that can make it easier to
`find the information on your hard
`disk.
`Enfish Tracker ( $79.95 Windows
`95/98/NT) from Enfish Technol·
`ogles (http:/ /www.enfish.com) is
`an indexing program that allows
`you to find any file, e-mail message
`or book-marked Web site in a
`matter of seconds. The program
`works by creating an index-a
`snapshot of sorts-of everything
`on your hard disk. Then, when the
`program needs to find something, it
`quickly searches through its index
`so it doesn't have to examine every
`file on the drive. The index file
`itself takes up about 2% to 3% of
`the size of the files it is indexing.
`So, the index file for a gigabyte of
`data would take up about 20 to 30
`megabytes.
`For me, the most useful feature
`of the product is its ability to track
`e-mail messages. You can immedi(cid:173)
`ately see all the messages .to or
`·from each person you track along
`with any other files where they are
`mentioned.
`Enfish Tracker also lets you
`view graphics files and lets you
`attach an annotation to each file so
`that the program can track them. If
`you want to take the time to do it,
`you can type a comment about
`Aunt Linda and her stupid yellow
`hat and Tracker will find it if you
`later search for .. Linda, stupid,
`yellow or hat."
`
`You can download a free 45-da·
`trial copy from the Enfish Wei
`site. Make sure it's version 1.1 o
`. higher because the previous ver
`sion was a bit buggy.
`An~the~ useful Windows pro
`gram IS DtskJockey 98 Profession"
`Edition ($55) from Clear and Sim
`(http:/ lwww.clear-simpl
`pie
`.com). The program picks up wher
`Windows 98 Explorer leaves off. I
`comes with built-in viewers tha
`let you quickly view the content
`of just about any type of file
`including word processing
`graphics and spreadsheets files. It
`addition to viewing files, you cat
`quickly compress and un-compres
`them using the popular PKZi'
`format that's widely used for file
`that. are downloaded over the In
`ternet. One great thing about thi
`program is that it lets you cop:
`data from any file you're viewing
`including one that is compressec
`That way you can save disk spac
`by compressing files you don't us
`often and still get access to th
`information if you need it.
`The aptly named program i
`clear and simple. It took me almos
`no time to figure out. The standar(
`version, which costs $29.95, sup
`ports a more limited number of fil,
`types. You can download a fre•
`trial version from the company':
`Website.
`These programs are good, bu
`they lack one important feature
`Neither could help me find m:
`keys and wallet.
`Lawrence J. Magid can be reached
`at larry.magld@latlmes.com. His Web
`page Is at http:/ ;www.latrysworld
`.com or keyword .. LarryMagld" on
`AOL •
`
`Enfish, LLC; IPR2014-00574
`Exhibit 2216
`Page 1 of 1
`
`