AV News 184 - May 2011
Where Did That Go??
Howard Gregory
Introduction.
We recently ran an 'Introduction to digital AV' dayschool, aimed mainly at people
new to AV. It quickly became apparent that many were having problems, not with
AV, but with their computers. The most common problem was that they couldn't
find anything because their files etc were in a mess. So this is going to be a very
basic and boring article on keeping your computer tidy. It draws on examples from
incidents other than the dayschool.
Clear the desktop.
The purpose of desktop shortcut icons is to enable rapid access to functions.
It is not intended to be a trophy display area. 'Look how many programs I've got!'
Some desktops are so cluttered that it takes several minutes to find the icon you
want - completely defeating the intention. Since you can access all programs via
start/programs anyway, it makes sense only to have the frequently-used icons on
the desktop. Do you really need four programs for burning CDs etc? Just keep
the few icons you most often use.
It's common to have a nice picture as the desktop background. This can make
reading the icons difficult. The ideal desktop is a plain colour.
Rearrange the icons in a useful way. We have icons to do with AV in one
corner (only 6), icons to do with documents and office functions in another (4),
ones to do with the internet in another etc. They are all arranged round the edge
of a plain blue screen and can be seen instantly. Make sure the icons (both on
the desktop and in applications) are big enough to read. If they are not, right click
on the desktop/properties/appearance and select font size.
Now you should be able to find the wanted program instantly.
Keep your files neat.
This is probably the single most important factor in using a computer efficiently
and with minimum frustration.
In a large industrial organisation there will be an archive room. This will contain
filing cabinets. Each cabinet will have several drawers. Each drawer will have a
number of folders in it. Each folder will contain individual documents which are
related in some way - all to do with a particular contract, perhaps. In other words
there is a logical hierarchy from 'room' to 'sheet of paper' which enables
documents to be found quickly.
We are aiming at a similar structure with your pictures - a logical hierarchy from
'Howard's Pictures' right down to an individual image. Different people approach
this in slightly different ways - I shall say how we do it and why. If you have a
different system and it works, fine. However many people don't seem to have any
system. Pictures and other things, just sit where they land, scattered randomly
about their computer and nothing can ever be found.
One of the problems is that Bill Gates, in his wisdom, has provided a 'My
Pictures' folder on all (?) Windows computers. Consumer software such as that
which came with your camera tends to dump pictures there by default, usually in
date folders. In a great pile. There are two problems with this. 'My Pictures' being
part of the Windows system, has some preconceptions and restrictions built in to
it. These can be rather unhelpful. I have encountered cases where 'Explorer' 'isn't
allowed to go' to 'My Pictures' How unhelpful can you get?
Page 47