Grade 10 · Theory
File management
Data representation, storage and social implications · about 3 min
Good file management means you (and your programs) can find, protect and back up data quickly. The operating system organises storage as a tree of drives, folders and files.
Key points- A path describes where a file lives, e.g. C:\School\IT\PAT\notes.docx.
- Meaningful file and folder names plus a consistent structure save time.
- File properties include size, dates, and read-only or hidden attributes.
- Operations: copy, move, rename, delete, compress, and search.
- Backups should follow a routine (e.g. weekly full + daily changes) and be kept off-site or in the cloud.
- Folder/directory — a container that groups files.
- Compression — reducing file size for storage or transfer (e.g. ZIP).
EXAM TIP
be able to read a path and answer questions about it (drive, parent folder, file extension).