Directories

Quick Index

Working With Directories
File Browser
Viewing File Extensions
Working Directory
ZIP (Compressed) Directory

A computer directory (folder) contains computer files and may contain sub-directories. Directories form a tree on your computer system.

Directories In File Browser

Below we are showing a directories in a file browser. We are viewing the "Drill1" directory. The full path to this directory is:

 "C:\Work\Courses\Practice\Drill1"

. The browser also shows us that the "Drill1" directory has three sub-directories: Add, Multiply and Subtract

Directory Tree

The schematic figure below shows us the directory tree (for the directories shown in the previous section). It shows us the parent and sub-directory relationships.

\---Work
    \---Courses
        \---Practice
            \---Drill1
                \---Add
                \---Multiply
                \---Subtract

A few relationships from the tree above:

The directory Courses is a sub-directory of directory Work and it follows that Work is the parent directory of Courses
The directory Drill1 has three sub-directories (Add, Multiply and Subtract)
The directoriesAdd, Multiply and Subtract each have the parent directory Drill1
etc

Adding Directories

We'll often be adding directories (folders) to organize our files.

Adding a Directory:

Directory And File References

File Browser

What Is A File Browser?

A file browser is a great tool for working with files. 👍🏽

In Microsoft Windows, the file browser tool is called the "File Explorer", and in the macOS it is the "Finder".

We'll now hit some examples using the Microsoft Windows "File Explorer". The macOS "Finder" has similar features.

Terms

The browser components:

Current Directory -- This is the directory we have selected and are showing in our file browser. Our current directory is "Foo" (full path is "C:\Work\Foo"). Note....
Directory Contents -- The sub-directories and files contained inside the current directory

Actions

Opening File Browser

1. Right-Click the mouse on the "Start" menu
2. Choose "File Explorer"

Another approach is to choose "Search" and enter a keyword like "file", "explorer", etc

Quick Demo

Navigating Directories

Here is how to navigate through the directory tree:

Notice the current dir (cd) is "Foo".
Double click on Foo's sub-directory "Campgrounds"
Notice the new current dir is now "Campgrounds"
Notice that we now see the contents of "Campgrounds"

Quick Demo

Action 'New'

Make sure no files are selected in the "Directory Contents" Area
Right-click the mouse and choose 'New'.

A popup menu will open. We'll use these three guys a lot (click each for details):

Copy File

In a file browser

Select the file to copy
Right click on selected file
Select "Copy" action"

Paste File

In a file browser.
Note -- do this action after you have copied a file.

Right click away from the files (in the blank area)
Select the "Paste" action

Common Actions Delete-Rename-Copy-Paste (By Right-Click)

 /nlist
Select a row/item
Right-click
You will see actions like those shown in the picture.

/t
Also See:
/list
#CopyFile
#PasteFile
Quick Demo, Refs/Demos/CopyPasteRenameDelete.mp4
How to copy files, https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000766.htm
"How to delete a file, directory, or folder", https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000743.htm

Common Actions Copy-Paste-Delete-Rename (from Toolbar)

This is optional only -- we may also find these actions on the browser toolbar.

Reminder: There are usually multiple ways to perform an action (your choice).

Slash And Back Slash

Windows file paths use the backslash:

\Work\Foo\MyFile.txt

MAC and Unix file paths use the forward slash:

/Work/Foo/MyFile.txt

Viewing File Extensions

See Viewing File Extensions

File Browser References

Viewing File Extensions

As coders, we always need to know the file extension of the file we are working on. This page will show how to do that.

Example File Extensions

File Name	File Extension	Also Called
readme.txt	txt	TXT file
Rectangle.java	java	JAVA file
Rectangle.class	class	CLASS file
Sort.py	py	PY file

Show File Extensions in Windows

Select "View" Tab
Check the "File name extensions" checkbox
Note that we can now see file extensions such as "class, "java", etc.

Quick Demo

Show File Extensions on the MAC

On the MAC, make sure "Show all filename extensions." is selected (under Finder > Preferences/Settings -- Advanced).

See:

Working Directory

What Is A Working Directory?

The working directory is simply a computer directory where we will do our coding work for a given coding exercise/project/etc.

The working directory will contain files and possibly other sub-directories as needed.

You will likely add a new working directory each time you start a new coding project.

Example

Here is an example "working directory" that we named "Practice1". Yours may be different of course 😉!

NOTE WELL -- It is suggested to add your working directories somewhere under the "\Work" directory tree (as shown in this example) -- to avoid the GOTCHA described in the next section.

Also see Directory...

C:\
    \---Work
           \---MyWork
                  \---Practice1

Beware Of GOTCHA!

Watch out for this GOTCHA: "read-only" areas of your computer.

For example, in Windows, you would not want to put your working directory under "Program Files".

Do not do this:

C:\
    \---Program Files
          \---Drill1

Yes do this -- Add a directory named "Work":

C:\
    \---Work

Then you can put your working directories anywhere under your "Work" directory:

C:\
    \---Work
           \---MyWork
                  \---Practice1

ZIP (Compressed) Directory

Also see ZIP File

Introduction To Objects With Java (Chapter 102 - Working With Files)

Chapter 102 - Working With Files Directories

Contents Overview Video File Types Directories Console Editing Challenge

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