How to Organize an Electronic Filing System

Creating a File System on Windows

1. 
   Choose what files you want to organize. To select multiple files that are listed together in Windows Explorer, click the first file you want to select and then hold ⇧ Shift and click the last file.
2. 
   Choose a location for the filing system. Windows has default main folder names such as My Documents, My Pictures, and My Music or you can choose where to create the folder.
3. 
   Create a new folder. This folder will serve as your filing cabinet, holding other organized subfolders.

   1. In Windows Explorer, right click where you want to create the folder.
   2. Click New .
   3. Click Folder . The folder name New Folder is highlighted.
   4. Type the folder name you want to use.
   5. Press ↵ Enter.
4. 
   Add subfolders to your main folder. Double-click the main folder name to open that folder. In the same way you created the main folder, create subfolders to organize your files.
5. 
   Move the files into the new folders. You can open two versions of Windows Explorer side by side and then drag files from the original location to the new folder.
6. 
   Backup your organized files. Use Windows Backup to regularly copy them to an external hard drive or to a cloud server. If your computer hard drive fails, you can use your backup to restore the files to a new hard drive.

   1. Click Start.
   2. In the search box, type Backup.
   3. Click Backup and Restore.
   4. Click Set up backup and follow the steps in the wizard.