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Changing Directories in the Open Dialog Box

Use the buttons at the top of the Open dialog box to change the display:

• Up One Level: moves you up one level in the directory structure. If you're currently looking at a subdirectory called Word in your directory, the path might be:

  c:\data\jones\docs\word\

  When you press the Up One Level button, the path will change to:

  g:\data\jones\docs

  the next highest level in your directory.
   

• Favorites folder: Use this if you've save a shortcut for the document to the Favorites folder. You need to first save the document to another folder, then click on the down arrow next to the Tools button and select Add to Favorites.

  Next time you want to work on it, you can find it easily, even if you've forgotten where you saved it: just go to the Favorites folder and open it from there. You'll love this if you can never remember which folder you put stuff in!

• Commands & Settings, Tools and Open Dropdown Menus
• Open: Opens the selected document.
• Open Read-only: If you want to use a document as a model for a new document but still keep the original intact, open the original as a read-only copy, save it under a new name, then make any changes to the new version.
• Open as Copy: Opens a second copy of the document, which can then be modified and saved under a new name or as filename(2).doc.
• Print: Prints the selected document.
• Properties: Displays the Properties sheet for the selected document.
• Find...: Let's you search for a document using keywords, wildcards, date last modified, etc. See Word 2000 Help to learn how to use this feature.

Closing a Document

Select Close from the File menu to close the active document. If you have not saved recent changes, you'll be prompted to do so. If you have not yet saved the document at all, the Save As... dialog box will open so that you can name the document and specify where you would like to save it (see Save As... below regarding file names).

You can also close a document by clicking on the Close button on the tool bar.

Saving Documents

Select Save from the File menu to save the active document immediately. If you have not already named and saved the document, you will be prompted to do so. Or use the Save button on the toolbar - the one with the floppy disk on it - to save changes to a document you've already named.

Save As...

Use the Save As... command to name your document and save it the first time. It is highly recommended that you do this shortly after creating a new document. No matter how little you've done in a new document, you don't want to have to do it all over again if the power goes out or your PC crashes!

Once you've done the basic setup for a new document (running a Wizard or manually setting up a layout), save it. After you've named and saved it the first time, use the Save command in the File menu, the Save button on the toolbar, or [Ctrl + S] to do a 'quick save' every 10 or 15 minutes, or each time you complete a section of the document.

1. Select Save As... from the File menu to display the Save As... dialog box.
    
2. Make sure that the correct folder is showing in the Save in: field at the top of the dialog. If it isn't, click on the down arrow to the right and select the drive where your documents are normally saved. If you're on a network, it might be, for example, Vol_data on 'Server_1' (M:)

   If you are on a network, you probably shouldn't save documents to your hard drive, drive c:\ or d:\. Your documents should always be saved to your network directory. If you don't know which drive your network directory is on, contact your Help Desk or System Administrator.
    

   Next, you'll need to locate the folder with your name on it. Double click on it to open the folder. If it contains additional folders, select the one where you want to store the document by double clicking on it.

   The name of the folder - whether on a local hard drive or a network - should appear in the Save in: field.
    

3. Make certain that the Save as type: folder says Word Documents (*.doc) unless you have particular reason to save your document in a different file format.
    
4. Notice that Word 2000 has inserted a name in the File name: box. It takes the first few words from your document and inserts them as the file name, with the .doc ending added to it (though the ending may not be visible). Rename the document to something that makes a little more sense to you.

   To completely retype the name, just begin typing. You can also remove the highlight by pressing the left or right arrow key. Use an arrow key to move the cursor just to the left of the dot (period) in the file extension (xxxx.doc), then use the [Backspace] key to erase the name (leave the .doc extension). Type in a new name.

File Names

Long File Names

File names (including the pathname) can be up to 255 characters, including spaces and as many periods as you'd like (and as many characters after the final period as you'd like). Continue to use .doc, .xls, etc. so that Windows will know which program to associate the file with. You don't need to change the 3-letter file name extension! The file extensions may not be visible to you, but the appropriate extension will be added to the filename you enter, even though you may not see it.

To display filename extensions:

1. From the Tools menu in Windows Explorer or My Computer, select Folder Options..., then click on the View tab.
    
2. Deselect Hide file extensions for known files types or select to display extensions only for a particular file type.

It is important that your Word document name includes the .doc filename extension. When you want to open a Word document, Word looks in the specified directories for documents it recognizes as its own - those with the .doc extension. It won't list documents with any other extension unless you change Files of Type: to *.*.

If you've organized your files neatly and have set up subdirectories for documents created in different programs, you might only be able to see Word documents with the *.* file type displayed.

If you've thrown all of your documents into a single directory, you may have a list of several hundred documents of all types. If a document isn't identified as a Word file, the word icon won't appear next to it, and it won't be listed as a Microsoft Word Document in the Type column in Explorer, My Computer, or in the Open or Save dialog boxes.

It's much easier to use the correct extension. You can use Properties to enter additional information about the file - a lot more information than you can get in a 3-letter extension! If you want to preview your documents (see Open above), you may not be able to do so if Word doesn't recognize the file extension. Word will preview Excel files, etc. but won't recognize .mem or .ltr.

In addition, Windows associates file extensions with programs; if you double click on a document in My Computer or Windows Explorer, Windows will try to open the program that is associated with the file extension and display the file. If it doesn't recognize the extension, Windows won't be able to run the program and open your file. You'll still be able to use the file, but you'll have to run the program first, then locate the file and open it.

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