Information Technology and Desktop Publishing

Saving files in college

It's all very well working away in college on the latest hi-tech computers, but what do you do with your work when it's time to go home? Or, if you have a computer at home, how do you get your work safely into college?

The worst case scenario…. you spend hours typing up the perfect assignment (which, of course, you've left until the day before it's due in…), you 'save' carefully, get to college, go to open the file, and… nothing.

So how to avoid this disaster?

  1. Make sure you are saving to a disc and not to the hard drive. Most pc's are set to automatically save new files to the hard drive (usually the C: drive, often under 'my documents'). When saving a file for the first time, go to file > save as and choose the A: drive.

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  2. Remember that floppy discs are fragile and easily broken ('corrupted'). They do not mix well with coffee or irn bru!! Avoid carrying floppy discs loose in your bag, and make sure you have more than one - this way you can take a back up.
  3. If you are using a home computer, do two things. First, check that you are running Word (i.e. Office) and not Works (this is common in newer computers that have Windows XP installed). And always keep a copy of your work on your C: drive.