April 5, 2001 -- What Happened to My File?

Sometimes I feel like an idiot because I saved a file but I didn't note just where the application put it. Now I want it but where to look?

Strategies:

1. If you just now saved something, there are three places you can look. Which is best depends on which is easiest.
   1. Look at where the application normally saves files. This can be slow if you've already closed the application, but is the fastest if you haven't.
   2. Look in Start|Documents. This usually lists the 15 most recently saved files.
   3. Use Start|Find|Files or Folders.
2. If you are looking for something you did some time ago, the strategies 1 and 2 probably won't be useful. In this case strategy 3 is your best bet (although sometimes 1 will work).

When you use Start|Find|Files or Folders you are given many options which can greatly speed up the process and reduce the clutter.

1. File type
2. Date range
3. Approximate file size
4. File name (but if you don't remember it corrrectly this will be a hinderance, not a help).

One other way to use "Find File" is to discover where all your disk space went. It is not at all unusual to find that there are huge .avi files that were installed on your computer to show you just how wonderful it would be to buy some advertiser's product. You can recover hundreds of megabytes of disk space by trashing these files you never had any interest in. The technique is as follows:

1. Start|Find|Files or Folders
2. Make sure the "Named" and "Containing text" boxes are empty
3. Select "Local hard drives" in the "Look in" drop-down selector
4. Select the "Advanced" tab
5. Select "at least" from the drop-down "Size is" list
6. Enter the number 10000 in the "KB" box to find all files 10MB or larger
7. Click on the "Find Now" button

Avoiding the problem:
The best way to avoid the problem is to be organized (do as I say, not as I do...). Several applications help alleviate the problem and take little time to use.

For more serious cataloging there are several applications that work quite well. I have burned over 300 CDs of images and files and it's really nice to be able to go immediately to the right one to get the desired file.

For general files, Advanced Disk Catalog works well. I use it to locate files that are somewhere around here, either on the computer or stashed in 300+ CD-ROMs.

Image files can be handled by 3-ring binders, JASC Media Pro, and ADC, or by an all-in-one product like Extensis Portfolio (was Fetch).

Saving files is a related issue, because you need to be able to find them later. Not only that, you have to be able to READ them later! Many CDR burner programs allow you to verify the data, but I consider that inadequate because it only shows the CD-writer was able to read what it wrote. I far prefer to read the burned disk on some other CD-reader and make sure that the disk truly is readable elsewhere. Beyond Compare is a good tool for checking the validity of the files, and even whole directories at a time.

Sources:
Advanced Disk Catalog: www.elcomsoft.com/adc.html
Beyond Compare: www.scootersoftware.com
Media Center: www.jasc.com