iCheck Microsoft Office 2003 Introductory

These articles further explore computer safety, ethics, and many other topics covered in the Technology Handbook found in the student edition.

Getting Set (p. H27)

Introduction Learn about pathnames and file compression.

Directions Read the information below and apply what you learn to answer the questions. Check your work carefully, and click Check Answers.

What Is a Pathname?

A pathname is a list of phrases that describes the location of a particular file. In a Windows Explorer dialog box, the pathname of a file appears in the Address window. The pathname includes the device letter (the storage device in which the file is stored), the folder, the subfolder (if a subfolder exists), the file name, and the file extension (which identifies the file type).

Note the pathname below:

C:\My Documents\Homework\Project01.doc

The parts of the pathname can be identified as follows:

Device letter: C: (C drive)

Folder: My Documents

Subfolder: Homework

File name: Project01

File extension: doc (Word document)

If you are working on a network, you can send a pathname to a co-worker on that network so that he or she can find the file quickly. You could send the pathname as a link that your co-worker can click on to be taken directly to the file, or your could send the pathname as text and your co-worker will be able to use the pathname to find the document’s location on the network.

What Can I Do When My Hard Drive Is Full?

The amount of memory that your computer has and how large your files are determine how many files will fit on your hard drive. People who need to save large files often use file compression software. File compression is a process in which files are compressed, or “shrunk,” into a smaller file. The smaller file is called a compressed file. In order to open this file, you need to decompress it, or bring it back to its original size. A compressed file uses less disk space than a regular file. In fact, you can set a file compression ratio to determine how much your files will be compressed. For example, if you choose a file compression ratio of 20:1, the compressed file will be twenty times smaller than the original file.

The most popular file compression software programs are PKZip, ZipIt, and WinZip. They have become so popular that many people use the product names to refer to the file compression process. For example, many call compressing a file “zipping,” and decompressing a file “unzipping.”

1			What is a pathname?
2			Identify the different parts of a pathname.
3			What is file compression?
4			What does a file compression ratio of 25:1 mean?