4 Hacks To Organize Your Computer Files The Right Way 

Running a business without using a computer is something most business owners wouldn’t be able to contemplate. Whether you run a web-based business and everything is done online or you simply need a computer for your accounts but everything else is offline, the fact is that having a computer is essential. 

Having a computer means that you’ll no doubt have plenty of computer files too, and many of them will be sensitive documents that include bank details and customer information. In order to keep this information safe and to make it easy to find things, it’s important that you organize your computer files in the right way. This isn’t always easy, but once you see how useful it can be and how easy it is to get started and put good practices in place, you should start to see an improvement. Read on to find out more. 

Make The Desktop The Default Download Location 

When you download a file, where does it go? If you don’t make any changes to your computer, it could be an obscure folder somewhere that then takes an age to locate and extract the document from. You might give up altogether if it’s too hard to find, which means the download can’t be used, and that it is potentially unsecure and vulnerable to a cybercriminal. 

The good news is that you can change the default location where files are downloaded to, which will make things much easier. Change it to your computer’s desktop, and you’ll immediately be able to see your file, whether you’ve downloaded in from the internet or received it in an email and want to keep it on your computer. Once the file is on your desktop, you can then remove it if you actually don’t need it, or save it to the right location – it’s permanent location – if you do. Just remember to delete it from your desktop in either case, otherwise it will become messy and crowded and you’ll have problems finding things again. 

Transfer Files To External Storage

Sometimes it’s better not to store the files on your computer at all. When you save them to external storage instead, it is much more secure, whether you use the cloud or a physical additional hard drive that can be removed from your computer and stored safely. It makes sense, then, to ensure that this transfer from your computer to the external storage is done in as secure and safe a manner as possible. 

Software like enterprise file transfer will assist your business with an MFT solution that will keep your data safe and create an overall secure system for file transfers in general within your business. Make sure that wherever you intend to transfer your files to is secure in its own right, however, otherwise your hard work could be undone. 

Name Files Properly 

Another reason why you might have trouble finding files once you’ve downloaded them, or at least understanding precisely what they are, is that they are not named properly. Most of the time, internet files will have random names made up of letters and numbers that don’t make much sense. Once you download them, you might not know what they are. Even if you do, once you save them in the place you want to keep them, when you go back to them at a later time, you won’t know what they are. 

Once you have downloaded something, it would be good to get into the habit of renaming files to something you will understand instantly. In that way, you can save a lot of time when you come to look for something again. It’s a small act, but it can make a big difference. 

Make Directories 

Having one central place to download all your files to is a good idea; you’ll always know where to find them, as we discussed above. However, simply having random files within this one place is only marginally better than having them scattered across your desktop. 

This is why you should make different folders and directories to file and organize your documents better. If the documents relate to sales, put them in the sales folder. If they are to do with purchasing, put them in the purchasing folder. The same goes for marketing, feedback, your website, and so on. All of these directories can be in the one central folder to keep them neat and tidy, but again, it will be easier for you to find what you need if they are organized well. 

Johnny McKinsey
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