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The flood of information seems never-ending: photos, music tracks, book reports, videos.... It's getting harder and harder to deal with the growing number of important data files stored on our personal computers.
Take Wendy Lahay. A working mom and avid photographer, she has accumulated thousands of images. Lahay finds it difficult to store and organize all her photos on her Windows XP computer, so she uses Kodak's site to help keep her collection under control. But when she needs to do some photo editing, Lahay still has to bring the photos into the My Pictures folder on her PC.
In fact, digital content management has always been somewhat of a chore. While the File Explorer in Windows XP was a huge advancement, it was still fairly limited in capability. Users could view files, sort them in various ways, and organize via drag-and-drop, but the view remained fairly drab and limited. Previewing files is difficult, and accessory tools such as the Search Companion are under-utilitized.
Windows Vista offers organizational enhancements, which should help users like Lahay do more on their own computer, and rely less on outside services.
Organizing
"The desktop is probably the biggest mess, in terms of disorganization," says Ken Quigley, president of Keystroke Quality Computing Inc, which, among other things, helps clean up the chaos on heavily-used systems. People "just dump a lot of stuff there," he says, because it's easy. While the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP helps, it's not a complete solution.
Moreover, scattering files to inappropriate locations makes a system more difficult to maintain, and may result in valuable data not being backed up. In other words, organizing the desktop is about more than aesthetics. "We don't do things just for the sake of tidiness," Quigley points out.
The creation of My Documents, My Music and My Pictures folders in Windows XP was a huge step forward, giving users an obvious place to store personal files. Vista goes one step further, shortening the names to "Documents," "Music" and "Pictures," and putting all three prominently on the Start menu.
Upgrading to Vista will place My Documents files into the new Documents folder. However, it won't actually tidy up files stored elsewhere, so it's still a good idea to develop a filing strategy either before or after the upgrade. You can also ensure your important files and documents make it from one PC to the next using Windows Easy Transfer. The wizard helps ensure your files are transferred safely. Click here to find out more.
Explorers
Lahay says she'd be more apt to manage her files if it were easier. In fact, Vista makes basic file operations both easier and more pleasant.
For example, file icons in Vista Explorers windows present thumbnails of each file's contents. This applies to all sorts of files, from Word or Excel documents, to digital photos. A slider expands thumbnails from tiny to magnified, where they are almost a full preview.
Vista also brings long lists under control. In Windows XP, the Show in Groups option allows files to be separated into alphabetical sections by neat dividing lines. In Vista, each section can be collapsed, outliner-fashion, making it easier to zero in on the specific files needed.
In Explorers, files can even be combined into Stacks, removing multiple files from the main listing and showing them as a single combined icon.
Finally, Vista Explorers have several new Panes. At the bottom of the window, the Details Pane gives extensive information about any selected file. The Preview Pane shows the selected file's contents, making it easy to identify the document needed.
Views are also more consistent than previously. Item lists in Media Player, or Windows Mail, closely resemble those in file Explorers, meaning you can deal with multiple types of information using a common set of procedures.
Search
Of course, the one feature that's probably going to save you the most time is Vista's new Search. If information overload still manages to get ahead of you, Search lets you find what you're looking for — faster.
This is because Vista indexes all files, so information is accessible almost instantly. What's more, Search is now available pretty well everywhere you need it, including the Start menu, Control Panel, in Windows programs like Photo Gallery and Media Player, and in file Explorers.
If you need to zero in very specifically, the Advanced Search pane available in any Explorers view allows for searchable attributes such as date, tag and author.
Sidebar
The new Sidebar has a special role to play in managing incoming information. It displays Gadgets, which are mini-applications that connect to the web and provide you with real-time information — right on your Vista desktop.
Gadgets can provide weather reports, news updates, traffic maps and Internet radio streams, in a graphic format that's quicker and easier to access, not to mention more easily viewable than a full web page.
Published March 2007
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Writer, Frank Lenk
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