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On the disk are directories or collection of folders. These directories or folders could be compared to a filing cabinet. All files are stored in a directory. Most hard disks have many directories or folders and files can be stored in any of them.

Directories can have sub-directories and sub-sub-directories many levels down. The directory immediately below the current directory is called the child directory. The directory immediately above the current one is called the parent directory. The top of the directory structure is called the root directory.

When a user adds or installs a new program on the computer the installation process will usually create a new directory or folder to store the application's files.

Users can create and delete directories or folders as the need arises. Older operating systems require that the directory be emptied of files before it can be deleted. When removing a directory always check before deleting it to make sure that it doesn't contain files you need.

You can easily move files from one folder or directory to another using menu commands, drag & drop using the mouse or a file utility. It is important to understand your computer's directory structure as a file can be misplaced if it is saved in the wrong directory.

One of the main problems new users have is creating a filing system. Modern operating systems address the 'filing problem' by automatically creating folders for common projects (such as Documents or Pictures). By saving files or documents in these folders you will always know where to look for your files. Create sub-folders within these folder for your main projects. Examples could be a separate folder for your correspondence called Letters or a folder for holiday photos called Holiday. The main Documents folder can also be renamed to what every name you want it to be called. If your operating system doesn't automatically create this folder simply create your own Documents folder to save your documents in.