Hello. I just want to ask how do I start in arranging the folders (from server folder to individual's folder) in the computers of our company and how? And do you have a sample flowchart for this? Or how do I start writing it in an essay form? (the plas on how to arrange)

Arranging folders on a server is done in much the same way as arranging them on a personal computer. The biggest difference is that on the server, you want to set up group permissions so that only those you want to have access to certain folders actually do.

Generally speaking, you'll want to set up a folder on your file server that will act as the root directory for the company (using the company name, or some abbreviation works well for naming it) with folders inside of that geared towards different sections of your company. A small business may only have three or for levels of folders, if that.

If you right click on a folder and choose properties, your first stop is the security tab. This is where you can tell the computer what groups of users are actually allowed to access this folder. There should also be a tab for sharing the folder and the settings for that (mainly what folders are to be shared, just that one or all subfolders as well). Generally, you'll want everyone to be able to access the root folder, then restrict it down from there. Ours is set up so that any department can view the folders for the other departments, but we have a restricted folder inside each of those department folders that can only be viewed by the employees in that department.

I hope this helps out a bit.

Thankss. But I don't know where to start! My boss said that I should write all my plans in an essay form and create a flowchart like in a dirctory tree! But how? Do you have a template that I can follow?

Always start with planning. You might want to sit down with your boss and ask him how he would like to see it organized. While talking with him, draw out the structure on paper. If you've ever created an outline for a school English paper, then that same structure is actually rather useful in this case. Determine what you want to call the root directory. This is the directory that is going to contain all the other folders that you want to access. Once you've created and named that, then open that folder and start creating folders that are pertinent to how you want your data structured. (see attached file)

In Windows, you can actually just make use of Copy and Paste to move files from one place to another. This makes organizing your files much much easier than if you had to do it on the command line level.

Let's see if we can't get you through the planning phase first, though. As far as writing up a report about it. You really want to gear that towards the benefits of organizing your files (file management). Focus on statistics (i.e. How long does your Human Resources manager spend searching your current file structure looking for information on last year's Q3 Affirmative Action reports).

Attached Files

FileMap Template.txt (382 Bytes, 234 views)

This is bargain day. A penny for my thoughts gets my two cents worth...

Think of how you would arrange your files and folders in a file cabinet. The drawers would be the major folder names, the folders in each drawer would be the minor folder names and the files would be the pieces of paper. A stapled or clipped set of files would be a multi-page document.

Since files and folders can also be easily renamed, the structure that you start with is not "etched in stone". This is an evolving process but most importantly, starts with the basic Who, What, Where, When and Why?

The structure must fit your needs. There are no set rules. Some people organize by file types, others by purpose or project. The thing you need to learn afterwards is the Search tools. Right-click on a folder and select Search... You can look for file names, words in a file or search on the keywords of a file summary. Many file types will allow you to keep a summary of the file. For example, right-click on a Microsoft Word file and select Properties. Select the Summary tab. Here you can input file properties that can be helpful in the Search. By standardizing on keyword sets and other types of information, you can make even the most confusing folder structure easy to use with searches.

As I noted on AllExperts.com, there is no right or wrong way to do this. It depends on your business needs. If you can describe them you can start to see how your plan should work.