Over time, most users collect a number of study files. It's worthwhile considering what approach to use in organizing them as they're created. While WinFlash has options which allow storing support graphics and audio files in their own directories (see Strategies For Using Educator) this is probably NOT the best organization for most users.

If you are unfamiliar with navigating your computer's directories (aka "folders") using My Computer, read over the How Do I... Find files on My Computer section. The following discussion assumes that you're familiar with using My Computer to view your computer's directories and to create new ones.

If you're creating study files for your own use, we recommend that you create your directories, 1 directory for each study file, directly below the ..My Documents\My WinFlash Files directory. When viewed in My Computer such an approach might look something like this:

Note - If you're planning to use the Subject Outline tool, you'll want to create a separate My WinFlash Files directory just below the top level, so that the path is C:\My WinFlash Files.  This will make for MUCH shorter pathnames when displayed in Subject Outline, making the display easier to read and work with.

The Biology, French, History and Spanish directories (folders) have been created using the New Folder command accessed by right-clicking in the white area containing the already-existing directories Cheers and Tutorial. These directories are created in your My WinFlash Files directory when WinFlash is initially installed.

This type of approach may be perfectly sufficient if you will only be creating one or two decks per subject.  If you ARE expecting to create many decks for each subject you'll probably want to add one more level.  Here's an example using the French directory:

In summary, create an organized directory structure for your decks below the My WinFlash Files directory. It's best to keep all files relating to a study file within that file's directory. This prevents problems later when it may be desirable to move the directory to a new location.  If all of the files that comprise the "study file" are contained within a single directory, this is an easy matter. A corollary to this is that you shouldn't create a large number of study files in a single directory UNLESS they are all simple, text-only files.

Of course, these are only guidelines.  There are many people who have everything they've ever created with every program on their computer located in the top level of their My Documents directory...  If this works for you, WinFlash will work with it, too J

 

 

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