This article will continue our discussion of "file structure" from last issue (see pages 39-41, May/ June 92 issue). Remember, when you save information created using a built-in 95LX application such as PHONE, APPT, or MEMO, that information is stored in files.
Learning how a DOS machine deals with files is really learning how to intelligently and efficiently store and safeguard your data.
The analogy we made last issue (page 41) between a file cabinet and a DOS directory structure is a good one. The 95LX, with its built-in C drive and RAM card slot, is like a two-drawer file cabinet in that you can store your files in two different places. (If you don't have a RAM Card, you're missing a file drawer.)
File drawers in a cabinet are analogous to the disk drives on a computer. If we have a file cabinet with two drawers, we could label one drawer "C:" and the other drawer "A:". Likewise, the 95LX has an internal disk drive labeled "C:" and a RAM card slot labeled "A:".
If we store files in a file cabinet, we can put them in either drawer. Files on the 95LX can be stored on either the C: drive or on the A: drive (if we have a RAM card).
Comparing A: and C: Drives to a Two-Drawer Filing Cabinet: Graphic
When you store a file in a file cabinet, you give it a name (i.e. you put a label on the file folder). In the same way, when you store a PHONE, MEMO, APPT, or 1-2-3 file, you give it a name. As we discussed in the last issue, DOS lays out strict rules governing legal file names. A file name consists of 1 to 8 characters, followed by an optional period and 1 to 3 more characters. These characters can be numbers, letters, and many of the special symbols, such as underline or dash.