Owing to their limited storage capacity, floppy disks are being replaced by newer types of file storage media such as the USB Flash Drive pictured at the left. These devices hold as much as 100 or 1,000 times as a single floppy disk drive and can be found for sale in office supply or computer stores for as little as $10.00. They are referred to by many names including "jump drive", "keychain drive", "pen drive", "flash drive", etc.
The advantage of a flash drive is that, given the amount of data you can store on one, they end up being cheaper than buying floppies and they are generally more durable. They can hold Microsoft Word files, Excel spreadsheet files, digital images, music files and more. To access the USB slot on computers at the Dallas Public Library, you must lift up the gray cover under which are places to plug in headphones and USB devices.
In most cases, the PC will assign the drive letter F: or H: to your USB drive. Open files from or save files to the USB drive just as you would using a floppy disk or other storage device. You may need to type f: in the "File Name:" cell and then hit the "enter" key on your keyboard to force Windows to "see" the USB Flash Drive. Here is how you would enter this information when opening a file in Microsoft Word:
When you are ready to remove your USB drive, click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on the Windows toolbar in the lower right corner of the screen and click "Safely remove USB storage device". When the power light on your drive turns off, you can remove it from the PC. If the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon is not available or is not working, make sure all of your files are closed and that the drive is not being written to (power light on your drive should not be blinking) before removing your drive.
Please note that so called U3 smartdrives which include the Microsoft CE operating system may not work on Dallas Public Library computers. The reason is because these drives attempt to temporarily write information to the computer's registry, which is blocked by the security software in place to protect the public computers from tampering.
Save File to Desktop & Send as Email Attachment
You can use your webmail (examples: Hotmail, Yahoo mail, Gmail or Operamail) to transfer files from one computer to another by simply emailing a copy of the file to yourself as an attachment. While the specifics may vary, attaching files generally requires the following steps:
- Open your webmail account
- Click the Compose Mail link.
- Click the Attach a file link.
- Click the Browse button and browse to the file you wish to attach.
- Select the file you wish to add.
- Click okay.
Keep in mind that you cannot select multiple files at once. However, you can individually add each of the attachments you wish to add. If attached successfully, you should see a link with the attachment names in your e-mail. Once you're ready to send the message, click the Send button.
Please also note that after you save your file to the desktop, no icon will appear there. You will need to open an application, such as Microsoft Word or Excel, and then browse to the desktop, at which point you will be able to see the names of any files that have been saved to that location. Items saved to the desktop will be deleted when you log off from your computer.
(Note: If you don't have an email account, you can create one for free. We have create a guide showing how to create an account at GMail, which is part of Google. This email basics guide from the Evanston Public Library, Illinois, explains how to create a free Yahoo mail account. Both Yahoo and Hotmail require you to have an "alternate" email account to which they send the password needed to access the account. However, Operamail does not have this requirement, nor does GMail.)
There are a number of free internet services you may use to store
files on a remote server that can be accessed using an Internet
browser from any computer that has access to the Web. Using
these services generally requires you to set up a free account:
In general, free file storage services provide storage up to a
certain limit and may also restrict the size of individual files
that may be uploaded. Some free services are meant to store files
for just a few days and others offer indefinite storage. Read
their policies carefully. These services are meant to assist you in moving very large files
from one computer to another and only store the files for a number
of days:
If you are storing critical files such as a résumé, it is wise to have it stored in more than one place. For example, you might have it stored online and also on a USB or floppy drive.
Free Online Word Processor, Spreadsheet, etc.
Several companies now offer free versions of their online word processing and spreadsheet applications. These enable you to create documents and store them online.
- Zoho Virtual Office (Free, On-Demand Version)
- Google Docs & Spreadsheets
Storing links to your favorite websites is easy to manage using a free service that lets you access your bookmarks from anywhere you have a connection to the Web. Popular bookmark saving services include:
Warning: Companies can go out of business or change their policies at any time. Services that were once free sometimes begin to charge money. The Dallas Public Library cannot assume responsibility for the performance of any of the above-listed services. Critical files should always be saved in more than one location.