From a program
Yet another way to open a document is to use the File menu inside the program you want to use to edit
the document. Although the exact steps may vary a little from program to program, this procedure does
work in most programs:
1. If you haven’t already done so, start the program you want to use to edit the document you
want to open.
2. From this program’s menu bar, choose File.
3. Often the File menu will display a list of recently saved documents, as in the example shown
in Figure 3-7. If you see the document you want to open, click its name and skip the rest of
the steps.
Figure 3-7: Many programs list recently edited documents right on the File menu. Here they’re
numbered 1–4.
4. Choose Open to get to the Open dialog box. In most programs, the Open dialog box will
automatically display the contents of the My Documents folder, as in Figure 3-8.
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Figure 3-8: The Open dialog box enables you to locate and open a document from within a
program.
5. If your document isn’t in the current folder, navigate to the appropriate folder using the
Look in drop-down list, or by opening the appropriate folder from the list of folder and file
names, or by clicking on an option in the left pane.
6. When you do get to the appropriate folder, click (or double-click) the icon for the file you
want to open.
If the program you’re using enables you to open multiple documents, and you want to open several from
the current folder, you can hold down the Ctrl key as you point to or click the names of the files you want
to open. Then click the Open button to open them all.
If, for whatever reason, you’re unable to locate the icon for the document you want to open, remember
you can always use the Search Companion to track it down, as discussed under “Searching for Lost

From Explorer
As you know from Chapter 2, Windows Explorer enables you to view the contents of any disk, and any
folder that’s in a disk. You can open any document by navigating to its folder in Explorer and then
clicking (or double-clicking) the document’s file name or icon. To open a document you saved in My
Documents, for example, you can click the Start button and choose to go straight to that folder. Then
click the icon for the document you want to open.
If the document isn’t in My Documents, you can navigate to the folder that does contain the document
from within Explorer. If the document is in Shared Documents, but you’re currently viewing My
Documents in Explorer, for example, just click Shared Documents under Other Places in the Explorer
bar. Explorer will then show the contents of the Shared Documents folder, and you can click (or doubleclick)
the document’s icon there.

Opening Documents
Opening documents is one of those tasks that virtually all computer users do several times a day. So
naturally, Windows offers umpteen different ways to do it. Of course, there is no wrong way or right way.
It’s all just a matter of using whichever method is most convenient at the moment. Note that it’s rarely
necessary to open the program first. If you just open the document from Windows, the appropriate
program for working with that document will open automatically we well.
From the Start menu
The My Recent Documents option on the Start menu keeps track of documents you’ve worked with
lately. So one quick and easy way to open a document is to click the Start button and then point to or
click My Recent Documents, as in Figure 3-6. If you see the name of the document you want to open,
just click its name.
Figure 3-6: The My Recent Documents menu, off of the Start menu
If you don’t see a My Recent Documents option on your Start menu, but would like to have one, rightclick
the Start button and choose Properties. Click the Customize button next to Start Menu, and then
click the Advanced tab. Then choose the Show Most Recently Used Documents check box near the
bottom of the dialog box. Close both open dialog boxes, as usual, by clicking their OK buttons.
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Closing a document
You can close a document in many ways. If you want to close a document and the program you used to
create the document, close the program using any method described under “Closing a Program” earlier
in this chapter.
Some programs (although WordPad isn’t one of them) enable you to close a document without closing
the program. Such programs provide a File Close option on their menu bar to perform this task.
Programs that enable you to edit several documents simultaneously will generally display each open
document in its own window. That window, in turn, will have Minimize, Maximize/Restore, and Close (X)
buttons. Clicking the Close button on the document’s window closes just that document — not the entire
program.
Tip Closing the program that you’re working in will automatically close all open
documents within that program as well. You will have a chance to save any
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unsaved work.
If you see a dialog box that looks something like Figure 3-5, that means you’ve changed the document
since the last time you saved it. Click whichever button best describes what you want to do:
Yes: Saves your document in its current state, and then closes it.
No: Closes the document without saving your changes. Choose this option only if you made
a mess of things or have ended up with something really weird on your screen that you
don’t want to save.
Cancel: Closes the current dialog box without closing (or saving) your document. You’re
exactly where you were before you opted to close the document.

The ever-important Save As dialog box
2. Typically, the Save In drop-down list in the dialog box will suggest your My Documents
folder as the place to save the document. If it doesn’t, you can choose My Documents from
that drop-down list, or from the buttons at the left side of the dialog box, or from the list of
folders shown below the Save In dialog box (if it’s available here).
Tip Remember, documents that you save in My Documents aren’t accessible to other people
who use this computer. If you want to share this document with others, choose Shared
Documents from the Save In drop-down list.
3. Next to File Name, type in a name for the document. Try to think of a name that will make it
easy to identify the document later. Try to limit the name to three or four words, maximum,
so you don’t end up with extremely long file names cluttering up your Windows Explorer
window in the future.
4. Click the Save button.
The Save As dialog box closes and you’re returned to your program and document. You might notice
the title bar of the program now shows the name of the document on which you’re working.
When you save a document, you save all work you’ve done up until the moment you save. If you
change or add to the document, you must specifically save the document again to save those changes
or additions. To save a document that already has a file name, choose File Save from the program’s
menu bar once again. Alternatively, you can click the little Save button in the toolbar (if any), or press
Ctrl+S. You won’t be prompted to enter a file name again because you already gave the document a file
name the first time you saved it. However, rest assured that the copy of the document that’s safely
stored on your disk exactly matches the copy you’re now viewing on your screen.
Tip Many programs offer an “autosave” feature that will automatically save your work
from time to time. This is a great safety device. To see whether a program offers
this feature, search its help for the term autosave.
If you ever want to save the current version of a document under a new name, so that you don’t alter
the original copy, choose File Save As from the program’s menu bar. There you can enter a new
name for this copy. Your original copy will remain unchanged, with the file name you originally gave to it.