File Management

Question 1

Describe what version control is

Answer 1

Version control gives access to historical versions of your document. This is insurance against computer crashes. If you make a mistake, you can roll back to a previous version.

You can also undo specific edits without losing all the work that was done in the meanwhile.

For any part of a file, you can determine when, why and by whom it was ever edited.

Question 2

Describe what restricted access is

Answer 2

Some files will need to be password protected to limit who can access them and keep the information confidential.

By password protecting the files, this means that only the necessary people will be able to edit, update and look at these documents.

Question 3

Describe what is meant by file location

Answer 3

Organisations usually have procedures in place to ensure files are stored properly. For example - all files should be stored on the sever or intranet provided by the company.

The organisations will encourage good folder structure which is the way folders are organised on your computer. Folders and sub folders can keep your files organised in a logical way.

Files should be stored in named folders with appropriate file names that will make them easy to find. This will save employees valuable time.

Question 4

Describe what is meant by housekeeping/maintenance

Answer 4

Information should be provided to staff about deleting unnecessary files as storage should be always kept free on the server.

This also ensures employees comply with GDPR act of ‘only keeping information for as long as necessary’.

Question 5

Describe what is meant by a backup procedure

Answer 5

An important aspect of file management is ensuring that material is backed up. Back-up copies should be made regularly and staff should know the procedures for this.

Some servers may automatically back up data on a regular basis.

Storage devices which could be used for back-up include computer clouds, CD-Rom, DVD’s, USB, Pen drive.