path is a fully-qualified file name.
the file system is like a hierarchical (spelling?) library
with one front door called 'root' represented by a
backslash (\). all rooms in the library stem from root
and, like a biological-family tree with no incest, there
are clear generations. each room has one door to the room
leading to the front and may have any number of doors
leading to rooms (directories AKA folders that contain
files, either data containers or program code). there are
no doors from one branch to another. shortcuts (icons
with a little arrow displayed) may be used in a folder to
quickly move up/down or traverse branches.
now, path. if the file myfile.txt is located on the root
of the file tree, the path is \myfile.txt within the
active drive -- that is the drive in use (typically c: for
hard drive, d: for cd, and a: for floppy).
a complete path includes the drive, so mytext.txt on the
root of drive-c would be c:\myfile.txt
the graphics system of windows is just a facade that hides
the command to run a program or open a data file with a
program associated with its extension, thus, if you click
start->run->notepad.exe you get the same results as
running notepad from an icon with a 'shortcut' to
notepad.exe
similarly, if you click on a document you have created or
saved, say to the desktop, windows will 'open it' with a
program associated with its extension. in our example,
the txt file is opened with notepad.exe (by default).
likewise, docs are typically associated with winword.exe
(ms word) or wordpad (if word is not installed). file
extensions may be hidden from view but you can change that
by opening a file folder and selecting tools->options-
view then deselecting 'hide file extensions of known
types.' you can even apply your folder changes to all
folders with the 'Appy to all folders' button atop the
view panel.
for most icons (that is, other than specials (like my
docs, recycle bin, and so forth), there is a shortcut that
contains information about which program to use to open it
(if a data file such as a doc or picture) or the path (if
it represents a program). view/edit that info by riht-
clicking on the icon then selecting 'properties' on the
popup menu.
also, path is used to locate a program when the shortcut
behind an icon is incomplete. for example, if you have an
icon that says 'notepad' and the shortcut behind the icon
is notepad.exe, windows will use an environmental variable
called path to find notepad.exe in the file system and
will complain or search for it if not found. the value of
the path environmental variable can be viewed most easily
by start->run->cmd to open a dos window then
entering 'path'. note: cmd is command on some windows
versions. to close the dos window type 'exit' and return
or click the 'x' (system box). you can also view/edit
environmental variables by right-clicking on my computer
icon, selecting 'advanced' tab, then clicking 'environment
variable' button.
hope this helps!
scottie
btw, my opinion is that windows has been seriously flawed
from the time they got the direction of the slash
wrong ... yes, i'm a unix biggot.
