Word Documents

• If you have Microsoft Word 2003 or OpenOffice.org Writer 2.2 at home, save the file normally as a [Word Document (*.doc)].
• If you have Microsoft Works at home, save the file as [Works 6.0 & 7.0 (*.wps)].
• If you have an OLDER version of Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org Writer at home or are unsure what version you have, save the file as [Word 97-2003 & 6.0/95 – RTF (*.doc)].
• If you have WordPad at home or are unsure what program you have at home, save the file as [Rich Text Format (*.rtf)]. You will lose some formatting, but you can open the file in Microsoft Word at school later, put everything back, and save your work again as a Word Document.

Excel Spreadsheets

• If you have Microsoft Excel 2003 or OpenOffice.org Calc 2.2 at home, save the file normally as a [Microsoft Office Excel Workbook (*.xls)].
• If you have an OLDER version of Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc at home or are unsure what version you have, save the file as [Microsoft Excel 97- Excel 2003 & 5.0/95 Workbook (*.xls)].

Powerpoint Presentations

• If you have Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 or OpenOffice.org Impress 2.2 at home, save the file normally as a [Presentation (*.ppt)].
• If you have an OLDER version of Microsoft PowerPoint or OpenOffice.org Impress at home or are unsure what version you have, save the file as [PowerPoint 97-2003 & 95 Presentation (*.ppt)].
• If you ONLY need to work on your outline (the words) and not on anything else, save the file as [Outline/RTF (*.rtf)] and open in any word processor at home. You will lose everything except your words, your text formatting, and some of your layouts, but you can open the file in Microsoft PowerPoint at school later, put everything back, and save your work again as a PowerPoint Presentation.

Windows Movie Maker Projects

If you don’t have Movie Maker at home, you can download and install it FREE from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx.

• Save your project file normally as a [Windows Movie Maker Project (*.mswmm)]. You MUST also save your imported video, pictures, audio, and music files to the same location.

Floppy Disk

Requires a Floppy Disk Drive on the computers you use. Newer computers don't come with one.

• Floppy Disks are common and cost less than $1, but they aren’t very durable. They can be easily damaged or destroyed if a magnet gets too close, dirt or dust gets inside, or the case gets bent or cracked. Keep them in a safe place.
• Floppy Disks have a maximum capacity of 1.44 MB of storage space, so they work well for smaller, short-term projects that use smaller files. If your assignment includes more than a few small pictures and sound clips, you won’t have enough space.

Flash Drive

Requires a USB Port on the computers you use. Older computers don't have any.

• Flash Drives (also called Thumb Drives and USB Drives) are becoming more common, but they aren’t cheap and are easy to lose. Keep them in a safe place.
• Flash Drive storage capacities range from 128 MB to several GB, but even the smallest has plenty of storage. If you can afford it, use them for large projects that include songs, video, and lots of pictures.

Email Attachment

Requires email access on the computers you use.

• Login to your email account and send yourself an email message. Include your file as an attachment.
• Emailing a file to yourself is a great option if you don’t have any other way to store it or take it with you. Keep in mind that some email systems limit the size of messages that can be sent to as low as 1 MB or 2 MB, so you may not be able to send it. However, if your email system is web-based you may end up with a copy of your message in a Draft or Sent folder with your file attached anyway.

School Web Site “My Files” Storage Space

Requires internet access on the computers you use.

• Login to your school’s web site using your computer username (School ID Number) and password (Last 4 Digits of your Social Security Number). Then select [My Files] on the new overlay menu at the top. You have 15 MB of storage space. The only restriction is that no single file can be 10 MB or more.
• Saving your assignment to the web site is a great option if you don’t have any other way to store it or take it with you and you are working with reasonably large file sizes.

CD-R Disk

Requires a CD-R Drive and burning software on the computers you use. Older computers don’t come with either.

• CD-R Disks are common and cost about $1, but you must be careful with them since they can easily crack or break.
• Saving to CD-R Disks can be tricky. You can never truly “edit” data on a CD-R. If you save back to the CD, you must save a second copy so the CD will get full faster than you expect. Also, since you can’t “erase” data on a CD, don’t store personal or private information on one.
• CD-R Disks have a maximum storage capacity of about 700 MB, so they have plenty of storage for all but the largest projects. Don’t close the CD session when you save (burn) or you won’t be able save back to it later.

CD-RW Disk

Requires a CD-RW Drive and burning software on the computers you use. Older computers don’t come with either.

• CD-RW Disks are uncommon and cost about $2. Be careful with them since they can easily crack or break.
• Saving to CD-RW Disks can be tricky. You can never truly “edit” data on a CD-RW, but you can at least “erase” older versions of files. (They remain on the CD, but are not visible.) Like CD-R Disks, if you save back to the CD, it’s really saving a second copy so the CD will get full faster than you expect. Unlike CD-R Disks, once the disk is completely full you can erase the entire CD and start using it again. Eventually the CD will corrupt and become unusable though.
• CD-RW Disks have a maximum storage capacity of about 700 MB, so they have plenty of storage for all but the largest projects. Be careful when saving (burning). If you close your CD sessions, you may not be able to access any files from a previous save (burn).