folder

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A subdivision of the hard disk for organizing data. Folders contain files as well as other folders (subfolders), and they expand to accommodate content because they are not a fixed, physical entity. Folders create the illusion of compartments, but actually exist as electronic tables of contents. See file.

Folders are created by the operating system and applications when they are installed, and users create them for their own purposes. For example, right click on the desktop and select "New Folder." The data created with the application may or may not be stored in separate folders; for example, the Documents and My Documents folders in Windows are often used to store a variety of different types of data (spreadsheets, text documents, etc.).

Folders and Directories

The folder metaphor was introduced on the Xerox Star in 1981; later popularized on the Mac and Windows. In the earlier Unix and DOS environments, the same organization structure was called a "directory," and subfolders were called "subdirectories."

Since the Mac actually became a Unix computer, and the Unix/Linux worlds thrive along with Windows, the terms "folder" and "directory" are used synonymously. In fact, it is not uncommon for people to intersperse the two terms in the same sentence. See files vs. folders, file and Win Folder organization.

Folders on the Desktop

Folders in all graphical environments are pictured as paper file folders, the type that fit in a file cabinet. This excerpt from a Mac desktop shows two files (top) and two folders (bottom).

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The term used by Apple for what in DOS was called a directory.
Windows 95 and later versions adopted this terminology.
Programs or files are stored in folders just as one would store documents in folders in a file cabinet.

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IN BRIEF: A booklet or pamphlet made of one or more sheets of paper.

She brought the folder to the meeting so the others would sign the papers.

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n

Usually a heavy paper envelope in which the patient’s records are kept.

For a list of words related to folder, see:

• Software, Languages, and Programming - folder: in Macintosh operating systems, a storage area for individual file and other folders

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See words rhyming with "folder."

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - mappe

Nederlands (Dutch)
folder, map, (papier) opvouwer, opvouwbare bril

Français (French)
n. - chemise, dossier, prospectus, plioir, plieur (de journaux), (Comput) répertoire

Deutsch (German)
n. - Faltblatt, Aktenmappe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φάκελος εγγράφων (κν. ντοσιέ), διαφημιστικό φυλλάδιο, (Η/Υ) κατάλογος αρχείων

Italiano (Italian)
dépliant, classificatore, cartella

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pasta (f) (para papel)

Русский (Russian)
папка, брошюра

Español (Spanish)
n. - folleto, cuaderno de anillas, carpeta, (Comp) directorio

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - samlingspärm, folder, vikare, mapp (data)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
折叠人, 折叠式书本, 折纸机

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 折疊人, 折疊式書本, 折紙機

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (컴퓨터의) 문서를 저장하는 경로, 서류철용 종이

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 紙ばさみ, 折り畳み式の印刷物, 折り畳む人, 折り畳み機

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نشرة مطويه , ملف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עוטפן, תיק, עלון‬

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