This module covers the habits that sit around every practical ICT task: where files live, what type they really are, how they are exported, how you prove what you did, and how you name the final artefact. Cambridge IGCSE ICT (0417) is a practical subject, so these habits protect the marks your software skills earn. Check the current syllabus page for the exact practical requirements before you rely on any detail here.
All files, records and people in these lessons are invented practice material.
What should you know before starting?
You should be comfortable opening, saving and closing a file in any spreadsheet or word processor. You should also know what a folder is. Nothing else is assumed, and the lessons use generic features that exist in common software.
An orienting example
Aiman (an invented student) is practising a café price list. He saves price list final FINAL.xlsx on the desktop, exports a copy called price list.csv, and takes a screenshot named Screenshot 1.png.
Three problems appear. The folder gives no clue which file is the source and which is the output.
The name price list.csv hides that the formulas were lost on export. And Screenshot 1.png does not show the formula bar, so it proves nothing.
A better version: cafe_prices_v1.xlsx in a 02_working folder, cafe_prices_v1.csv in 03_output, and evidence_total_formula.png in 04_evidence, with the formula =SUM(D2:D4) visible. Every lesson below fixes one of these gaps.
In which order should you study the lessons?
- Use a consistent practice folder structure: everything else depends on knowing where files live.
- Distinguish file type from its visible extension: you cannot export safely if you misread a type.
- Export without losing required content: conversion is where work is silently lost.
- Capture evidence that shows the relevant setting: proof must show the setting, not just the page.
- Check a filename before submitting: a final gate before you hand anything in.
Then try the mixed practice set.
Common traps
- Keeping three copies called “final” with no version label.
- Renaming
.xlsxto.csvand assuming the file has been converted. - Exporting to a format that drops formulas, styles or hidden columns, then not noticing.
- Taking a screenshot of the whole screen when the evidence needed is one dialog box.
- Spaces, symbols and capital-letter surprises in filenames.
How should you use the practice set?
Do the questions in order after finishing the lessons. Cover each answer, write your own, then compare. Log each slip in the mistake log and recheck it a few days later.
The ICT practical task and evidence checker gives a quick pass over any task you have just finished.
If you want a teacher to watch your routine on a live task, see our online one-to-one ICT tuition.