Firstly let me state that I AM a complete newbie with Linux and still rely mostly on the gui to get anything done.

I have a two part question.
First,is it more secure to keep files you use a lot(password managers, personal files) on the administrator account or a standard user account.I have read it is best not to logon with the administrator account.

Second, if it is better to keep them on the administrator account, how can the standard user access one particular folder in the administrator account?
I've been bouncing around reading articles about sharing folders but have not seen anything that answers this question.

Welcome.

It is much better to avoid using the administrator account for daily tasks. Use it only for system administration and log out from it when the maintenance is done.

Again, it is better to only use the administration account for system maintenance.

In order to share a folder between two or more accounts, you'd use groups. If it is a matter of read only-access, then that is simple: set a group to read access in the graphical file manager and have the accounts be members of that group. However, when you want to share write access between accounts, sharing write access can be a little more complicated on EXT file systems. EXT4 is the default for most distros these days, but there are other file systems which you could choose, some with better characteristics in regard to sharing, but that is a much more advanced setup.

My Thanks for the info. So, I should install any new programs I would normally be using on a daily basis on the standard account, correct? Pretty much everything and like you say, only use the administrator for maintainance?
I suppose I should uninstall what I have installed on the admin account and reinstall them from the standard account?
Just trying to make sure here.
nd thanks again.This is going to be a long trek for me..

Switch to the administrative account to install programs, too, and then switch back to your regular account once the installation is complete. Same for updates.

Installation from the repository should take only a few seconds. Programs from outside the repository should be avoided as much as possible. Your distro will have a nice, graphical front end for package management. There is a common one called synaptic but there will be one specific to your distro, and you can speed up the installation by pointing the package manager at topologically close nodes.

By the way, which distro is this for, including version?

What distribution and version are you running?

No. Just for information have you installed any program not in the official repository?

Your "password repository" should of course be an encrypted file, and so it's fine to keep it on "your account." In general, I recommend that you keep everything that "you" use on "your" account.

And – "your" account should be a non-administrator account. (In Linux parlance, "not a member of the wheel group.")

Only one account should be "an administrator." (Don't name it "wheel" or "administrator" or "admin.") This is the account that you use for system administration, and no other purpose. (Optionally, change the permissions on the user's home directory to exclude access from "others." "-rwxrwx---" In case you want to store information there that is "nobody else's business.")

When you install Linux, it will create one "administrator" account. Immediately use this account to create other, non-administrator, account(s) for your daily use.

The distinction of this particular user is not that it is "more or less secure," but "what it (alone!) can do." Only this user can "walk into a phone booth" and then "fly(!) out."

Incidentally: this principle of least privilege applies equally to every(!) operating system: Windows, Linux, OS/X (MacOS). Because: "computers are terrible at knowing when to say 'yes,' but terrific at saying 'no!'" Every OS provides its own (different ...) way of accomplishing this critically important distinction.