Windows 7 Libraries

Yes Bob your right about libraries being a good tool to allow better file management. They make it possible to view data and groups of files in numerous ways and without fighting duplicate copies and the confusion and problems with synchronization they can bring.

Just remember though that if you do save the actual copy of any files or folders anyplace other than the My Documents or the Shared Documents folders you will need to be sure that they are being backed up properly.

Most back up programs assume that files and folders with data in them are located in one of those two places. So just be sure to include data located in "unusual" places in any back up plans or you might be in for a nasty surprise...

That's why I usually suggest a separate drive (either virtual or physical) that all data is stored on. That way just making a copy of that drive will back up all your data simply and completely.

So enjoy libraries everyone but remember they are just a fancy list not a "real" file or directory.

Huh. Libraries sound like a good addition...sounds like it would help, not only with conserving disc space, but also organization. I could use this for more than just summer photos, but programming and 3d animation (no more copying a file three times to make sure it's in every folder I might think I'll look for it in). Nice.

So... It appears that libraries are basically saved searches whose results are displayed in Windows Explorer style. Or have I missed something?

@Christian "...copying a file three times to make sure..." What? Don't you use shortcuts?
As I understand it, Libraries really *is* just a fancy way of assembling shortcuts in one place. Sounds easier than doing it the old way, though.

Libraries is one of the top 5 reasons I have switched to Windows 7. With a computer that has over 3TB of files, I always had to use a filename indexing program. Now Libraries allow me to look at my files using multiple views and negate the need to copy files around when moving to new Windows. Libraries are like Labels in Gmail.

Interesting, apparently Windows has (finally?) included the functionality of "ln -s" or soft-linking within Unix. Perhaps, in another 10 years, they will come up with the, now 4 or 5 year old Unix concept of Unionfs, so that you can actually have a directory (Library?) that has all the elements in it, as opposed to all the elements in the pointed-to sub-folders. Yay Windows, you've finally caught up to 1970's. Sorry this "new technology" is not exactly new to many of us. I don't know why it's so astounding.

Percy

Library's, used correctly are fine. However, now, people will definitely not know where the actual files are. My wife is a great 1 for scattering things all over the place, then, when it's time to back everything up, it's a royal disaster. I am afraid that libraries will encourage this type of disorganization. Well, at least, with a little digging, i will be able to find the files!

Okay, so "libraries" are a convenience.

Now how do I go about displaying the oldfashioned folder tree, showing where everything really is?

Tomak.

I discovered another neat feature of Win7. I was disappointed to see that picture, music, downloads, and videos were moved out of documents and place in the user directory. I simply moved them into documents, expecting to have to do some tweaking to get the programs to point to the new location. But to my pleasant surprise all of my programs with the exception of uTorrent automatically saved to the new location.

As for the comment on the tree, I use Total commander to navigate my drives and there you can see where the files "really" are. (actually they are really just one long string of bits on the disk and the index is just a convenient illusion LOL). I highly recommend Total Commander, best bang for the buck for a utility you'll ever get.

Another nasty mess from microsoft, documents, my documents, libraries everything scattered around and mixed.
I have only one question: is there a way to delete to whole crap from the system now and forever?

Hey Bob; its easy to get things into the windows 7 library's, all you have to do is scan them and they go there auotmatically.

What you did'nt in form me of is how the hell do you get the stuff you scaned in - out?? nothing i've tried so far works and i have'nt been able to find out anywhere how to remove anything from the library, althought i would expect that "delete" will work.

I've been trying for days to figure out how to get a picture out to be able to send it via yahoo.

Got any ideas?
I don't usually do much with computers, but i did shoot my first desktop about a year ago.It felt so gooood!!

Leon

So where can we get two-way help with libraries. I've learned to hate them and have used a script to hide/delete/disable or whatever them so I can enjoy using Windows again. However, two important folders with files in them disappear. I had to restore my system back a few days to get them back, but so are the libraries. I can't spend the rest of life trying to understand how great they are when I don't like them at all. I'm pretty sure I'll make every attempt to find a copy of XP Pro for my new laptop instead of having to deal with Windows 7.

I noticed that I can only place lowest level folders into the library or else all the sub-folders will come along with it.

Thanks for the explanation. What really gave me the Eureka! moment was your statement, "The Library is not a folder but a list of item locations that you want to lump together in one category, called "Pictures" in this case".

I kept trying to treat the items in the library like folders and was moving stuff all over the place.

Hello Bob,

Is there any way to set libraries in the Windows Explorer to be "collapsed" at all times from a script?

Thank you.

It looks as if you can't delete a subfolder from a library without also deleting it from its original location, which means you can't have a folder structure in a library that's tidier than the "real" folder structure.