File Organization With Windows 7 Libraries

By Author: Mark Stjean
Total Articles: 59
Comment this article

The Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft is proving to be exceptionally popular indeed. Since its release in july 2009, copies have been flying off shelves with seven copies sold each second. These startling sales figures have made Windows 7 the fastest selling operating system in history.

Why the popularity? Well many technology reviewers have praised its speed and usability when compared to its predecessor, Windows Vista. Useful features like file organization With Windows 7 libraries help to make the user experience smooth and intuitive.

When multiple people in the same household use a computer, or you have a variety of laptop computers on a shared network, files can end up in many different directories and can be difficult to locate. Windows 7 helps make them easier to find with its handy new library feature. The aim of this article is to hopefully show you how to set up your own libraries.

One of the first things you may have noticed when you moved to Windows 7 was the introduction of libraries to your Windows Explorer interface:

The Documents library consolidates files from your My Documents ...
... folder with files in the Public Documents folder so that you can handily find them all in one place. The Music, Pictures, and Videos libraries all work in a similar fashion.

You can easily create your own Windows 7 libraries by doing the following:

Select Start à Computer. You should see your libraries clearly listed in the left pane.

Right-click the Libraries heading and select New à Library.

Type in the name of the new library and press Enter.

Right-click the new library and select Properties.

Click Include a folder and select the folder you want to include.

The save location is the actual folder where files will be saved if you copy them to the new library. It will default to the first folder you included. If you want it to be one of the other folders, just click Set save location and select the desired folder:

Click OK and your new library will be ready to use.

Libraries are a useful tool if you want to create a common space for files that are related in some way. Your library can also include folders shared over a network so that your file organization efforts can span multiple computers. All of this should help you spend less time searching for files and more time working or playing.

This article was brought to you by Vincent Bourton, a Vancouver native and technology writer. His work can be found online at Cheaperlaptop.com, a Website that offers reviews of Acer laptops, and other popular computer brands.