Windows 7 Libraries and You
One of the many new features in Windows 7 is Libraries. Is this some new feature that you'll never use? I don't think so. I think this is one of THE killer features of Microsoft's new operating system.
When you download pictures from your camera do you always put the pictures into the "My Pictures" folder? Or do you, like most people, place the pictures into various folders based on what makes the most sense at the time? What about your music, or videos, or even documents?
What if you run out of space on your local hard drive and want to move some pictures or videos to an external drive?
What if you want to search for vacation photos on someone else's computer in your house?
If you are intrigued by any of these questions, then you are going to like Libraries. Windows 7 has 4 default Libraries configured. They are Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos.
They are shown on the left side of Windows Explorer windows:
You can quickly and easily add folders from any location into the library. This is done easily by right clicking on a folder and selecting the option to "Include in Library," and then selecting the Library you want to add the folder to. It can also be done using the "Include in Library" button along the top of Windows Explorer.
When you add a folder to the library, it is indexed so you can search the contents of the folder. The contents of the My Documents folder are automatically indexed, but now you can have Windows index any folder you want. The folders you add can be on a different drive, or even on a different computer as long as you can reach it through a network.
Once you add a folder to a Library, you select that Library to see its contents. The resulting view shows that folder right next to every other folder in the library. Notice in the picture above that the Skydiving Trip folder, Vacation 2008 folder and Pictures folder are on the E: When I add them to the Pictures Library, they will appear alongside the folders that are in the Pictures folder under My Documents.
You can now see how the Pictures Library includes folders on the C: D: and E: drives. They are shown collapsed, but when you do this with folders that actually have pictures in them you'll see thumbnail views of the contents.
When you download pictures from your camera do you always put the pictures into the "My Pictures" folder? Or do you, like most people, place the pictures into various folders based on what makes the most sense at the time? What about your music, or videos, or even documents?
What if you run out of space on your local hard drive and want to move some pictures or videos to an external drive?
What if you want to search for vacation photos on someone else's computer in your house?
If you are intrigued by any of these questions, then you are going to like Libraries. Windows 7 has 4 default Libraries configured. They are Documents, Music, Pictures and Videos.
They are shown on the left side of Windows Explorer windows:
You can quickly and easily add folders from any location into the library. This is done easily by right clicking on a folder and selecting the option to "Include in Library," and then selecting the Library you want to add the folder to. It can also be done using the "Include in Library" button along the top of Windows Explorer.
When you add a folder to the library, it is indexed so you can search the contents of the folder. The contents of the My Documents folder are automatically indexed, but now you can have Windows index any folder you want. The folders you add can be on a different drive, or even on a different computer as long as you can reach it through a network.
Once you add a folder to a Library, you select that Library to see its contents. The resulting view shows that folder right next to every other folder in the library. Notice in the picture above that the Skydiving Trip folder, Vacation 2008 folder and Pictures folder are on the E: When I add them to the Pictures Library, they will appear alongside the folders that are in the Pictures folder under My Documents.
You can now see how the Pictures Library includes folders on the C: D: and E: drives. They are shown collapsed, but when you do this with folders that actually have pictures in them you'll see thumbnail views of the contents.
Every record that you do man, is sooo different in every way.
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