Libraries question

[Tony Vella]

When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is there a way to
stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and start fresh (if I
can find good instructions somewhere).

TIA.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also
deleted in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is
there a way to stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and
start fresh (if I can find good instructions somewhere).

The files listed in the library are not actually located there. The
"Library" is more like a "Card Catalog" than a bookshelf. When you
discard the library entry, you also discard the file upon which it is based.

I discarded and disabled the libraries early in my Windows 7 experience,
so I don't know how to clean them out without losing the target files.
You might try backing up the files somewhere, deleting them from the
library, then restoring them from backup.

 

[John Williamson]

When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is there a way to
stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and start fresh (if I
can find good instructions somewhere).

There's no way to stop a file on the HD being deleted when you delete it
from the library.

If, on the other hand, you just want to empty the libraries, right click
on the link, and you can choose which folders are included in them by
using the add and remove locations buttons. Doing this will not change
the contents of you HD, but will point the library at wherever you wish.

For example, my "Documents" library now points to "D:\My Documents",
rather than the default.

 

[Char Jackson]

When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too.

Not quite. When you delete a file, it's deleted, but when you delete a
folder it's simply removed from the Library.

Not exactly helpful. Is there a way to stop this? I want to empty my
libraries completely and start fresh (if I can find good instructions
somewhere).

Remove the folders from your Library and you're ready to start fresh.
There's a command to restore the default Libraries, IIRC, and of
course you can create your own.

As for instructions, I thought the information in Windows Help was
pretty good.

 

[Stephen Wolstenholme]

Not quite. When you delete a file, it's deleted, but when you delete a
folder it's simply removed from the Library.


Remove the folders from your Library and you're ready to start fresh.
There's a command to restore the default Libraries, IIRC, and of
course you can create your own.

As for instructions, I thought the information in Windows Help was
pretty good.

It is good but there's a lot of users out there who have never read
it. They are often the same people who do their best to get rid of
libraries not realising the advantages.

Steve





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[...winston]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/581-libraries-restore-default.html
or
Open Explorer, Rt, click Libraries, Select 'Restore Default Libraries'

--
....winston
msft mvp mail


"Char Jackson" wrote in message
There's a command to restore the default Libraries, IIRC, and of
course you can create your own.

As for instructions, I thought the information in Windows Help was
pretty good.

 

[Char Jackson]

I discarded and disabled the libraries early in my Windows 7 experience,
so I don't know how to clean them out without losing the target files.

Just remove the folders (not the files) from the Library. Nothing is
deleted from the hard drive that way.

You might try backing up the files somewhere, deleting them from the
library, then restoring them from backup.

No es necessario.

 

[Wolf K]

When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is there a way
to stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and start fresh
(if I can find good instructions somewhere).

There's no way to stop a file on the HD being deleted when you delete it
from the library. [...]

Which is why they are useless. I can do exactly the same without going
through a library first. And I can see my folders/subfolders in an
Explorer window. So what's the point of the libraries??????

In a related thread I wrote:

"I'd happily use "libraries" if they were the front end of a database
program which would store information about items according to how I've
tagged/classified them. This is how "bookmarks" are done in browsers.
You can create as many "folders" and subfolders to your bookmarks as you
want. Deleting a bookmark does not of course delete what it points to:
it would be bizarre if deleting a bookmark would delete a website."

HTH
Wolf K.

 

[Char Jackson]

When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is there a way
to stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and start fresh
(if I can find good instructions somewhere).

There's no way to stop a file on the HD being deleted when you delete it
from the library. [...]

Which is why they are useless. I can do exactly the same without going
through a library first. And I can see my folders/subfolders in an
Explorer window. So what's the point of the libraries??????

They aggregate two or more folders into a single view, something
Windows Explorer can't do by itself.

 

[Wolf K]

Tony Vella wrote:
When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is there a way
to stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and start fresh
(if I can find good instructions somewhere).

There's no way to stop a file on the HD being deleted when you delete it
from the library. [...]

Which is why they are useless. I can do exactly the same without going
through a library first. And I can see my folders/subfolders in an
Explorer window. So what's the point of the libraries??????

They aggregate two or more folders into a single view, something
Windows Explorer can't do by itself.

OK, but _I_ can do it. ;-) If I think it's useful, which it usually
isn't. Just means a longer file list.

Still wondering why Libraries,
Wolf K.

 

[Char Jackson]

On 21/01/2012 11:50 AM, John Williamson wrote:
Tony Vella wrote:
When I delete a file or a folder from a library, they are also deleted
in their original locations too. Not exactly helpful. Is there a way
to stop this? I want to empty my libraries completely and start fresh
(if I can find good instructions somewhere).

There's no way to stop a file on the HD being deleted when you delete it
from the library. [...]

Which is why they are useless. I can do exactly the same without going
through a library first. And I can see my folders/subfolders in an
Explorer window. So what's the point of the libraries??????

They aggregate two or more folders into a single view, something
Windows Explorer can't do by itself.

OK, but _I_ can do it. ;-) If I think it's useful, which it usually
isn't. Just means a longer file list.

Still wondering why Libraries,

If you're having this much trouble with the concept, they might not be
for you. ;-)

 

[Wolf K]

If you're having this much trouble with the concept, they might not be
for you.;-)

Oh, I don't think I have trouble with the concept: technically, a
Library is a database. It creates "folders" that present files
classified according to both standard and user-created criteria. It does
this automatically, which is really nifty, but is risks data loss.

IMO, the implementation is badly designed: instead of presenting links
to the data items, it presents the items themselves. Thus, if any item
appears in more than one class ("folder" in library-speak), and if for
any reason the user wants to delete it from one of those classes, the
item itself is deleted. Bizarre is the kindest term I can apply to this
behaviour.

I did do some reading about Libraries. I'm sorry that they are so
dangerous, because the core concept ("find and present all files meeting
some standard or user-created criterion") is really nifty. But until
they do it right, I'll continue to do it by hand, via folder trees and
shortcuts of my own devising.

HTH,
Wolf K.

 

[Char Jackson]

Oh, I don't think I have trouble with the concept: technically, a
Library is a database. It creates "folders" that present files
classified according to both standard and user-created criteria. It does
this automatically, which is really nifty, but is risks data loss.

IMO, the implementation is badly designed: instead of presenting links
to the data items, it presents the items themselves. Thus, if any item
appears in more than one class ("folder" in library-speak), and if for
any reason the user wants to delete it from one of those classes, the
item itself is deleted. Bizarre is the kindest term I can apply to this
behaviour.

I did do some reading about Libraries. I'm sorry that they are so
dangerous, because the core concept ("find and present all files meeting
some standard or user-created criterion") is really nifty. But until
they do it right, I'll continue to do it by hand, via folder trees and
shortcuts of my own devising.

IMO, you're way overthinking things. A database? User-created
criteria? Those things, and most of the rest of your observations,
don't seem to apply, unless I'm missing something.

 

[Wolf K]

IMO, you're way overthinking things. A database? User-created
criteria? Those things, and most of the rest of your observations,
don't seem to apply, unless I'm missing something.

See
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-libraries-–-and-why-you-want-them/

According to the writer, if you tag images using some tagging software,
the Pictures Library will recognise the tags, and present "folders" of
the tagged images, each folder bearing the tag as its name. Within each
folder, the files are arranged by date. The writer obviously thought
that this was pretty nifty. I do, too. Now if deleting a file (ie,
right-click on icon > Delete) would delete only the link, I'd think
Libraries were more than merely nifty. ;-)

As for the database concept: creating a list of links, then displaying
them as the contents of a folder, is one of the functions of a database.
Of course in a "real" database, the data-display isn't called a folder,
but that's just terminology. A "relational database" is basically a
structure of links to two or more characteristics of data items. That
way, you can ask the d/b to display a list of items satisfying two or
more criteria. "Pictures" can apparently display images according to two
criteria: date and tag. That makes Pictures a simple relational data base.

HTH
Wolf K.

 

[Char Jackson]

See
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-libraries-–-and-why-you-want-them/

According to the writer, if you tag images using some tagging software,
the Pictures Library will recognise the tags, and present "folders" of
the tagged images, each folder bearing the tag as its name. Within each
folder, the files are arranged by date. The writer obviously thought
that this was pretty nifty. I do, too. Now if deleting a file (ie,
right-click on icon > Delete) would delete only the link, I'd think
Libraries were more than merely nifty. ;-)

As for the database concept: creating a list of links, then displaying
them as the contents of a folder, is one of the functions of a database.
Of course in a "real" database, the data-display isn't called a folder,
but that's just terminology. A "relational database" is basically a
structure of links to two or more characteristics of data items. That
way, you can ask the d/b to display a list of items satisfying two or
more criteria. "Pictures" can apparently display images according to two
criteria: date and tag. That makes Pictures a simple relational data base.

Fine, but does that help you or does it only confuse you further?

BTW, the article you linked above is excellent. Thanks for that.

 

[Dave \Crash\ Dummy]

Fine, but does that help you or does it only confuse you further?

BTW, the article you linked above is excellent. Thanks for that.

What I want to know is who needs a new library, anyway? I've had a
library since DOS 2. It's called a directory tree. I have directories
for downloads, images, documents, whatever I want. It's much more
flexible than the Windows Library.

 

[Wolf K]

On 22/01/2012 12:09 PM, Char Jackson wrote: [...]

IMO, you're way overthinking things. A database? User-created
criteria? Those things, and most of the rest of your observations,
don't seem to apply, unless I'm missing something.

See
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-libraries-–-and-why-you-want-them/

According to the writer, if you tag images using some tagging software,
the Pictures Library will recognise the tags, and present "folders" of
the tagged images, each folder bearing the tag as its name. Within each
folder, the files are arranged by date. The writer obviously thought
that this was pretty nifty. I do, too. Now if deleting a file (ie,
right-click on icon> Delete) would delete only the link, I'd think
Libraries were more than merely nifty. ;-)

As for the database concept: creating a list of links, then displaying
them as the contents of a folder, is one of the functions of a database.
Of course in a "real" database, the data-display isn't called a folder,
but that's just terminology. A "relational database" is basically a
structure of links to two or more characteristics of data items. That
way, you can ask the d/b to display a list of items satisfying two or
more criteria. "Pictures" can apparently display images according to two
criteria: date and tag. That makes Pictures a simple relational data base.

Fine, but does that help you or does it only confuse you further?

It doesn't confuse me about Libraries, but it confuses me about what MS
thought they were doing. I just did a bit of testing. The Library
"folders" (folder icons) are in fact links. The files inside them (file
icons) are not.

BTW, the article you linked above is excellent. Thanks for that.

You're welcome. Yes, it's very well done, a step-by-step narrative with
explanations, one of the best teaching methods known. By itself, it
would be enough to persuade me that Libraries are worth using. But now
that O know that file icons represent actual files, and not links to
files, I'll pass.

HTH,
Wolf K.

 

[Wolf K]

What I want to know is who needs a new library, anyway? I've had a
library since DOS 2. It's called a directory tree. I have directories
for downloads, images, documents, whatever I want. It's much more
flexible than the Windows Library.

Library is a simple relational database, which simplifies file
searching/display. This is useful from many points of view. In fact, if
it weren't for the half-a***d way it's implemented, i would be a huge
fan of Library. ;-)

HTH
Wolf K.

 

[Char Jackson]

You're welcome. Yes, it's very well done, a step-by-step narrative with
explanations, one of the best teaching methods known. By itself, it
would be enough to persuade me that Libraries are worth using. But now
that O know that file icons represent actual files, and not links to
files, I'll pass.

Don't feel badly about that. I'd bet most people don't use every
Windows feature. Just use the parts that make sense to you.

 

[Char Jackson]

What I want to know is who needs a new library, anyway? I've had a
library since DOS 2. It's called a directory tree. I have directories
for downloads, images, documents, whatever I want. It's much more
flexible than the Windows Library.

Need is a strong word. It's quite possible that no one needs this
feature. It's very powerful and very convenient, but by itself that
shouldn't drive anyone to use it.

As you probably guessed, the standard directory tree concept is
extended by Libraries, not duplicated by it. If you don't need the
additional functionality, that's ok.