Windows 7: sluggish folder content update

Here's what could be a Windows 7 bug (I like to start with that sentence in order to increase the number of Google hits related to bugs).

I created a file in a folder, let's say it was called init.py.



If I delete it, the file still is visible in WinExplorer.

Of course if I browse to another folder and come back, the file will be absent.

I remember in the Win NT days in the final days of the 20th century, there used to be a "refresh" menu item that got rid of these remnants. Where's the refresh button now? How can I get refreshed without having to refresh for it is annoying.

Strange, I waited about 1 minute and it did not refresh. The workload of the PC has been trivial so that's not to blame.

ADDENDUM AS AN EDIT:

I see that if you hit F5 you can get a refresh.

I have traced the problem to the order of the files. If the file that I delete is at the top of the list, it will not disappear when deleted (until F5). If the file is at the bottom then it will disappear when deleted and no refresh is required.

The position of the file was determined by sorting (either on date or name, etc).

Seeing as I've never encountered this problem, it may be difficult to track down what's causing it, so I'll instead ask you two questions:

1. Are you trying to delete the file from a library? Because Libraries are nothing more than special Windows Searches, it may take a second or two to update
2. Have you run a complete disk check on the drive? It may be that some error on the drive, perhaps an NTFS corruption, is causing this "lag" of deleting a file?

As much as I like to avoid the "Libraries" icon, I got tired of browsing to my stuff the other way (c drive, users, owner, etc) so yes, this is in the libraries.

You're right if I browse the other way, the file disappears immediately even if the file being deleted is at the top of the list.

It's still a Win 7 bug since browsing via a library and deleting a file at the top should result in the same behaviour as deleting a file at the bottom of the list. Just one of the Win 7 bugs that makes me want to switch to linux for my next project.

This could indicate a corruption in the Index:

1. Click the Start Orb
2. type "index" (without quotes)
3. click "Indexing Options" in the search results
4. Click "Advanced"
5. Click "Rebuild" in the "Index Settings" tab
6. Give the index time to complete it job, which could take anything from a few minutes to several hours, depending on the number of files. I leave mine overnight when I do a manual rebuild, but that's only because I need to index over 500,000 files

Let us know if your "delete" problem is still there...

OK, thanks I will try an overnight index rebuild as much as it disgusts me to have to do this.

No, this continues to look like a Windows bug.

Rebuilding the index does not help. An F5 is still needed to refresh the folder after the file is deleted if the file is at the top of the list. A delete from the bottom does not require an F5 refresh.

Browsing to the folder via "favourites" where a favourite for "c:\users\owner\documents" exists exhibits no such problem, that is files disappear immediately upon deletion.

Same experience here, Brian. Very irritating, indeed.

Is there a way to prevent the library view from ever being invoked? The shortcut folders on my desktop seem to look the same (same icon on the desktop) whether they are library view or not. Since the library view seems defective, I have gone and deleted any shortcut folders that have the library view and recreated shortcuts that are non-library. Still, I'm concerned about preventing library views from ever happening again. Any recommendations?

sigh...

Libraries are amongst the most useful Windows 7 features, but here's how to get rid of them...


Try these SevenForums tutorials:

How to Change the Windows 7 Pinned Windows Explorer Taskbar Icon Open To Target

optionally:

How to Turn the Library Pane On or Off in Windows 7