Windows 7: Windows 7 Libraries

I prefer to keep my documents on a disk separate from the operating system. In Vista, I simply move the My Documents folder to another disk.

Windows 7 provides the library function allowing me to inlclude the documents on my separate disk in the documents library. However, when I install new programs they automatically chose the My documents folder on the system disk for their document files. This separates my documents and is inconvenient for backup.

Moving the MY Documents folder to my separate disk seems to be the only solution but it defeats the objective of the Libraries. It would be nice if we could choose a defaults folder within the Library folders for document placement.

what do you suggest?

Running Windows 7 build 7100 RC

Well libraries, really, was to present many folders as 1. So that a person could see an entire collection of folders in 1 view. It also shines when using HomeGroup or network shares. You can add other docs within the HomeGroup and see them in your collection as if they were local. You still gain many benefits of redirecting your Docs. Mine are on a sep drive for rebuilding and space purposes. Personally, I don't rely on the library feature. I know where my docs are.

yeah, you just have to relocate the original my docs to the one on the other drive, like vista. i do the same.

Right click on the Library, and go to Properties. You will see your library locations. You can change the default by selecting the location you want, and clicking "set save location." When you create a new file, it will save to this location in the library.

Like you, I prefer to keep my documents on a seperate drive. In that way, when I do my anual reformat/reload of Windows, all my documents are waiting for me on another drive. In the past, I've always had to make sure to either configure a program to use the new destination, or, if that wasn't possible, to make sure to navigate to the documents directory. With Windows 7, I've learned to use the "mklink" command. I won't go into much detail; it's documented well enough in other areas. Needless to say, the "mklink /d" command will create a "soft link" on your main drive which actually points to whatever location you desire. So, once you create a soft link in your C:\User directory, whenever any program accesses it, it's actually accessing the alternate drive/directory. The beauty of this command is that you won't have to configure each and every program to point to the new area; it's done automatically.