Windows 7: windows explorer shows different contents

I've seen a lot of threads about Libraries, but can't find one that addresses (in a way I can understand) my problem. I can navigate to a given folder, say "My Pictures" either through my user name or through "Documents/My Pictures" The two methods show different content for the folder. This is driving me batty, as I have to go back and forth to find particular files. I have even tried downloading replacement software for Windows Explorer, and still have this problem. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but the way my brain works, a file should be in one place (which I understand it is) and found in one way. Can these multiple routes be eliminated?

Hi hikergene and welcome to Seven Forums. It would be helpful if you could upload some screenshots showing the problem.

Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums

Hello Gene, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Libraries let you access and arrange items from one or more folders quickly without moving them from their original location. Libraries themselves don't store your files or folders. Instead, they point to different locations on a hard disk or external drive attached to your computer. This gives you easy access to a category of files no matter where they are stored.


A library has more than one included folders that display in them by default.

For example, in your "Pictures" library, it has the the C:\Users\(user-name)\My Pictures and C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures folders included by default.

This is why when you open your C:\Users\(user-name)\My Pictures folder, that's all you see and not anything that was in the C:\Users\Public\Public Pictures folder. Only in the library would you see the files from both locations at once.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

As you can see on the tree on the left, both folders are titled "My Pictures", one I got to from "Pictures" and one from "My Docutments\My Pictures". There is obviously more files shown in one. So I never know which way to get to "My Pictures" to see any particular file.

That doesn't look like a standard Win 7 setup for MyPictures. It looks like somehow you have a MyPictures folder in your MyDocuments and a separate MyPictures folder. Most strange. The standard setup would be to only have the separate MyPictures.

Well, those are two different locations is why they do not have the same contents.

C:\Users\Gene\My Documents\My Pictures

VS

C:\Users\Gene\My Pictures

Did you try and move your user folders to different locations?

Backup the contents in these folders to be safe, then try OPTION TWO in the tutorial below to restore the default location of your My Pictures folder.

User Folders - Restore Default Location

Thanks Kado897. I synced both folders and deleted one, now all is well. I just never realised they were two different folders, since I never created one of them; don't know which. And it seemed that when I added a file, sometimes it would go to both, and sometimes just one. All's well as ends well.

You are welcome hikergene. Maybe a program you have installed created the one in MyDocuments. I get all sorts of strange folders created in MyDocuments by installed programs.