Cannot paste to any library folders

Camineet · 05 Mar 2009

I find this to be so lame! I don't exactly get why libraries are so useful, but for whatever reason, they appear to be what MS wants me to use when working with folders because it's a heckuva lot easier to navigate my library folders in the left-side Windows Explorer navigation pane than it is to drill down to those same folders through Computer/Users/etc.

So when I'm working with folders in libraries, it is impossible to paste a file into any folder that resides hierarchically under a library folder by right clicking on the folder. You can only choose cut or copy. In order to paste a file into a folder to which you have navigated by going the library route, you have to actually open the folder and right click somewhere in the white space of the open folder.

This is so lame! You can right click and paste into any of those same folders as long as you access them by going the Computer router. It's the same folder for god's sake!

What do you guys think about this? Is it a bug, or some kind of 'feature' of which I am somehow failing to see the benefit?

Jacee · 05 Mar 2009

I made a "My Desk" folder .. which I then moved to Libraries. When I click on that folder expanded, I can click on the ones that I use the most.

Chappy · 06 Mar 2009

Hmmm...I haven't seen that behaviour yet, I'll have to test that and let you know.

Edit - I have no problem copy/pasting to folders in the Libraries window. I made a test document and put it in My Docs and then opened the Libraries - Documents Library, opened the folder with the file, copied it, went back to the Library main window and opened another folder from there and pasted into it with no issues.
Then I tried a picture file and it also worked.
So, you're not getting the Paste option in the context menu?

The Libraries are actually a Brilliant idea and I find them extremely useful. I can add whatever folders I have scattered about into whatever Library they may fit into, and I don't have to go searching about for different folders anymore to find my related files. I've also stripped certain xml data to rebuild & fix broken libraries for our folks here, and we have some ideas to use this xml in other sorts of ways that I'm working on some.
At first I didn't see allot of functionality to them either, but after working in them a bit the real power of them came into clear view.

Camineet · 06 Mar 2009

Jacee said:

I made a "My Desk" folder .. which I then moved to Libraries. When I click on that folder expanded, I can click on the ones that I use the most.

Thanks for your response, but I need more details because I'm not clear on what you're trying to say.

Ok, I can see that you made a folder called My Desk, and that you put it into Libraries.

"When I click on that folder expanded, I can click on the ones that I use the most."

What does this mean? What does this have to do with being able to right click and paste to a folder to which one has navigated from the libraries hierarchy in the left-side navigation pane?

Jacee · 06 Mar 2009

This is a snippet of the folders in "My Desk".
You see I can acess each folder that I've made from one folder in my 'expanded' libraries folder.

unawave · 06 Mar 2009

Camineet said:

So when I'm working with folders in libraries, it is impossible to paste a file into any folder

That's because this library folders are no real folders. They are only a collected view of other real folders (or files). The real folders can reside on other drives (e.g. drive D:) or external USB drives or even network drives. So: If you want to paste a file into a library Windows don’t knew where to store this file. In what physical place should Windows store this file? Other drives, e.g. D:? External USB drive? Or network drive?

Camineet · 06 Mar 2009

Well guess what unawave? You have concisely and completely explained this problem. Good show.

myzr7 · 06 Mar 2009

unawave said:

That's because this library folders are no real folders. They are only a collected view of other real folders (or files). The real folders can reside on other drives (e.g. drive D:) or external USB drives or even network drives. So: If you want to paste a file into a library Windows don’t knew where to store this file. In what physical place should Windows store this file? Other drives, e.g. D:? External USB drive? Or network drive?

Thanks unawave, I get it now. Library folder is just a collection of other like folders on the system. lm

Camineet · 08 Mar 2009

unawave,

I have just realized that although I agree with your explanation, that there is still an issue in question.

When then am I able to open a library and paste to it by right clicking somewhere in the white space of the folder and choosing paste? How would Windows know where exactly to place the pasted file if the library folder is just a virtual space representing one or more other folders?

Hah! answer that one if you can

Chappy · 09 Mar 2009

Untrue, you can copy paste within any subfolder under the Library's directory, I do it all the time.

The Library itself is a virtual environment but when you enter any folder in that environment, you enter the real folder and not a virtualized one, so all functions will operate normally. Also, the virtual Library folder maintains it's subdirectories by their seperate parent directories so when you copy or paste something directly into the Library's subdirectories or subfolders, the data is transfered to the real one.
It's a virtual environment but you can work in any subfolder or subdirectory as you would in the actual folder or parent directory.