Get rid of the libraries?

kado897 said:

ignatzatsonic said:

I assume Kado is jiving me, but I'll play along while I wait for the football game.

Suppose I download a PDF file that is a manual for a Gigabyte GA-H67MA-UDH2 motherboard.

It goes here:

D:\computer\hardware\motherboards and chipsets\Gigabyte

Likewise a live recording made by Ella Fitzgerald goes here:

D:\mp3\pop and jazz\ella fitzgerald\live

It's just a nested series of folders.

How do I find out if I have a particular Ella Fitzgerald live recording?

Well, I know that I wouldn't put the Ella song in the Elvis folder. So, oddly enough, I would navigate to D:\mp3\pop and jazz\ella fitzgerald\live and look.

If I was unorganized generally, I would have all 22,000 mp3s in a single folder and have lost my mind long ago.

You have to be willing to name a file based on its contents. That is--your Gigabyte motherboard manuals can't be named "cool computer stuff".

I have a high powered near-instantaneous file search tool ("Everything"), which can find any file on my system by name within 1 or 2 seconds. I use it occasionally if I think it's quicker than navigating and looking.

But you knew all of that. I'm just playing along with you. As I said, "to each his own".

Enjoy the game.

But I don't understand how Libraries would change the situation at all. The Library itself is just a "folder" that displays the contents of other folders as if they were in the same folder.

--

I certainly see how Libraries are useful if you have your data split across multiple drives, but if you don't then why use a Library when you can just put everything into a regular folder? I don't have a need for Libraries because all my documents are together, all my music is together, all my videos are together.

For me, even if I don't have a need for the Libraries, they wouldn't be an issue at all if they were implemented better. They really need to fit in better with the User folder. Right now, %HOMEPATH%\Documents is not the same as the Documents library, which is unintuitive. Libraries are very much tacked on to the current system of organization instead of integrating nicely.

Personally I think it would work much better if folders could become Libraries. By that I mean, on the disk it's just a normal folder but when you open it in Windows, Explorer shows the contents of all the folders linked to that Library. This would remove the need to have another "soft folder" in addition to the actual folders.

Although really, they could just make Libraries a nice easy interface for creating symlinks. They would perform exactly the same functions they currently do with the advantage of being usable by applications that don't support Libraries and even by other operating systems. (Though this would cause some problems since each of the linked folders would have to be subfolders of the Library folder. If Windows linked the contents of each folder into the Library folder, it would be impossible to have two files/folders with the same name in the root of the linked folders)

whs said:

Personally I think it would work much better if folders could become Libraries.

I seriously think that you have no clue what libraries are all about. I suggest you read up on it before you start redesigning the system. There is tons of info on the web. You can start here: Get to Know Windows 7 Libraries Inside and Out

I completely understand what a Library is. It's an XML file that defines a list of folders for Windows to display in a single location. My problem with them is that they can't be navigated to like folders despite appearing to work like one in Explorer.

Libraries are idiotic and the worst feature of an otherwise great OS. The fact that you can't easily disable them is really annoying. Libraries are a fundamentally terrible idea, just promotes not knowing what's going on with your files and folders. It's a totally unnecessary and counterproductive layer of complexity. It has nothing to do with yearning for the old days of XP, it's just a useless feature that gets in the way. If we wanted to be treated like idiots we'd get Macs, and if you can't manage your files and folders where they actually sit on the drive you need to learn more about basic computer operation.

I'm super-organized with my work files (almost to the point of OCD) so for those work files I prefer not having Libraries, because I agree that they seem like an unnecessary layer to have to go through to access my files. However, when it comes to my entertainment files (music, videos, pics, etc) which are more diversely scattered throughout my system. THEN I can see where Libraries would be very useful. I think of the those entertainment Libraries as kind of Playlists from which I can utilize any of the files I need no matter where they're located, (i.e. play the videos, listen to the music, view the photos), because the Library/Playlist location is ONE location that doesn't have to be the actual location of all those entertainment files. (Of course I'm back to the same old problem if I need to access the actual location of any of those entertainment files ---- in that case Libraries don't help at all, and I still have to find the file's real location and go to it.)

Mike Connor said:

I love libraries, I just think they are better utilised for storing books.

Adding all these default virtual folders/links to a single user desktop system is merely confusing, time wasting, and unproductive for many users.

If you have your system sorted out properly you simply don't need libraries.

This is reflected in the absolutely huge number of users looking for ways to disable and remove them. They just want to click on a folder of their choice, they don't want to drill down through what to them is merely a load of useless bloat in order to find a file. Nor do they wish to learn all the complicated rigmarole associated with such things.

There are doubtless plenty of users who like libraries, and that is fine, the problem arises when one is not given the choice.

People do not want to be told how to set up or do things or be forced into using a system that does not work for them.

Regards....Mike Connor

Hi Mike,

I’m absolutely new here and was trying find a coherent thread giving definite and concrete info. on dispensing entirely with MS Libraries from my laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1). I can’t follow how searching these threads works and I blundered this old debate. There seems to be no way of avoiding the dross and irrelevant entries that either don’t address the issue or try to dissuade from any intended action for non-tech reasons.

Perhaps I’m failing to ‘get’ how these forums work but I read your contributions and like what I read so wanted to engage with you on the subject rather than join a debate in a crowded bar.

Did you solve the issue and if so how? Are there consequences for the operating system and is this a ‘project’ appropriate for basic computer user.

Thanks in anticipation.