Why sometimes My Documents and sometimes Documents ?

I have set my new computer up with 2 users, User1 and User2.

User1 is an administrator with a password and user2 is an ordinary user with no password.

For user1, I can navigate via C:\users\user1 . . and I can see My Documents and I have successfully imported data. I can NOT navigate to Documents but I know it is there because that is where Outlook puts my pst files.

For User2, I can navigate to Documents and I have successfully imported data here but I cannot see My Documents (only a shortcut which I am denied access.

What is even weirder is that my XP computer can 'see' all the files in User1 My Documents but not the imported files in User2 Documents.

Can somebody please explain just what is going on. Thank you.

Welcome to Windows Seven Forums.

Differences Between Users Documents and Start Menu Docs

Check Kari's answer in post #3 in the link above, which explains the difference rather well.

These articles may help too.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../cc732275.aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...13(WS.10).aspx

Thank you, seavixen32.

This certainly clarifies the libraries scenario but I don't think it helps me on my two basic problems.

Why can I 'navigate' to My Documents in one user and Documents in the other ?

Why can't I see imported files on user2 across the network, although I can see other files in the Documents folder ?

Also, now that I've read all this stuff, what have I actually got to do, in terms of pointing and clicking, to reach all these options that are discussed ?

Sorry to be abit slow. I don't really care where Windows puts all this data, or how it categorises it, but I still need to be able to access it across the network from XP.

Thanks for your help.

Yes, logicearth, this is exactly what is confusing me.

In one user's folders there is this shortcut to My Documents folder ( 'Access Denied' ) and also a Documents folder. In the other there is a My Documents folder, which I can readily access, but there is not a Documents folder which I can see.

Can you explain this ?

Only the 'Documents' folder is real. Windows 7 uses libraries and junction points. Your 'My Documents' folder IS, as logicearth wrote, C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Documents. Browsing to 'My Documents' brings you to the ACTUAL folder located under your username.

I only use one account per computer, and so I am not sure, but I don't think one user can access another user's folders. Use the 'Public' folders to share files between users.

Hope this helps,
Rªnce

Thank you all for your help.

Your advice prompted me to examine this situation in DOS (which I do understand ! ). There, I found by using CD and DIR, that there is in fact a folder called Documents within each user and it does contain all the files that I thought it should.

My only confusion now is why Windows 7 needs to pretend that My Documents exists and, even more, why one of my users has a navigable folder in Win7 called My Documents but not a navigable folder called Documents.

However, I now have better things to do than worry myself over the vagaries of Microsoft logic and I can get on with starting to use my new computer in anger.

I am grateful for all the support I have received and I now consider this Thread answered and closed.

Sorry. Am I going loopy or something.

I cannot see any button to press, or a tick mark, or a red and white triangle.

I will try to follow the link in the Information box and see if that will close the Thread.