Windows Explorer in Windows 7: Why the confusing behavior?

I recommend a full reinstall of the OS, followed by reading up on all of the new features Windows 7 has implemented, how they work, and how to use them. You've already started a chain reaction of things that has compromised system components and their intended purposes. You're setting yourself up for continued problems down the road by altering so many things just because you didn't understand what they were or what they did. The system is going to work best when you let it work how it was intended.

I agree with the above.

Out of interest, check this list of FAQs on Libraries: Windows 7 Libraries: Frequently Asked Questions

And here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/l...33(WS.10).aspx

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I am making progress in my quest for a happy Windows Explorer. My latest notes:

3. Elevating useful folders to the root level of the navigation pane -- I've learned that there simply is no replacement for the "/root" command. See this post: Explorer.exe Command-Line Options for Windows 7 - root setting - Microsoft Answers. That is sad. So, I'm taking CreepinJesus' advice and using libraries; they don't work as well as /root, but they are tolerable. (Fseal, I tried Favorites, but they didn't create a shallower hierarchy; they just gave me a quick way to jump down to layers deep in the hierarchy. That's a very different functionality than I'm looking for.)

5. Useless Command toolbar -- Solved, thanks to lehnerus2000 and the post he referred me to, Appatic: Windows Command Bar Tweaker: Hide The Command Bar In Windows Explorer.

6. The address bar shows the wrong path when I navigate to a library subfolder via the file pane -- No fix yet. (Is this happening to anyone else?)

7. Wasted space displaying the library name in the file pane -- No fix yet.

And two new issues:

8. I've discovered that if you use arrow keys to navigate in the navigation pane, the file pane doesn't stay synchronized. Another bug. Is there a fix?

9. This is a minor thing, but I'd like folders to expand when I click on them in the navigation pane. (Currently, you have to double-click on them -- yes, I said it was minor!) I suspect that the change from single-click to double-click between XP and 7 was an oversight, and not a deliberate design decision on the part of Microsoft developers. Has anyone found a tweak to restore the single-click functionality?


-TC

lehnerus2000 said:

Do it Microsoft's way or else?

Many people dislike the "Libraries".
A lot of programs don't integrate with them correctly/properly (including MS programs).

What programs are you referring to and how do they not integrate correctly?

lehnerus2000 said:

You can't search them without "Indexing" turned on (you can search the actual real locations without problems though).

So, then you can search them. You just can't search a junction, which makes sense as it's not a tangible file/folder to search, just a symlink.

lehnerus2000 said:

Adding content to them is painful (I've got ~11,000 folders in My Documents and My Pictures).

I add content to them just like I add content to any other folder on my system. I'm not sure how adding content to a Library specifically is more painful. Can you explain?

lehnerus2000 said:

"Libraries" are more useful in an enterprise network setting.

What does an Enterprise Network setting have to do with using Libraries?

lehnerus2000 said:

You are better off using the "Favourites" section, unless you have huge numbers of regularly used folders.

What does the Favorites folder have to do with Libraries? They both serve particular purposes, each being different. I'm not sure how using Favorites would serve to better organize files into Pictures, Movies, and Documents. Can you explain?

Please guys, don't debate the merits of Windows 7 design decisions here.

I'm just trying to make a few specific changes to the behavior Windows Explorer. If you can help me with those changes, I'm grateful for the advice. But if you want to argue over whether or not the Explorer redesign is good or bad, I think there are plenty of other threads for that.

-TC

The problem is that in "fixing" some of these things in explorer (removing "errant faux-folder"s that aren't actually errant, disabling or trying to remove toolbar options that aren't meant to be removed, ...), you can easily remove something that could render it unusable or cause further issues stemming from it. We're talking about the merits of explorer because they are all purposefully built into it. Some options you can easily change with no repercussion, which you are finding out. However, going around deleting folders you deem unnecessary and modifying it to remove things you think shouldn't be there are setting you up for more threads down the line like "Explorer constantly crashes", "Why is Explorer always freezing?", "My desktop loads to a blank screen, what can I do?".

Wanting to modify the system to your liking is not a bad thing, but there are both intelligent and destructive ways to go about it. You are toeing the line on destructive, which is why others are chiming in about it, having seen and answered a multitude of problem threads stemming from the same types of activities you're doing. If you don't care to hear or heed the warnings, then I'm sure several in here have no problem bowing out of the thread, but there's obviously no promise you'll get any future help from them in the future if/when things go awry. That just needs to be kept in mind.

So, take from that what you will. There is always a fix to something you want to change in the Windows OS, a portion unfortunately break more than they fix. That's why it's good to have tenured guys in here speaking from experience about what those are instead of just giving you the answers you want. We've all been there and done that in terms of messing with the OS and suffering repercussions. Take advantage of that experience from others.

You may or may not find this article useful, but I'll post the link anyhow.

Inside Windows 7:Introducing Libraries

And this one.

http://lifehacker.com/5464350/get-to...inside-and-out