Solved Virtual Files / Virtual File representation

[robin77]

Don't know which is the appropriate place to post this so I try in in General.

Here's the deal... I am looking for a solution that allows me to create virtual representations of files in a designated folder on my HD that allow me to open the file as if it was right in the folder.

Example:
lets say I got a folder with 1000 Music files. Now I want to sort them lets say in genres. Usually I got two options to do this.
a) create a folder for each genre and physically move each file to the appropriate folder
b) use a mediaplayer that allows me to tag the files and sort them inside the application

But I don't want any of these options. What I want is something like this:
Create a folder and drag something like a shortcut for each file into the folder - BUT I want to be able to "open" this shortcut from within ANY program or Mediaplayer - just like if it was the real file.

A few Programs have this kind of functionality built in - they ley you create virtual bins/crates/folders and if you want to you can have the same file inside of several bins without the need to copy them several times. BUT the problem is that this works only inside of the specific applications.
I am looking for a solution that can be used with any program.

I'm not quite sure that if this description was understandable... but I guess for the first try it might do ; )

I hope to get some suggestions.

 

[Brink]

Hello Robin,



You might see if this below may work for you to have them all accessible from the library location like that.

• Sort the files how you like in the main music folder wherever it's saved at first.
• Include that main folder in your Music library.
• Either "Group by" folder, or "Arrange by" folder in the Music library.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[logicearth]

Hardlinks for just files, or Junctions for whole folders. Now if you are going across HDDs then you cannot use hardlinks, you have to use symbolic links. By support for symbolic links is touchy in applcations. Windows itself uses hardlinks, Almost everything concerning Windows is just a hardlink to a location in WinSxS.

See this for easy link creation: http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/hardlinkshellext.html

 

[robin77]

Thank you Brink and logicearth. Both informations were absolutely EXCELLENT!!

First thing I wanted to know about Libraries was if it is able to back them up.... Right away I found this helpful tool which might be interesting for others too: Win7 library tool

I need this system to be "portable" or at least I want to be able to move it to a new computer when needed. I haven't found out yet if this is possible with Hardlinks and Symbolic links... I will have to look a bit deeper into it.


Sorry... I can't give anymore Reps to both you... the system doesn't let me. You have been too helpful in the past ; )

 

[Brink]

If you will have any new computer on the same Homegroup, you could set to share the libraries with the entire homegroup.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43961-homegroup-create.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43972-homegroup-add-computer-join.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/44464-homegroup-change-file-folder-sharing-settings.html
​

If you like, other than manually backing them up by copy and paste, you could also use Windows Backup to include your libraries and any other folders you like to be backed up, and automatically on a schedule if you like.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/615-backup-user-system-files.html
​

 

[robin77]

Ok, after alot of tying and playing around it turned out that libraries are too limited for what I am trying to do. While libraries are a great idea they suffer from being too limited - like for example not being able to add single files - just folders. I also had tried a software solution which looked quite promising - but as expected.. the feature worked only within the program and the files could not be accessed from other applications.
A VERY irritating "problem" about Libraries was also the fact that deleting the files in the libraries did remove the original files instead of just deleting the "copies".

The Link Shell Extension solution that logicearth provided is the only one which seems to be capable of delivering exactly what I was looking for... it's also simple, fast and has a great shell integration as the name implies. I hope I won't come across any problems in the future.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me to sort this one out!