Windows Explorer in Windows 7: Why the confusing behavior?

[TC0]

I'm new to Windows 7, and I'm confused about Windows Explorer in this new version of Windows. I've already installed Classic Explorer and I've already disabled libraries. Nevertheless, I'm still baffled by Explorer's behavior, and I have several questions:

1) First of all, Explorer seems to be showing something related to, but clearly different from, the file structure. For instance, Desktop/TC and Desktop/Computer/Users/TC seem to be the same folder mysteriously represented at two different places in Explorer's hierarchy, and shown with two different paths in the address bar ("TC" vs. "C:\Users\TC"). I'm sure this is a feature somehow meant to simplify things, but it is just confusing me. What is Explorer showing me? Is there any way to turn off this feature and see the file structure?

2) When I look in folder "TC", I see two subfolders called "Documents" which seem to be identical. What's the deal with that?

3) I keep my files in "C:\Users\TC\Documents". Is there any way to make that folder appear at the root level in the navigation pane? Now, when I'm working in Documents, there are so many irrelevant folders displayed in the navigation pane that the pane becomes worthless as a visual map of my folder structure.

4) Nothing is on my desktop, but Explorer says that several things are. I can accept that "Desktop" may simply be the word Microsoft is using to describe the root level of the file system, in which case it does make some sense to say that "Computer", "Network", and "Recycle Bin" belong under "Desktop". However, I have two additional icons, "Homegroup" and "Control Panel" also beneath "Desktop". Does that make sense to anyone? Is there any way to get rid of those?


-TC

 

[UsernameIssues]

Did you tell explorer to show you hidden file/folders/drives?
If so, you might want to hide them again.

And this might interest you...

 

[CreepinJesus]

To be honest, installing Classic Explorer and disabling Libraries probably did all this. You're using Explorer in a way it wasn't designed to be used.

1. This is normal. Explorer (normally) shows your files in different ways: you have your favourites, then Libraries, then Computer, then Network. The Computer node will show you the files in hierarchical order (C:\users\TC\etc...).
2. Not sure about the two identical folders - are they the same folder? Are they definitely in the same place? Not shortcuts?
3. Yes - using libraries.
4. Normal. They can be hidden from the Desktop, but not this folder in Explorer.

 

[TC0]

UsernameIssues and CreepinJesus,

Thanks to both of you for the helpful advice. I did not know about "junctions" before, and they explain a lot of Explorer weirdness. Since my original post, I did some research and found that many useful workarounds have been posted in this very forum. Referring to my original list:

1. Unintuitive and redundant folder hierarchy -- Solved, thanks to Brink at http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/48123-user-folder-add-remove-navigation-pane.html.

2. Duplicate "Documents" folders -- Swept under the rug. I'm sure that bug still infects my system, but I've removed the errant faux-folder from my folder hierarchy, so I simply don't see this problem any more.

3. Elevating useful folders to the root level of the navigation pane -- Thank you, CreepinJesus, for the tip on using libraries to bring a folder closer to the root level. I've adopted your suggestion for now. However, I was really hoping for a solution that would let me elevate a folder all the way to the root level. In XP, the command line option "/root" accomplished this nicely. That command doesn't seem to work in the new Explorer. Is there really no support for this functionality any more?

4. Irrelevant "Homegroups" and "Control Panel" appearing in the file hierarchy -- Solved, thanks to Brink at http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/39670-homegroup-add-remove-navigation-pane.html and http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/47341-control-panel-add-remove-navigation-pane.html.

Yay! I have Explorer working reasonably well... almost. Unfortunately, I have one more thing to add to my original list:

5. Windows Explorer displays a rather useless toolbar which says "Organize, Share with, New folder". I don't see any reason to keep that toolbar, but I can't seem to get rid of it. Please restore my faith in Microsoft and tell me that there is some way to hide this thing.

-TC

 

[TC0]

I spoke too soon. New issues:

6. I have a library called "Library1". The only thing in that library is the folder C:\Users\TC\Documents. I have a subfolder called C:\Users\TC\Documents\Folder1. If I navigate to Folder1 through the navigation pane, the address bar tells me I'm at Libraries/Library1/Documents/Folder1, but if I navigate to the same location via the file pane, the address bar tells me I'm at Libraries/Library1/Folder1. This is clearly a bug. Is there a known solution?

7. Whenever I navigate to a folder through a library, Explorer uses some of the space in the folder pane to tell me the name of the library. I have no interest in this feature. Is there any way to turn it off and use all of the space for the file list?


-TC

 

[Trucidation]

Yay! I have Explorer working reasonably well... almost. Unfortunately, I have one more thing to add to my original list:

5. Windows Explorer displays a rather useless toolbar which says "Organize, Share with, New folder". I don't see any reason to keep that toolbar, but I can't seem to get rid of it. Please restore my faith in Microsoft and tell me that there is some way to hide this thing.

-TC

Well screw me sideways, I remember doing that with help from here but I don't remember how or when Should be in one of the tutorials, feels like there was a reg edit in here somewhere.

Edit:
Also certain there's a reg edit for removing Libraries from the folder pane. Need to find the tutorial for that too. Shoulda taken notes or something, sigh. Remember just being glad to get rid of them.

 

[lehnerus2000]

Try these links

5. Windows Explorer displays a rather useless toolbar which says "Organize, Share with, New folder". I don't see any reason to keep that toolbar, but I can't seem to get rid of it. Please restore my faith in Microsoft and tell me that there is some way to hide this thing.

Try these links:
How to Auto-Hide or Disable Command Bar (aka Folder Band) in Windows Vista and 7 Explorer? - Tweaking with Vishal
Appatic: Windows Command Bar Tweaker: Hide The Command Bar In Windows Explorer

Customise the Command Bar
http://www.intowindows.com/explorer-toolbar-editor-add-new-options-to-windows-7-explorer-toolbar/

 

[DeaconFrost]

My advice would be to stop expecting a new OS to behave and work like an 11 year old OS. People upgrade for a reason, and there's no need to fear change. It's the best OS Microsoft has put out for the desktop to date....so enjoy it.

 

[FuturDreamz]

1) First of all, Explorer seems to be showing something related to, but clearly different from, the file structure. For instance, Desktop/TC and Desktop/Computer/Users/TC seem to be the same folder mysteriously represented at two different places in Explorer's hierarchy, and shown with two different paths in the address bar ("TC" vs. "C:\Users\TC"). I'm sure this is a feature somehow meant to simplify things, but it is just confusing me. What is Explorer showing me? Is there any way to turn off this feature and see the file structure?

That's actually to aid the moving of libraries.

My Music, Video, Pictures, Documents all sow up like that, but I have moved the actual folders to my D: drive. Windows attempts to make the move transparent to applications, so they don't try to create a ~/Documents folder if you didn't update them to the new directory.

 

[fseal]

UsernameIssues and CreepinJesus,


3. Elevating useful folders to the root level of the navigation pane -- Thank you, CreepinJesus, for the tip on using libraries to bring a folder closer to the root level. I've adopted your suggestion for now. However, I was really hoping for a solution that would let me elevate a folder all the way to the root level. In XP, the command line option "/root" accomplished this nicely. That command doesn't seem to work in the new Explorer. Is there really no support for this functionality any more?


-TC

I use the favorites for this... It even works across networks. You can make any folder you access often instantly available for opening under the favorites part of the tree which is always visible at the top.

 

[FliGi7]

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.

 

[seavixen32]

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/library/ee449433(WS.10).aspx

 

[TC0]

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]

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).
You can't search them without "Indexing" turned on (you can search the actual real locations without problems though).
Adding content to them is painful (I've got ~11,000 folders in My Documents and My Pictures).

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

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

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?)

I'm not sure what you mean.
Have you tried clicking in an empty section of the Address Bar?

​

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?

You should see a little triangle to the left of folders that contain sub-folders.
Clicking on that should expand the tree.

 

[FliGi7]

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?

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.

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?

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

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

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?

 

[TC0]

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

 

[FliGi7]

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.

 

[seavixen32]

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-know-windows-7-libraries-inside-and-out

 

[lehnerus2000]

Yes and No

Can you explain?

I could, but since TCO politely asked that Windows Explorer design/operation not be debated, I won't.

 

[fseal]

Or there is always Explorer++

Explorer++ - A small and fast file manager for Windows