Why doesn't Microsoft update their outdated Documents folder?


Recommended Posts

Microsoft should have a folder for applications to put their documents and a user only documents.  It is stupid to consider putting our documents there when it is cluttered with app folders and their files which are not even documents and have no meaning to us. Just a big fat bucket to dump stuff into. After this is improved then let us set the document location. Then anytime an app or Microsoft wants to add a folder ask the user if they want it. We don't want My Pictures, Fax, etc. Apps have to put their docs in the app doc folder and the users docs such as pictures and actual user saved files to the user's documents folder. We can't organize our folders with it like this. I haven't put my docs in the documents folder ever, even before 98. It is un-organized, cluttered, and yes I have lost too many files this way. Not one user understands how to work with documents and stay organized the way this is. Please up vote this.

 

Link to open Feedback Hub

https://aka.ms/AA1pizz

  On 01/07/2018 at 02:38, BillyJack said:

Microsoft should have a folder for applications to put their documents and a user only documents.  It is stupid to consider putting our documents there when it is cluttered with app folders and their files which are not even documents and have no meaning to us. Just a big fat bucket to dump stuff into. After this is improved then let us set the document location. Then anytime an app or Microsoft wants to add a folder ask the user if they want it. We don't want My Pictures, Fax, etc. Apps have to put their docs in the app doc folder and the users docs such as pictures and actual user saved files to the user's documents folder. We can't organize our folders with it like this. I haven't put my docs in the documents folder ever, even before 98. It is un-organized, cluttered, and yes I have lost too many files this way. Not one user understands how to work with documents and stay organized the way this is. Please up vote this.

 

Link to open Feedback Hub

https://aka.ms/AA1pizz

Expand  

Opinions vary. 

  On 01/07/2018 at 02:38, BillyJack said:

Microsoft should have a folder for applications to put their documents and a user only documents. 

Expand  

If you feel that strongly about it you can make one yourself in your user profile, so why does Microsoft need to do that?

  On 01/07/2018 at 04:59, LostCat said:

If you feel that strongly about it you can make one yourself in your user profile, so why does Microsoft need to do that?

Expand  

Yep I already do just like everyone else but looking at file explorer tonight I started to think about how ###### these folders are organized and used after all these years. That is why I suggest Microsoft changes it. I could easily say why does Microsoft have to improve the OS just because we feel it is not that great when we can just make our own OS. If you think about the use case for the documents folder and how nobody uses it, at least tech savvy people, and how non tech savvy people probably don't even know where there files are, then you might realize how poorly implemented it is.

There is a trick to fix this ######. Remove the "My Documents" folder from the Documents Library and let it rot and accumulate useless junk documents. Add your own clean personal folder to the Documents Library. Most programs Open/Save dialogs have the Documents Library easily accessible.

  On 01/07/2018 at 02:38, BillyJack said:

Microsoft should have a folder for applications to put their documents and a user only documents.  It is stupid to consider putting our documents there when it is cluttered with app folders and their files which are not even documents and have no meaning to us. Just a big fat bucket to dump stuff into. After this is improved then let us set the document location. Then anytime an app or Microsoft wants to add a folder ask the user if they want it. We don't want My Pictures, Fax, etc. Apps have to put their docs in the app doc folder and the users docs such as pictures and actual user saved files to the user's documents folder. We can't organize our folders with it like this. I haven't put my docs in the documents folder ever, even before 98. It is un-organized, cluttered, and yes I have lost too many files this way. Not one user understands how to work with documents and stay organized the way this is. Please up vote this.

 

Link to open Feedback Hub

https://aka.ms/AA1pizz

Expand  


Billyjack!

Yes, we (a lot of users) understand how the documents folder works, so please don't speak for the rest of us not understanding, because it only seems to be you.

You can organise Windows any way you like, save your own documents anywhere you like, you know, using the Save As option or moving them to another folder or better still, OneDrive (due to the awesome Autosave and Ransomeware protection.)

But I'm sorry that you don't know how windows works, least of all file management (Known as Housekeeping), but I'm guessing you're still on Windows 7? My Documents was renamed to Documents in later versions of Windows and from day one, even in Windows 1.x you could change the location of the folder. Just right click the Documents (or My Documents) folder and select Properties then the Location tab and select a new location (Find Target) from scratch or Move (which is recommended if you have  your application and programs data in there) what you have to a another location or drive, then you won't lose anything if you format the C:\ Drive (see, using OneDrive has an advantage there). It will still be called Documents though, but you can rename it. Oh and with OneDrive, Open it's Settings and select the Auto-Save tab and change Documents and or Pictures to OneDrive)

As for where Windows Programs and apps use for their data, you can also change this by adding and or editing Windows Environment Variables, but this may be a little beyond you right now.

So basically, everything you want to do in your spiel, you can do yourself, very easily. Oh and you can also change the location of the Pictures, Music, Download and Video folders by doing the same steps above for the Documents folder. Put the location on another drive or removable/external hard drive and you're good to go.

I don't see any point for Microsoft making separate folders for app doc and user doc and as someone already mentioned you can make one yourself if you want to. Also, I don't really get it, how you lost too many files by not having separate folders.

  • 2 weeks later...

You're asking for something that already exists. Unfortunately a lot of developers and users make bad assumptions and have their applications put their files in the wrong place. Add to that the fact that if you ask 100 people to sort 100 files for 10 applications into "User Documents" and "Application Documents" and you're going to get wildly differing opinions on what goes where.

 

If you want to know more, look up the documentation on the folders called Application Data, ProgramData, Program files.

All of these plus most user folders can be configured to be saved in a different location than the standard one. Unfortunately, a lot of bad developers fail to use the built in functions to locate these folders and instead just assume that no-one ever customizes them and write to the default location. Leaving you with some files (the well-behaved applications) in your custom location, and some files in the default location.

  On 12/07/2018 at 18:01, neufuse said:

I love how applications put all their data files in there....... that's exactly why we have the %appdata% folder........

Expand  

Which is easy to get to and browse for the typical layperson.... /s

 

appdata is used for files that aren’t meant to be touched or seen. 

  On 12/07/2018 at 18:36, adrynalyne said:

Which is easy to get to and browse for the typical layperson.... /s

 

appdata is used for files that aren’t meant to be touched or seen. 

Expand  

you didnt read what I wrote...

 

I said applications put their DATA FILES in there

 

?

 

like adobe putting program data files in there...

visual studio putting more then just user projects in there...... etc

 

I have a least 10 folders in mine right now that are just data files, not things that should be user edited created by various ISV's...

  On 12/07/2018 at 19:17, neufuse said:

you didnt read what I wrote...

 

I said applications put their DATA FILES in there

 

?

 

like adobe putting program data files in there...

visual studio putting more then just user projects in there...... etc

 

I have a least 10 folders in mine right now that are just data files, not things that should be user edited created by various ISV's...

Expand  

Hmmm, I don’t. I do have files that someone would want to back up at some point. 

The documents folder is very simple.  People save things there all the time.  It is an administrators nightmare with figuring out how to backup that location as everyone chooses that folder over every other folder that they have access to or personal network drives they have access to.  I would say the majority esp the more intellectually incapable know how to use that folder and find things in that folder as every program chooses to default there.   You can change the default document location as well as change the location to where "Documents" or "My Documents" resides which continues on to be the default location even if you have changed the physical location to where it is.  

 

You can go to c:\users\userprofile and right click "My Documents" choose the Location tab and change that to where ever you would like it to go.  Administrators have the ability to change that via group policies so that it applies to all users and have it in a central location for backups without the users knowing or interacting just continuing to do what they do on a daily basis.  

 

You could organize my documents better by making folders for projects or type of documents.  That is up to the end user to do, not microsoft.  Some people don't want to group their documents by type or application, it is your choice how you want to organize your stuff.

 

 

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I've stopped using Chrome after some of my most used extensions didn't work.
    • More Microsoft Account headaches: Office 2024 licensing bug finally gets detailed fix by Sayan Sen Microsoft often highlights the benefits of a Microsoft account (MSA) as it points out the unified access users get across devices and services like Windows, Office, OneDrive, and Xbox, which can help in synchronization of files and settings for convenience. That is also why it is a mandatory requirement during Windows 11 installs. However, there can be major problems too. For example, earlier this month, we reported on an incident wherein a Windows user was locked out of their Microsoft Account when Windows flagged their OneDrive upload activities, and apparently there was no way to recover their account. We discussed how, in such a case, users can lose all their data, especially if it's BitLocker encrypted, which is not all that unlikely on Windows 11 24H2. You can read the story in full in this article here. Meanwhile, on the topic of MSA, Microsoft has finally released a detailed step-by-step guide for fixing the Office 2024 licensing bug. The tech giant had already published an update earlier back in December last year. While that was supposed to fix the issue, the problem likely persisted for many users. For those who need a refresher, users whose Microsoft accounts held licenses for both Office 2024 and earlier editions like Office 2021. After upgrading to Office 2024, the MSA continued to display the older version. At the time, Microsoft only stated that installing the latest version of the Office 2024 app would fix the issue. This week, though, a detailed guide has been shared. The company writes: You can find the support article here on Microsoft's official website.
    • Hey Neowin folks, I’m struggling with my Samsung QLED Q80C smart TV’s Wi-Fi dropping randomly. It connects to my 5GHz network but loses signal every 20–30 minutes, interrupting streaming. Details: Device: Samsung QLED Q80C (2023 model), Tizen OS, firmware updated to latest (May 2025). Network: TP-Link Archer AX73 router, Wi-Fi 6, 5GHz band, WPA3 security. Environment: TV ~10 feet from router, no major interference (tested without microwave or cordless phones). Setup: Streaming Netflix, YouTube via built-in apps; issue persists across apps. Steps Tried: Restarted TV, router, and modem. Switched to 2.4GHz band—same issue, slower speed. Assigned static IP to TV in router settings. Reset TV network settings and reconnected. Checked router logs; no disconnect errors logged. Searched Neowin; found a 2024 thread on Wi-Fi issues but no TV-specific fixes. Expected: Stable Wi-Fi connection for uninterrupted streaming. Actual: Wi-Fi drops every 20–30 minutes, requiring manual reconnect. Has anyone faced Wi-Fi dropouts on Samsung QLED TVs or Tizen OS? Could it be a firmware bug or router setting? Any debug tips or workarounds? Thanks for any ideas!
    • I can see why you would need an AI browser
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      sophiaisabella32 earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      Brett76 earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Year In
      78andyp earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      Cottonbud earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      langat earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      594
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      219
    3. 3
      Michael Scrip
      189
    4. 4
      +FloatingFatMan
      146
    5. 5
      Xenon
      135
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!