Disable Libraries in Windows 7

[Access Denied]

Point taken. Maybe I've just not played around with it much. Just added a new library called Film. It contains movies from 2 external HD's.

So I guess the whole Library concept isn't that much different than Winamp's "watched folders"? I'll give it another shot. Perhaps I've been

to hasty on this.

Thanks, notuptome2004

I avoided them like they were the 2nd coming of the plague. Finally, I tried them. Make sure you have them sorted the way you like. Check out the options. I have several different sub-folders of pictures that are all sorted different as I browse further. I still look for new ways to make files more simple to organize. Libraries are kinda nice once you get used to them. :wacko:

[Linkin Park]

DISABLING LIBRARIES IN WINDOWS 7

Just paste this into a text file, rename it to 'anything.reg' and run it:

How do I undo that? Cause now there's no Music/Pictures/Videos shortcut links in the start menu.

Edited August 4, 2009 by Linkin Park

[Unconnected]

Hmm i was looking for something so the Music/pic/vid links in start menu was pointing to soem actual folders instead of god damn libraries.

But apparenty Brittosa's method doesnt work

[alanp]

At first I also don't like them. I got used to navigating to all the folders manually.

But after using Libraries for a while, I think it is a very good feature. For example, I have a "Projects" library that contains all my project files from various folders on my HDD. Works pretty well and saves a lot of time. You can have it sorted by folder names.

Also another nice thing about Libraries is that if you have regular Windows Backup scheduled and include your Libraries in your backup, it will automatically backup all the source folders/files that are connected to your Libraries.

Libraries are awesome :)

Hmm i was looking for something so the Music/pic/vid links in start menu was pointing to soem actual folders instead of god damn libraries.

But apparenty Brittosa's method doesnt work

Just add the folder you want into that library. You can also remove the default ones.

[Unconnected]

Well the thing that bothers me about libraries is, i like the details view, but if im in pictures and set one folder to be in thumbnail view, this applies to all folders in the pictures folder, plus the music folder too.. if it wasnt for that, i wouldnt care.

[profets]

I can get used to the links on the start menu pointing to Music/Vids etc, but I mean the top one - the actual personal folder. If you click it in the start menu, it shows your libraries that are set up - by default, 4. If you open the personal folder via the desktop, it actually goes to the C:\Users\Username folder. That is what I want the start menu to do, be it in library form or as an actual folder. At the moment, all clicking your personal folder icon will do is load up a list of libraries (as icons). Any way I can get this to act as a normal link to my C:\Users\Username folder?

weird, when i click on my username from top right of the start menu i dont get 4 libraries showing up, i get my actual "User's Files" folder, same as i do from opening the one on the desktop.

also, i'd love to know, is there way when opening explorer from the taskbar for it to default to 'Computer' instead of 'Libraries'?

[Brandon Live Veteran]

DISABLING LIBRARIES IN WINDOWS 7

Just paste this into a text file, rename it to 'anything.reg' and run it:

Great way to hork your system forever. What a god awful idea. If anybody was duped into doing that, you should use system restore right away to get back to a supported state. Otherwise you're in for all sorts of trouble down the road.

Never use Libraries. I don't see the point. I just go to the actual folder in question. The whole idea of the Libraries just seems like an extra step to get somewhere I can get to easily already.

What's the extra step? If you don't customize them they should work just like the personal folders you had before, except that now you can do cool views like By Album and By Tag on them. I'd be really interested to know what extra steps you've encountered that are due to libraries?

How do I undo that? Cause now there's no Music/Pictures/Videos shortcut links in the start menu.

System Restore.

Well the thing that bothers me about libraries is, i like the details view, but if im in pictures and set one folder to be in thumbnail view, this applies to all folders in the pictures folder, plus the music folder too.. if it wasnt for that, i wouldnt care.

Changing the view for the Pictures Library will change it for any location in that library, but it should never affect the Music library.

[Chris000001]

weird, when i click on my username from top right of the start menu i dont get 4 libraries showing up, i get my actual "User's Files" folder, same as i do from opening the one on the desktop.

also, i'd love to know, is there way when opening explorer from the taskbar for it to default to 'Computer' instead of 'Libraries'?

Change the shortcut target to

%windir%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

(hold down the shift key while right clicking the icon with no windows open to get to properties)

[Brandon Live Veteran]

weird, when i click on my username from top right of the start menu i dont get 4 libraries showing up, i get my actual "User's Files" folder, same as i do from opening the one on the desktop.

The original post was referring to the Beta behavior, which was changed based on feedback (such as this thread).

also, i'd love to know, is there way when opening explorer from the taskbar for it to default to 'Computer' instead of 'Libraries'?

Well, one thing you can do it pin Computer to the Jump List for Explorer, and get to it from there (I know, two clicks instead of one...)

[Rickkins]

Frankly, I don't really get the point to libraries at all.

Exactly how do they work, what are we supposed to do with them, and how would thay be better than any other folders...???

(real question, honest)

[Brandon Live Veteran]

Frankly, I don't really get the point to libraries at all.

Exactly how do they work, what are we supposed to do with them, and how would thay be better than any other folders...???

(real question, honest)

A Library is a special kind of folder that can aggregate contents from multiple physical locations (including folders on different drives, network shares, etc). In addition to representing multiple storage locations as a single container, Libraries are always indexed by the system (meaning the properties and metadata of their contents is stored in a fast database). That means Libraries can enable features like metadata-based views and pivots, such as the By Artist or By Album view for the Music library, as well as provide instant search with rich search filter suggestions in the search box.

The library locations are also exposed to all applications on the system via the Library API. That means if you set up your Music library, WMP and iTunes will automatically know where you keep your music. If you add or remove a folder in WMP, it will update the library definition, so you don't have to go change it again in iTunes (or vice versa).

[Robbie Khan Reviews]

I like the concept but absolutely hate the way a custom folder view (thumbs/details/tiles etc for specific folders) are shared with that library in all folders making it frustrating when all you want is a particular folder in list view, another in thumb view etc.

Because of that I simply modded the taskbar shortcut to library to load "My Documents" instead which is mapped to another drive so I use that mapping as my document store and allocated remaps to pics/videos/music to there too.

The mod is simple and totally undoable:

http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/windows-...lder-windows-7/

I still have libraries mapped but never access them via explorer.

So I kind of now use both, I use libraries from within apps (save dialogues, open etc) but when navigating folders and managing files manually I use the modded documents jump as in the link.

I work much faster that way.

[Rickkins]

A Library is a special kind of folder that can aggregate contents from multiple physical locations (including folders on different drives, network shares, etc). In addition to representing multiple storage locations as a single container, Libraries are always indexed by the system (meaning the properties and metadata of their contents is stored in a fast database). That means Libraries can enable features like metadata-based views and pivots, such as the By Artist or By Album view for the Music library, as well as provide instant search with rich search filter suggestions in the search box.

The library locations are also exposed to all applications on the system via the Library API. That means if you set up your Music library, WMP and iTunes will automatically know where you keep your music. If you add or remove a folder in WMP, it will update the library definition, so you don't have to go change it again in iTunes (or vice versa).

Ok, thanks.

How does it work, cuz I don't see anything in them, nor any controls to make anything happen.

[Brandon Live Veteran]

Ok, thanks.

How does it work, cuz I don't see anything in them, nor any controls to make anything happen.

When in a Library, there's a new pane at the top of the Explorer:

Click on the "2 locations" link to manage the locations (add new ones, change save location, etc). You can also right-click on a Library in the navigation pane and click Properties to get to the same options.

The drop-down on the right lets you select the view mode (or "Arrangement View") that you want to see. The "Folder" view shows a standard view of the files+folders in the library, and works just like if you were viewing the folder itself. In this view, the index isn't used (unless you search for something), so it's actually a physical representation of what's there. In the other views, like Album and such, you see an index-backed view of all of the library's contents (not just the root folders, but everything contained in the Library locations no matter how deep), grouped in the appropriate way. That's probably a much more complicated explanation than anyone needs though :) Most people can figure out what's going on just by playing with it a little.

[-KJ]

I'm looking forward to the Libraries feature :)

/hasn't used Windows 7 but for a few minutes in VM without the pretty Aero

[Andrmgic]

I really enjoy the libraries feature and the layout.. it enables me to gather similar things in the same location so I don't have to keep drilling down into folders on my hard drives to get to things I need.

Here's an example.. I created a Vmware Library for my virtual machines at the office.. running clients and servers on separate hard drives helps virtual machine performance, but with libraries I can access all of them on any of my drives or partitions in one place and even sort it by the type..

It saves me time in creating new vms and accessing existing ones.

It would be nice if it remembered the view I had it in last time, though.. I hate having to keep selecting "virtual machine configuration file"..

I mean logically speaking, if I had something in a particular view last time, why would it reset itself?

Edited August 4, 2009 by Andrmgic

[Brandon Live Veteran]

It would be nice if it remembered the view I had it in last time, though.. I hate having to keep selecting "virtual machine configuration file"..

I mean logically speaking, if I had something in a particular view last time, why would it reset itself?

Can you explain what you mean by this? Do you mean you have it filtered to just show a certain type of file? (if so, filters aren't really considered to be "view" changes so they aren't persisted).

One thing that might help you a bit:

1) Go to your VMWare library

2) Switch to the "Type" view, so you see all the types in stacks

3) Double-click on the type you want to scope to

4) In the address bar, click and drag the icon on the left side into your Favorites list (or you can pin this folder to your Jump List on the taskbar). Now you can get back to that view anytime.

[UncleSpellbinder]

Gotta admit, I'm really liking libraries. It seems like a more sophisticated way in which media players

"watch" folders. Each change I make to the original location is instantly recognized in the library.

Yep. Really liking this.

[Andrmgic]

Can you explain what you mean by this? Do you mean you have it filtered to just show a certain type of file? (if so, filters aren't really considered to be "view" changes so they aren't persisted).

One thing that might help you a bit:

1) Go to your VMWare library

2) Switch to the "Type" view, so you see all the types in stacks

3) Double-click on the type you want to scope to

4) In the address bar, click and drag the icon on the left side into your Favorites list (or you can pin this folder to your Jump List on the taskbar). Now you can get back to that view anytime.

From a UI perspective, I wasn't looking at them as filters. Since they look like folders, I guess I was hoping that it would remember my last "search" without me having to execute it again. Functionally, I can see why this would be cumbersome to people using libraries in a different way, such as sorting their music by album or artist.. but it would be nice to have the option to have it retain the last set of data I was looking at without having to set a new favorite.

Thanks for the tip, though.

[Access Denied]

Gotta admit, I'm really liking libraries. It seems like a more sophisticated way in which media players

"watch" folders. Each change I make to the original location is instantly recognized in the library.

Yep. Really liking this.

Welcome to the Dark Side :laugh:

[profets]

The original post was referring to the Beta behavior, which was changed based on feedback (such as this thread).

Well, one thing you can do it pin Computer to the Jump List for Explorer, and get to it from there (I know, two clicks instead of one...)

haha, didnt even notice the dates on those posts...

Change the shortcut target to

%windir%\explorer.exe ::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

(hold down the shift key while right clicking the icon with no windows open to get to properties)

nice, thanks for that.. gotta try it out tomorrow

[ProclaimDragon]

I like the concept behind Libraries and found it very useful when I first heard about it and when I first tested it myself. But I never tested as I'm doing now (moving from Vista to 7) and what I'm finding out about libraries is that it's not very customizable (not in a clear way at least) and that is what will eventually lead me to try and disable libraries (probably with the registry patch).

Here's what bothers me with Libraries:

• 1) I have an use for the "Documents" library, I have documents all over the place. However, for "Music", I only save my music in one single location and that is the "My Music" folder. So, although I appreciate the navigation to access all my documents in the library, Libraries ? Documents ? Docs Folder Au>, it bothers me that for music I have to access tLibraries ? Music ? My Music instead of simLibraries ? Music.. Yes, I know that if I just click "Music" inside "Libraries", I'll see the folders inside the "My Music" folder and not the "My Music" folder itself. Still, It bothers me that the "My Music" folder is displayed, at all, in the tree view when there's only 1 location in the library. Also, when accessing a specific band/album folder through the tree view, I'll always have to go through the "Music" library and then the "My Music" folder, which is very annoying. The tree view should immediately show all the folders inside "My Music" and not the folder itself, at least with only one included location or at least the users should be able to choose the behavior.2)) Like I said above, I have documents all over the place and I add each specific folder location to the "Documents" library. But I the hell my included folders have the drive letter in front of the name? I understand that with libraries we can include folders from various locations, including different drives, but still, I don't care to see where they are coming from, not in the tree view list at least.3)) By default, the list view for newly created libraries are grouped by the included folders showing the folder name, the folder location and the number of items in that folder. This group is not selected nor does it show anywhere. If I right-click and "group by" anything else, how do I get back to that default list view if I want to? I know there's a "clear changes" item, still, there should be a visible option for this type of grouping.
  

If anyone has any idea how to solve the points above, I would be very appreciated. Like I said, I like the concept, I think it's useful, but since it doesn't allow me to customize it the way I like it, I have to disable them cause I'd rather keep using Explorer as I always did.

Bear in mind though, this is not a rant, this is just what bothers me with the current implementation of Libraries and it's not so much that it Microsoft decided to have this default behavior, it's the fact that there's no visible options to change it, that's what bothers me.

Edited August 20, 2009 by Nazgulled

[dewaaz]

I like the concept behind Libraries and found it very useful when I first heard about it and when I first tested it myself. But I never tested as I'm doing now (moving from Vista to 7) and what I'm finding out about libraries is that it's not very customizable (not in a clear way at least) and that is what will eventually lead me to try and disable libraries ..

[*]2) Like I said above, I have documents all over the place and I add each specific folder location to the "Documents" library. But I the hell my included folders have the drive letter in front of the name? I understand that with libraries we can include folders from various locations, including different drives, but still, I don't care to see where they are coming from, not in the tree view list at least.

Bear in mind though, this is not a rant, this is just what bothers me with the current implementation of Libraries and it's not so much that it Microsoft decided to have this default behavior, it's the fact that there's no visible options to change it, that's what bothers me.

+1

[dewaaz]

Also, Libraries is only good where you have files of the same type.

In XP, I could have My Pictures, which contained 2 folders:

1. Camera photos

2. Random photos

[1] could be sorted by Name, and [2] could be sorted by Date Modified (this one was so I could see which photos I had grabbed off the net most recently).

I can't do this in Win7. For the Pictures library, all must be sorted the same, and have the same view options. Extremely annoying, and quite inflexible.

What I COULD do is to save Camera Photos and Random Pics to Favorites... but then the Library entry is still in the navigation pane grr

So yeh quite annoying

[majortom1981]

Couldnt you add any folder you want into the libraries folders that come with windows 7 ? Just by right clicking the library going to properties and adding that folder?

Why not just do that instead?