Using Libraries and Folders
Windows enables you to use both libraries and folders to store and organize your files. To make the most of libraries and folders, you need to be clear on the difference between the two:
- Folder:
A folder is a special kind of file that acts as a container for other files and folders (technically, subfolders). Each folder is stored at a specific point in your computer's file system. - Library:
A library is a kind of smart folder that presents files from different folders as if they were all stored in the same location. In fact, each file remains in the folder in which you stored it, but the library gives you an easy way to access it.
Note:
Any library can be optimized for one of four categories of content-Documents, Music, Pictures, or Videos-or for General Items. The optimization controls which options File Explorer gives you for sorting files in the library. For example, if the library is optimized for documents, you can sort them by author; if it's optimized for music, you can sort by album; if it's optimized for pictures, you can sort by tags; and if it's optimized for videos, you can sort by length.
If File Explorer isn't displaying the list of libraries in the Navigation pane, choose View, Panes, Navigation Pane, Show Libraries to display them.
Coming to Grips with the Default Libraries
Windows comes with six default libraries to take care of essential types of files such as documents, music, and pictures. Table gives you brief details. You can create other libraries as needed; the next section shows you how to do this.
Library Roll Picture from your computer's Optimized for camera Camera Roll Word processing documents, Documents spreadsheets, presentations Documents Music in various formats Music Pictures Pictures in various formats Pictures Saved Pictures Pictures you have saved from Pictures sources such as web pages and email messages Videos Videos in various formats Videos
Windows stores libraries in the Libraries folder, which you can access through File Explorer. The Libraries folder doesn't actually appear on your computer's desktop unless you put it there, so you'll normally want to go through File Explorer.
Note:
Windows also displays some libraries in the Quick Access view of the Navigation pane by default. You can customize the Quick Access view as needed.
Each user account on your computer has separate libraries, so your library items don't appear in other users' libraries unless you choose to share them. But Windows also provides public libraries for items that you want to share with all users. Windows keeps these public libraries in the Users\Public\ folder; each user's libraries draw in these files automatically, so they appear alongside the user's private content.
Tip:
You can include external drives in your libraries. Just add the appropriate folders as explained in the section "Including Folders in Your Library," later in this tutorial. After you add folders on an external drive, Windows automatically pulls new files in those folders into the appropriate libraries, giving you easy access to them without navigating around your computer's file system.
Creating a New Library
If the default libraries don't cover your needs, you can create new libraries of your own. For example, if you work with many documents, you might want to create a separate library for each document category, such as Spreadsheets, Word Processing Documents, and Presentations.
Follow these steps to create a new library:
- Open a File Explorer window. For example, click the File Explorer icon on the Taskbar or choose Start, File Explorer.
- In the Navigation pane, click Libraries to display the Libraries folder.
Note:
If you can't see the Libraries folder in the Navigation pane, you'll need to display this. If you can find open space in the Navigation pane, right-click or long-press there and then click Show Libraries, placing a check mark by the Show Libraries item on the menu that appears. If you can't find open space, go to the Ribbon and choose View, Panes, Navigation Pane, Show Libraries. - Choose Home, New, New Item, Library. File Explorer creates a new library, gives it
the default name New Library, and selects the name so you can change it.
Tip:
You can also create a new library by right-clicking or long-pressing in open space in the main part of the window and then choosing New, Library from the shortcut menu. - Type the new name and press Enter to apply it.
You now have a new library, but it's not going to do anything until you tell Windows which folders to include in it. Read on.
Including Folders in Your Library
You can include folders in a library using several methods. Here's the method you'll probably want to use with your freshly minted library:
- Open a File Explorer window to the Libraries folder. If you just created a library in the preceding section, you should be here already.
- Click the library file you just created. When you select the library file, the Library Tools tab appears on the Ribbon.
- Choose Library Tools, Manage, Manage, Manage Library to open the Library Locations dialog box for the library.
- To add a folder, click Add, select the file in the Include Folder in Library dialog box that opens, and then click Include Folder.
Note:
The first folder you include in the library becomes its default save location. - To remove a folder, click it in the list box and then click Remove.
- When you finish setting up the list of folders, click OK to close the Library Locations dialog box.
Note:
You can't add individual files to a library directly. Instead, put the files in a folder, and add the folder to the library.
Tip:
Another way to add a folder to a library is to open a File Explorer window, right-click or long-press the folder, click or highlight Include in Library on the shortcut menu, and then click the library on the submenu that opens. This method is great for adding individual folders to a library as needed. The submenu also contains a Create New Library command that enables you to start a new library containing the folder you picked.
Setting the Library's Default Save Location and Public Save Location
After you've included two or more folders in the library, you need to set its save locations. There are two save locations:
- Default Save Location:
This is the folder in which the library saves new documents you create. The default save location enables you to save a file to the library rather than having to save the file to a folder. This is a small convenience provided that you set the appropriate folder as the default save location. - Public Save Location:
This is the folder in which the library saves new documents that other users create.
You can set the default save location and public save location in a couple of ways. The easiest way is to select the library in a File Explorer window, go to the Ribbon, and choose Library Tools, Manage, Manage, Set Save Location to open the Set Save Location dropdown menu. You can then set the default save location by choosing the appropriate folder on the drop-down menu, which shows the folders you've included in the library. To set the public save location, click or highlight Set Public Save Location on the drop-down menu, and then click the appropriate folder on the submenu, which also shows the folders included in the library.
Configuring the Library to Work Your Way
From the Library Tools tab of the Ribbon, you can also choose the type of files for which to optimize the library: Choose Library Tools, Manage, Manage, Optimize Library For to display the Optimize Library For drop-down menu, and then click General Items, Documents, Music, Pictures, or Videos, as needed.
You can also change the library icon to give it a different look in your folders. To change the icon, choose Library Tools, Manage, Manage, Change Icon; click the icon in the Change Icon dialog box; and then click OK.
Tip:
The Change Icon dialog box shows the icons in a file named SHELL32.dll, one of the dynamic link library files that Windows uses extensively. If none of these icons appeals to you, try browsing other .dll files to find other icons. You might start with moricons.dll, which contains various premillennial icons. Or if you have an icon file of your own, you might prefer to use that instead.
If you want the library to appear in the Navigation pane, choose Library Tools, Manage, Manage, Show in Navigation Pane.
You can also configure the library by working in its Properties dialog box. Right-click or long-press the library in a File Explorer window, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu to display the Properties dialog box. You can then use the Library Locations list box at the top to review the folders in the library, and use the Add button and Remove button below the list box to change the list of folders; use the Set Save Location button and Set Public Save Location button to set the save locations; choose the means of optimization in the Optimize This Library For drop-down menu; and click the Change Library Icon button to change the icon.
Note:
The Properties dialog box for a library provides a handy one-stop place to work on the library, but it has no particular advantage over using the Library Tools tab on the Ribbon.
Restoring Your Default Libraries
If you delete any of your default libraries by mistake, you can restore them easily. To do so, open a File Explorer window, right-click or long-press Libraries in the Navigation pane, and then click Restore Default Libraries on the shortcut menu.
If you mess up the settings for an individual library, you can restore them to their defaults to get the library working normally again. Open a File Explorer window to the Libraries folder, click the library, and then choose Library Tools, Manage, Manage, Restore Settings.
