Hi, Rob/PaulB -
Great! Have finally found others who have stumbled onto this new little
feature.
Have been slowly integrating Vista into one of my customer's SBS2k3 networks
and have noticed the same thing. So far, unable to find an answer on the
web.
Here's what it looks like to me - Window Vista, operating in Active
Directory with user file redirection enabled looks like it masquerades the
redirected folder when a Vista user has logged on. The folder still exists
but it's very difficult to resolve for any other authenticated user as well
as the domain administrator/equivalent.
Am trying to stay objective about this little feature but it is very
confusing. Have found that if I look at a folder properties, it is possible
to identify the owner by looking at who has full rights to the area. Even
this can be misleading if multiple users have full access (shouldn't happen
with folder redirection but it could).
The problem is further aggrevated when there are multiple Vista users with
redirected folders. Now you can have multiple entries for the 'Documents'
folder and there's no way to easily differentiate between the users.
I can kinda see why the true folder name is concealed - when a Vista
(business or higher) user logs on, the redirected folder (usually their Home
directory) is labeled 'Document' to discourage others from attempting to
open a file that the user (owner) may have open. Haven't figured out
Microsoft's real logic here, but the strategy is kinda clear.
Once a Vista user logs off, the real folder name is easily identified by
browsing the structure.
Confusing to say the least and I'm not sure that I agree with the logic.
The whole idea throws a wrench into the works and I haven't figured out how
to use the tool.
I'd like to see more discussion on it. The topic may be discussed in one
of Microsoft's certification courses... i.e., 70-622 (I think) but until
then yer guess is as good as mine.
One thing I have noticed is that 'if a user has mapped a drive to the target
redidrected folder, then the mapped drive still resolves the content
normally'. The problem is with trying to locate the folder by simply using
the more familiar browse function.
From a security/stability viewpoint, nobody except the folder owner should
have full control over their home directory...at least that makes sense
normally. A problem does arise when a company admin policy has very relaxed
file sharing and control rules (Group Policies), but that's another issue.
Larry