How do you get ridof MyDocuments etc?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Wolf Kirchmeir
  • Start date Start date
W

Wolf Kirchmeir

I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.

I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of them.

Why, do you ask? Because I want to set up my own system of folders for
organising my data. I am perfectly capable of doing this. I do not need
the troglodytes ate Microsoft to tell me how to do it. Their notions of
data organisation are, to put it as politely as possible, considerably
less than adequate.

Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to get rid of these folders?

Thank you.
 
Just because the folders are there doesn't mean you have to use them. Just
store your files wherever you want.

BTW, because the folders are there (by default), almost every modern
computer program uses them for their user file storage (not program files)
also.

I don't see what the big problem is.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Wolf said:
I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.

I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of
them.

Why, do you ask? Because I want to set up my own system of folders for
organising my data. I am perfectly capable of doing this. I do not
need the troglodytes ate Microsoft to tell me how to do it. Their
notions of data organisation are, to put it as politely as possible,
considerably less than adequate.

Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to get rid of these
folders?
Click to expand...

You can't get rid of them. They are system folders. However, there's
nothing that says you have to use them. I never use them on my Windows
machines. Instead, all my desktops have a second hard drive and I put
all my data there. Makes backing up data and restoring the operating
system really easy.

If you want to get all in a twist about Microsoft or call names, this
isn't the right place to do that. Instead, see what newsgroups your ISP
offers (or look for a free news server). There are plenty of alt.*
groups where you can b*tch.

Of course, instead of whinging you could be proactive:
http://distrowatch.com/

Malke
 
'Wolf Kirchmeir' wrote, in part:
|I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
| XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
| shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.
|
| I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of them.
_____

What do you find wrong with 'My Documents'? The name? What would you
suggest as a better method? Have you considered ease of data backup? Have
you considered that 'My Documents' can be located anywhere.

You can't get rid of 'My *' folders. But you don't have to use them. And
find a different target for your rage, one that matters; say, acid rain.

I suggest you do not use your real email address as the identity for posting
to Usenet newsgroups. Spammers have programs that automatically identify
and gather email addresses from the posts. Even worse, some Internet worms
(SWEN, for example) harvest email address from Usenet newsgroups and use
these address to send infected email to the harvested addresses AND use
these addresses as faked 'From:' addresses.

Phil Weldon

|I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
| XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
| shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.
|
| I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of them.
|
| Why, do you ask? Because I want to set up my own system of folders for
| organising my data. I am perfectly capable of doing this. I do not need
| the troglodytes ate Microsoft to tell me how to do it. Their notions of
| data organisation are, to put it as politely as possible, considerably
| less than adequate.
|
| Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to get rid of these folders?
|
| Thank you.
|
 
Richard said:
Just because the folders are there doesn't mean you have to use them. Just
store your files wherever you want.

BTW, because the folders are there (by default), almost every modern
computer program uses them for their user file storage (not program files)
also.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. I am not happy about that, either.
I don't see what the big problem is.
Click to expand...

I want to it my way. The problem is that I can't.
 
Phil said:
'Wolf Kirchmeir' wrote, in part:
Click to expand...

Why are you quoting?
|I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
| XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
| shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.
|
| I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of them.
_____

What do you find wrong with 'My Documents'?
Click to expand...

The fact that it's somebody else's notion of how to organise my data.
The name?
Click to expand...

It's not exactly brilliant, is it?
What would you
suggest as a better method?
Click to expand...

My method of creating a folder tree, naming the folders and subfolders
to reflect my way of organising my data. It probably wouldn't work for
you, but then I'm not asking you to use it.
Have you considered ease of data backup?
Click to expand...

Sure. I fail to see the relevance to My Documents, or My Music, though.
It's a lot easier to back up groups of files when you have pre-selected
them via a well-organised system of folders and subfolders.
Have
you considered that 'My Documents' can be located anywhere.
Click to expand...

Sure. There's no advantage to that.
You can't get rid of 'My *' folders.
Click to expand...

Actually it's worse than that: if you create folder and then move an
item - just one - from My Documents to the new folder, guess what: the
new folder becomes a shortcut to My Documents - except that it's not
labelled as a shortcut. Try it - you might like it.
But you don't have to use them.
Click to expand...

Sure, that's what I thought - until the folders "namedocs" and "name's
documents" turned out to be disguises for My Documents.
And
find a different target for your rage, one that matters; say, acid rain.
Click to expand...

My rage is not directed at acid rain, but at the people responsible for
it. Actually, I'm even angrier at the twits that complain about gas
prices, and idle their honkin' SUVs in front of the post office while
they chat with their neighbours for half an hour.
I suggest you do not use your real email address as the identity for posting
to Usenet newsgroups.
Click to expand...

You're making assumptions.
Spammers have programs that automatically identify
and gather email addresses from the posts. Even worse, some Internet worms
(SWEN, for example) harvest email address from Usenet newsgroups and use
these address to send infected email to the harvested addresses AND use
these addresses as faked 'From:' addresses.
Click to expand...

I know that. But thanks for your concern.

BTW, why do you top post?
 
Malke said:
You can't get rid of them. They are system folders. However, there's
nothing that says you have to use them. I never use them on my Windows
machines. Instead, all my desktops have a second hard drive and I put
all my data there. Makes backing up data and restoring the operating
system really easy.
Click to expand...

Yeah, yeah, I know all that. But tell me: why does XP turn "namedocs"
and "name's documents" into disguises for My Documents? It did just that
when I moved items from My Documents to these new folders (which I
created as temporary containers for the two users of the XP machine)?
If you want to get all in a twist about Microsoft or call names, this
isn't the right place to do that. Instead, see what newsgroups your ISP
offers (or look for a free news server). There are plenty of alt.*
groups where you can b*tch.
Click to expand...

If you think what I wrote is bitching, you haven't heard me bitch. :-)

I really do want to get rid of My * folders, but it appears that's not
possible. I was hoping someone could direct me to some hack or patch
that would do the job.

As an OS, XP is fine. It runs programs that are designed for it very
nicely and with no hassles. (Sadly, it doesn't handle legacy software
very well.) It's just some of its "features" that are beginning to grate
on me something awful. I'm paranoid about security, so both our Windows
machines are very well secured.
Of course, instead of whinging you could be proactive:
http://distrowatch.com/
Click to expand...

I tried SUSE 10.0 Nice features, but I found Gnome, um, quirky. When
trying to change permissions so as convert one of my folders into a
common folder for two users, I somehow either wiped out or hid /home for
both users. When I plaintively pled for help on the SUSE NG, I got some
very rude remarks about my intellectual capacity. Apparently, I should
have known that you can't create folders just anywhere you want as in
Windows and other dozy OSs. Doesn't make me well-disposed to the Linux
community, and doubtful about the OS. If you post to a Linux NG, which
one? You may be willing to give me advice about the distros, but this
isn't the forum for that.

My favourite OS is OS/2 (Warp4, FP15). The best desktop bar none. And
fast. But I'm realising I'll have to give it up. Sigh.
 
Why can't you do it your way? You can store your data anywhere you wish.

The My Docs hierarchy of folders are protected system folders and as such
are protected from changes made by system restore.Data stored there is safe
from accidental deletion during a restore.

Example--install a program from an executable downloaded to your desktop.
Copy the installer file to My Docs.
Run system restore and restore the pc to a point before downloading the exe
file. The exe will be gone from the desktop, the folder the program was
installed to will still exist,but all exes and dlls will be gone. The exe
you copied to my docs will still be there after the restore operation
because it is protected.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-
 
I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.

I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of
them.

Why, do you ask? Because I want to set up my own system of folders for
organising my data. I am perfectly capable of doing this. I do not
need the troglodytes ate Microsoft to tell me how to do it. Their
notions of data organisation are, to put it as politely as possible,
considerably less than adequate.

Is there anyone out there who can tell me how to get rid of these
folders?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Another person that thinks like me ! I can't stand the 'My' folders.

I can't believe that some people here said they are system folders and
you can't get rid of them. (And this IS a great place to dump on M$,
seeing a lot (not all) of the MVP's robot like responses and cut & paste
answers that their master M$'s has them brainwashed into preaching.)

Here's what you do....

In the run box enter: regsvr32 /u mydocs.dll then press return.

That will stop them from being recreated and you can now delete them. The
only one I've seen return was the 'My E-Books' folder, but that was after
an Adobe Acrobat install.

If the built-in zip thing bugs you too: regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll

SEEE YYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

Good luck,

DanS
 
Wolf said:
Malke wrote:

Yeah, yeah, I know all that. But tell me: why does XP turn "namedocs"
and "name's documents" into disguises for My Documents? It did just
that when I moved items from My Documents to these new folders (which
I created as temporary containers for the two users of the XP
machine)?


If you think what I wrote is bitching, you haven't heard me bitch. :-)

I really do want to get rid of My * folders, but it appears that's not
possible. I was hoping someone could direct me to some hack or patch
that would do the job.

As an OS, XP is fine. It runs programs that are designed for it very
nicely and with no hassles. (Sadly, it doesn't handle legacy software
very well.) It's just some of its "features" that are beginning to
grate on me something awful. I'm paranoid about security, so both our
Windows machines are very well secured.


I tried SUSE 10.0 Nice features, but I found Gnome, um, quirky. When
trying to change permissions so as convert one of my folders into a
common folder for two users, I somehow either wiped out or hid /home
for both users. When I plaintively pled for help on the SUSE NG, I got
some very rude remarks about my intellectual capacity. Apparently, I
should have known that you can't create folders just anywhere you want
as in Windows and other dozy OSs. Doesn't make me well-disposed to the
Linux community, and doubtful about the OS. If you post to a Linux NG,
which one? You may be willing to give me advice about the distros, but
this isn't the forum for that.

My favourite OS is OS/2 (Warp4, FP15). The best desktop bar none. And
fast. But I'm realising I'll have to give it up. Sigh.
Click to expand...

I use SUSE. Both my desktop and laptop run 9.3 but I'll be putting on
10.1 shortly. I'm sorry that you experienced rudeness in the
newsgroups, but that's Usenet for you. These MS groups are a lot more
polite than most Usenet groups.

If you want to give SUSE (or Usenet) another go, try posting in the
OpenSUSE newsgroups instead of alt.* - and here's a link to a
*nixhead's POV re posting on Usenet (from Richard Stallman himself):



Here's a page of resources - the OpenSUSE newsgroups are at the bottom
of the page:
http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/17218.html?rnd=558081.6890536154

I also do not like Gnome, but there is KDE (which I use) and there are
many other window managers. KDE is probably the most comfortable for a
Windows-OS/2 user to get used to. I have OS/2 in a virtual machine. ;-)

I didn't mean to hurt your feelings - I just get tired of trying to help
and getting slammed with people whinging and being nasty (see DanS's
post in this thread - how am I brainwashed?). I apologize for reacting
badly to your complaint and I'm sorry to say that you can't remove the
system folders in Windows. Just don't use them. Or... ;-)

Cheers,

Malke
 
LOL--I never said they couldn't be deleted. I simply explained why they are
protected.

--
Larry Samuels Associate Expert
MS-MVP (2001-2005)
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://pelos.us/SERVER.htm
Expert Zone-
 
LOL--I never said they couldn't be deleted. I simply explained why
they are protected.
Click to expand...

You must've posted as I was writing my post !

I just tried to answer the OP's question. :)
 
Malke said:
I use SUSE. Both my desktop and laptop run 9.3 but I'll be
putting on
10.1 shortly. I'm sorry that you experienced rudeness in the
newsgroups, but that's Usenet for you. These MS groups are a
lot more
polite than most Usenet groups.

If you want to give SUSE (or Usenet) another go, try posting in
the
OpenSUSE newsgroups instead of alt.* - and here's a link to a
*nixhead's POV re posting on Usenet (from Richard Stallman
himself):



Here's a page of resources - the OpenSUSE newsgroups are at the
bottom
of the page:
http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/17218.html?rnd=558081.6890536154

I also do not like Gnome, but there is KDE (which I use) and
there are
many other window managers. KDE is probably the most
comfortable for a
Windows-OS/2 user to get used to. I have OS/2 in a virtual
machine. ;-)

I didn't mean to hurt your feelings - I just get tired of
trying to help
and getting slammed with people whinging and being nasty (see
DanS's
post in this thread - how am I brainwashed?). I apologize for
reacting
badly to your complaint and I'm sorry to say that you can't
remove the
system folders in Windows. Just don't use them. Or... ;-)

Cheers,

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Click to expand...

Danged if I can find the info now, but I KNOW there is way to
remove them from displaying on the desktop at least.
There is also a way to rename them, but darned if I can find
that either.

Point is, there ARE some admittedly minimal but workable
workarounds that can hide them; might have to spend some time in
Google to get the info though.
If you DO hide them though, make sure you know how to get
them back: There is a LOT more than just "your documents" stored
in there!

Pop
 
I hate the MY folders too. The way I get rid of them is to rename them with
my own naming conventions. The folders will still be there, just not called
MY whatever, but all the programs that need them will still find the
required folders as you are just changing the pointers to them. You could
for instance change them all to the same folder name and bury it in several
sub folders...
I havent tried this with the My Documents folder itself but i'm sure it will
work just the same.

This isnt for the feint hearted, so make sure you back up your registry
before you do this, and that you know how to restore it if anything goes
wrong...

1. Create the folder you want to take the place of the one you are
changing...
eg create \My Documents\Multimedia\Graphics for \My Documents\My Pictures

2. go into the registry editor -> Start > Run > Type "regedit" and Enter.

3. Go Edit>Find...

4. Type in the folder you want to get rid of eg... My Pictures
Make sure "Data" is ticked ... Make sure Keys and Values are unticked, Then
click find Now

5 When it finds the first registry key make sure it is the one pointing to
the one you want to change, Ie in your documents, not in the Shared folder
or someone elses documents! right click on the Values "Name" (left hand side
of the right panel) and select modify

6 Change the location of the folder in the Value Data text box
ie.c\Documents and Settings\.... \..\My Documents\Multimedia\Graphics\
(Make sure it has the \ on the end
Click OK

7 Hit the <F3> key to repeat the search. You will find each one in there
several times.
When it says finished searching the registry you can delete the MY folder
and start a gain.

Note, you may need to click on MYComputer in the tree view on the left panel
of the registry editor to restart the search from the top, otherwise you may
miss some.

Hope this helps. As I said it isnt for the feint hearted so make sure you
back up before you try this!

Mick
 
'Wolf Kirchmeir wrote, in part:
| My method of creating a folder tree, naming the folders and subfolders
| to reflect my way of organising my data. It probably wouldn't work for
| you, but then I'm not asking you to use it.
|
_____

#1. I quote for the usual reason - to link my post to the post to which I
reply.

#2. Why not just place your hierarchy within 'My Documents'?

#3. Post a whine, expect some assumptions in return. If, as you imply, the
email identity you use is not guaranteed to never be in use - so you may be
publishing a valid email address as a target for spam. Not responsible
Usenet behavior.

Phil Weldon




| Phil Weldon wrote:
| > 'Wolf Kirchmeir' wrote, in part:
|
| Why are you quoting?
|
| > |I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in
| > | XP. I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
| > | shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.
| > |
| > | I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of
them.
| > _____
| >
| > What do you find wrong with 'My Documents'?
|
| The fact that it's somebody else's notion of how to organise my data.
|
| > The name?
|
| It's not exactly brilliant, is it?
|
| > What would you
| > suggest as a better method?
|

| > Have you considered ease of data backup?
|
| Sure. I fail to see the relevance to My Documents, or My Music, though.
| It's a lot easier to back up groups of files when you have pre-selected
| them via a well-organised system of folders and subfolders.
|
| > Have
| > you considered that 'My Documents' can be located anywhere.
|
| Sure. There's no advantage to that.
|
| > You can't get rid of 'My *' folders.
|
| Actually it's worse than that: if you create folder and then move an
| item - just one - from My Documents to the new folder, guess what: the
| new folder becomes a shortcut to My Documents - except that it's not
| labelled as a shortcut. Try it - you might like it.
|
| > But you don't have to use them.
|
| Sure, that's what I thought - until the folders "namedocs" and "name's
| documents" turned out to be disguises for My Documents.
|
| > And
| > find a different target for your rage, one that matters; say, acid rain.
|
| My rage is not directed at acid rain, but at the people responsible for
| it. Actually, I'm even angrier at the twits that complain about gas
| prices, and idle their honkin' SUVs in front of the post office while
| they chat with their neighbours for half an hour.
|
| > I suggest you do not use your real email address as the identity for
posting
| > to Usenet newsgroups.
|
| You're making assumptions.
|
| > Spammers have programs that automatically identify
| > and gather email addresses from the posts. Even worse, some Internet
worms
| > (SWEN, for example) harvest email address from Usenet newsgroups and use
| > these address to send infected email to the harvested addresses AND use
| > these addresses as faked 'From:' addresses.
|
| I know that. But thanks for your concern.
|
| BTW, why do you top post?
|
 
Wolf Kirchmeir said:
I am really, really, really annoyed at the My Documents etc folders in XP.
I won't express my rage, as you would no doubt be shocked --
shocked! -- at the language I am capable of.

I just want get rid of all the "My..." folders. Every single one of them.

Why, do you ask? Because I want to set up my own system of folders for
organising my data. I am perfectly capable of doing this. ...
Click to expand...

And your problem with using My Documents as the root of your
folders system is what?
 
(see
DanS's post in this thread - how am I brainwashed?).

Malke
Click to expand...

I mentioned no names and didn't say all. You would not be on that
list.....and you know the list, I'm sure. :)

Sorry.......I think more like kurttrail.........
 
Larry said:
Why can't you do it your way? You can store your data anywhere you wish.

The My Docs hierarchy of folders are protected system folders and as such
are protected from changes made by system restore.Data stored there is safe
from accidental deletion during a restore.
Click to expand...

I understand the thinking, and I have no objections to making My Docs
the default tree, especially for the users who can't configure a system.
But this is a default that I should be able to modify as I wish. Like I
said, I like to do it my way. At the very least, I should be able to
rename and rebuild that folder tree any way I want - and I should be
able to change protections and permissions to fit the needs of the users
of this machine / network. I just don't like being dictated to. Period.

Example--install a program from an executable downloaded to your desktop.
Copy the installer file to My Docs.
Run system restore and restore the pc to a point before downloading the exe
file.
The exe will be gone from the desktop, the folder the program was
installed to will still exist,but all exes and dlls will be gone. The exe
you copied to my docs will still be there after the restore operation
because it is protected.
Click to expand...

Yeah, well, I have issues with the way Windows developers package their
apps, but this is not the place to discuss them.
 
Malke wrote:
[...]
If you want to give SUSE (or Usenet) another go, try posting in the
OpenSUSE newsgroups instead of alt.* - and here's a link to a
*nixhead's POV re posting on Usenet (from Richard Stallman himself):
Click to expand...
[...]

Thanks for very useful information. You've saved me a lot of searching.
 
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