Two "Pictures" folders

  • Thread starter Thread starter just bob
  • Start date Start date
J

just bob

My clean Vista install has to Pictures folders.

Which is the one Microsoft intended for me to use?

C:\Users\myname\Documents\pictures

or

C:\users\myname\pictures


I would prefer if all my data, including pictures, shortcuts, etc, were
under "Documents, that way I know what to backup. Or did Microsoft intend
for us to always backup C:\users\*.* ?

A little insight into what they were thinking would be great!

Is there a whitepaper for the new file management?

Thank you,
-Bob
 
C:\users\myname\pictures is the one to use. The other one is a junction,
not a real folder. If you notice, it has a shortcut arrow overlay and is
semi-transparent. Junctions are there for legacy application compatibility.
 
Jane C said:
C:\users\myname\pictures is the one to use. The other one is a junction,
not a real folder. If you notice, it has a shortcut arrow overlay and is
semi-transparent. Junctions are there for legacy application
compatibility.
Click to expand...

It's not a junction. It's a real folder with different contents (sorry I did
not metion this in my previous post)

In hindsight I think it was created under Documents by a non-Vista aware
program.

Are we having fun yet?
 
Slight brain-fade here this morning. If it is just called 'Pictures', then
it is indeed a folder either created by a user, or as you suspect, by an
application. The 'junction' one is called 'My Pictures'.
 
For the long answer...

The user account folders are all at the same level now. Documents and
Settings has been renamed to Users. So if you open drive C:, expand the
Users folder, expand a user account folder, the default arrangements of
subfolders is:

Contacts
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
Favorites
Links
Music
Pictures
Saved Games
Searches
Videos

I think the basic idea is that it just takes an unnecessary step out of the
navigation process. For example, open your Documents folder. Then, in the
Address bar, click the arrow between your user account name and Documents
and you'll see how you can get to any folder within your account using a
single click.

You can click any folder name in the Address Bar to get to that folder. The
arrows in between names all link to folders as well.

You can put your own shortcuts under Favorite Links in the Navigation Pane.
And there's still the traditional Folders list under that. So there are lots
of ways to get around quickly and easily.

Of course, with the search index, you don't have to do much navigating at
all. Just type in a keyword or two at the bottom of the Start menu, then
click the document, message, contact, favorite, or folder you want to open.
No need to open a program first or go navigating through folders all over
the place.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll see it makes perfect sense and is a big
improvement.
 
Bob

Jane already answered your question.

If you want to know some of "why did they do that" about the Vista file
system, take a look at the official blog for the Microsoft team responsible
for file services and storage in Vista. Many good articles there.

The Filing Cabinet:
http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/default.aspx
 
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