Windows Library Folders

Despite being much less prominent in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, the Windows Library files, first introduced in Windows 7, can actually be quite a useful way of collecting together various folders under a common heading. What has been missing all along in Libraries is the ability to add a non-indexed network share.

Here are some tips to working with Library folder to make them a bit more useful.

TIP1: Windows 8.1 and Windows 10; enabling the Library folders,

  • Open a file explorer window
  • select the VIEW tab at the top
  • in the NAVIGATION PANE dropdown, select SHOW LIBRARIES

TIP2: Moving your Library folder to a network share

  • Open MY COMPUTER
  • Browse to the namespace folders named DOCUMENTS, MUSIC, DOWNLOADS etc (Note, these are NOT the Library folders, but the folders that are inside the Library folders)
  • Right-click on the folder you want to move to a network location, such as DOCUMENTS
  • Select the LOCATION tab. If you don’t see that tab, you’re on the wrong folder.
  • Click the MOVE button
  • Browse to the network location you want to use and select it

TIP3: Adding a network folder locations to a Library folder

  • Create a folder on your HDD, such as C:Links
  • Create a subfolder named something like NAS-DOCS
  • Add the sub-folder to your desired Library (right-click the Library folder and use the ADD folder option)
  • Open an elevated command prompt window
  • Navigate to the first folder you created C:links
  • Delete the NAS-DOCS folder
  • Create a new linked folder with the same name, with the target set to the network drive
    mklink /d NAS-DOCS “Network ServerShared Folder To Map”

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