"Stan Brown" <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote in message
news:MPG.26e4d58ad04f0b3798c5a9@news.individual.net...
> Can someone explain briefly why I would want to use them> I never
> used My Documents in Windows XP, but had my own hierarchy of folders
> on drives E and F. Am I missing anything by not using libraries in
> Windows 7?
>
> Windows 7's own help doesn't seem to explain anything useful about
> the purpose of this feature, or if it does I wasn't using the proper
> search terms.
>
>
> --
> Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
> http://OakRoadSystems.com
> Shikata ga nai...
I am afraid that Windows 7 is deliberately designed to accommodate many
users on the one machine, together with various software applications each
of which saved by default all over the place in previous Windows versions.
The library concept is designed to try to get over the need for users to
design their own storage directory system. Obviously you can see that each
user doing their own thing would result in a bit of a mish mash. It is a
pain in the nuts for single users, and I don't think they have got it right
for a few users.
However, the directory structure is a crucial aspect of designing a system
and at least in Windows 7 it looks as though they have had a try at
realising this instead of just creating a new sub-directory whenever the
thought arises. Also, even now it is still the case that most stuff is not
made specifically for Windows 7 - it is rare to be asked on installation
whether it is for all users for example.
So if you like storing things your own way I don't think that the library
idea will offer anything. However, if doing things for other people on
their machines, it is actually important to take into account what Windows 7
does by default because users are likely to fairly quickly get used to how
Win 7 works and you don't want your applications to be out of kilter.