Windows 7 : Custom Libraries and Saved Searches (part 1) - Creating Custom Libraries

While Microsoft has finally taken virtual folders mainstream with the Libraries feature in Windows 7, the company has also provided a number of virtual folder features for power users. Some, like saved searches, were also available in Windows Vista, while others, like the ability to create your own custom Libraries, are new to Windows 7. Take a look.

1. Creating Custom Libraries

Windows 7 includes four default Libraries, each of which handles a specific content type (documents, music, pictures, and videos). These Libraries will likely offer enough diversity for most users, but power users may be interested in creating custom Libraries of their own. It's unlikely that you'll need to create your own Library for a specific content type, but it's easy to understand why you might want to create custom Libraries for specific projects, or for special content groups that you'd like to keep separate from the default Libraries for some reason.

To create a new Library, open the Libraries window and click the New Library button in the toolbar. A New Library entry will appear with a generic Library icon, as shown in Figure 1. You can give this Library any reasonable name you'd like, as you could with a regular folder.

Note, too, that the new Library appears in the Libraries list in the Windows Explorer Navigation pane.

When you navigate into this virgin Library, you'll see that you need to monitor, or include, at least one folder before it will be useful. As shown in Figure 2, Windows will prompt you in this regard with an Include a folder button. Click the button and then navigate to the folder you'd like to include, and repeat as necessary. (Remember, you can include multiple folders in any Library.)

Figure 1. You can create your own Libraries in Windows 7.

Figure 2. A new Library will need at least one monitored folder before it can be used.

NOTE

Because Libraries are simply views of data, you can actually include folders that are within a Library in other Libraries. For example, you could include the My Documents folder in multiple Libraries if desired.

The first folder you include in a custom Library will, of course, be the default save location for that Library. You can, as always, change that later at any time using the Includes link in the Library window.

NOTE

One question you may have about custom Libraries is, how does Windows determine which Arrange by options to provide? For example, the Documents library provides links for arranging by folder, author, date modified, tag, type, and name. Pictures, meanwhile, has folder, month, day, rating, and tag. But when you create a custom Library you get folder, date modified, tag, type, and name. What the...? Turns out that Libraries have customization options similar to folders, and that Windows 7 supports five different ways in which you can optimize a Library: General Items, Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. To change how your custom Library (or one of the default Libraries, for that matter) is optimized, right-click on the Library in the Windows Explorer Navigation pane, or in the Libraries window, and choose Properties. You'll see the window shown in Figure 3. Simply make the appropriate choice in the "Optimize this library for" drop-down list. Note that you can also use this dialog to remove a Library from the Explorer Navigational pane.

Figure 3. You can customize Libraries in a manner similar to the way you customize folders.

NOTE

When you delete a Library, the underlying files are not deleted. In this way, Libraries work just like other shortcuts, which makes sense. Still, it's always frightening to test this kind of thing before you're sure.