Before I begin discussing Files and Folders, in this Part 12 of my Windows 7 tutorial I thought a quickie ‘My Documents’ history and philosophy lesson would be appropriate.

Microsoft first introduced the ‘My Documents’ folder in Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 because they discovered that by not having a standard location for storing user-created files in Windows 95, software programs were storing them willy nilly in various subdirectories of their program files. And by doing so not only made it difficult for a user to find their ‘Save As’ files but because they were so difficult to find, many users never initiated a serious backup regimen.

Also it quickly became evident to Microsoft that novices searching for their ‘Save As’ files in Windows System folders was a disaster waiting to happen. So by creating a My Documents folder and encouraging all software vendors to use it as the default location for their user-created files, Microsoft provided a special place for users to go to find all their ‘Save As’ files as well as hopefully preventing users from mucking about in system folders.

As new computing adventures became popular e.g., digital photography, music, and video, individual subfolders of My Documents were added. In fact, by the time XP was released most digital photo, music and video files downloaded from whatever source where placed by default in the appropriate My Documents subfolder.

With the release of Vista ‘My Documents, ‘My Music’, ‘My Pictures’ and ‘My Videos’ lost their prefix and because of their ever increasing size, became individual Windows Explorer subfolders rather than subfolders of ‘Documents’.

Windows 7 added a ‘Libraries’ to Windows Explorer. Now a user can organize all their files and folders on all their hard drive(s), Jump drive(s) and external hard drives(s). It’s an extraordinary feature!

Next week I’ll begin my Windows Explorer tutorial that will reveal all the important Windows 7 Explorer Files and Folders features as well as how to create Libraries.

For those who are interested in participating in my Windows Explorer tutorial and have not done so already, please click on your Start Menu Documents tab, then ‘Organize’ and ‘Layout’.

Be sure ‘Menu bar’, ‘Details Pane’, ‘Preview Pane’, ‘Navigation Pane’, and ‘Library Pane’ are checked.

Note: You must open ‘Layout’ and check each check box individually.

Windows Explorer can be opened from its shortcut that’s ‘Pinned’ to your Taskbar, by right clicking on ‘Start’, and via Start, All Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.