In Windows 7, clicking the folder name in the tree displays the contents in the right pane. Clicking the + sign opens the list of subfolders in the tree. In previous versions of windows clicking a folder name in the tree did both operations in a single click.

I find it odd that with XP and earlier i sometimes found myself wishing i could do either operation separately, but now that i have Win 7 on my laptop that only does one or the other i almost always find myself wishing it did both at once.

Furher to my earlier post, I have to say that I still like 8 on my tablet but have decided not to upgrade from 7 on my main PC because of the hassle of having to re-install all the programmes and plug-ins that I have working at the moment (and some would involve a charge because they are not transferrable). It would be just too tedious and too much trouble to make the change worthwhile. Shame!

Richard

In Windows 7, clicking the folder name in the tree displays the contents in the right pane. Clicking the + sign opens the list of subfolders in the tree. In previous versions of windows clicking a folder name in the tree did both operations in a single click.

Well - I had to try this out and yes - you are correct. However - minor in the grand scheme of things - and certainly not a huge reason to gripe on Win 7.

Then again - I overcame all of Explorer's shortcomings by moving to an excellent Explorer replacement (XYPlorer) for all my file ops and it has all sorts of tree options - with Auto expand being one of them.

For file ops - I cannot recommend this replacement enough - as it is easily one of the best "Explorers" I have ever found. Bought a lifetime license after just a few weeks of trial....give it a whirl if you can.

Cheers,

VP

@ Vocalpoint,

Open windows explorer. When you select a folder in the left pane, in previous versions of windows (can't comment on Vista I didn't have that one), the subfolders would open with one click. And I mean open in the left pane as well as the right. With 7 you have to select the little triangle next to the folder to make this behavior occur. And as far as I know this behavior can't be changed. This make digging through subfolders a PITA compared to previous Windows behavior.

What is "Work Network Layout?"

I can of course move around the libraries but it is a hassle. Some directories are permanent like "Update" and can only be hidden.
And easy for you to ignore perhaps, but remember there are lots of peple and we're all different.

@Vocalpoint,

I'm not griping on Windows 7. It's the best OS I've ever used and I love it. I'm just mentioning a few areas where it let's me down compared to XP.

- Mark

i'm not griping on Windows 7. It's the best OS I've ever used and I love it. I'm just mentioning a few areas where it let's me down compared to XP.

@Hulk

Understood on the WIn Explorer thing. I had to fire up a VM and try that in XP to refresh myself - but yes - Win XP Explorer auto-expands everything.

Now - for me personally - I hated this behavior if the top level parent has like 100 subfolders. Having XP Explorer instantly expand out a 100 folders was annoying and excessive. But the parent had 10 folders - it was fine.

As I mentioned earlier - check out my upper thread on an Explorer replacement that should take care of anything you are not getting via Windows Explorer. I never even open Windows Explorer any more with XYPlorer on the case :)

RE: Libraries.

How exactly are 'libraries" getting in your way or what is it that you need for your specific "layout"?

I guess I am not understanding why you would even need to bother with the "Libraries" function in the grand scheme of things...again just trying to learn how people do their thang :)

You could always do this too:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/21462/how-to-enable-or-disable-the-libraries-feature-in-windows-7/

VP

I have all of my non video under "My Documents." Everything is there, personal, business, etc... All personal data/files are encrypted with winrar. It's currently about 45GB. I use Freefilesync for back up. Easy backups to external drives, networked computers, and the backup drive in my main computer. I'm never more than 2 or 3 days away from the last backup of my important files. Since the backup is incremental it usually takes about 30 seconds. In addition if I do a lot of work on my laptop while I'm away I can do the incremental backup from the laptop to the desktop. I don't trust backups that save everything in one giant compressed proprietary file. When the main directory is copied/backed up I know it's all there and easy to restore. If Windows goes down I can use another system while I put the broken one back together.

So all I need with Windows 7 is one directory called "My Documents." But with the Libraries you have to remove the ones that come set up, and a lot of other junk that I can't remember since I set up over a year ago with 7. Plus you always have My Documents and then another My Documents "under" that one in 7. And that just adds another click to my working.

I have the OS and the My Documents folder on the 240GB Intel 330 SSD. Currently it's about half full. My secondary 2TB drive contains all of my video working files as well as a backup of the "My Documents" folder.

I scan and encrypt everything to this folder. I have almost no paper in the house. This is why I'm always backed up about 4 ways with one in a 2.5" USB drive in the firesafe for the just in case just in case just in case situation.

I don't like the computer to have too much control over where my documents are located. I like them under one root directory and organized how I see fit. For example, for photos I do it by year 2000, 2001, ... for music by decade 1960's, 1970, ... and then some by genre, R&B, Reggae...

I checked out that explorer application you mentioned and it certainly seems like a very powerful option. Perhap overkill for the small gripes I have with the Win7 Explorer. Thanks for letting me know about it though.

Speaking of Windows 8 I have a question. When you are multitasking with 5 or 6 programs and switching among them in 7 you see all of the apps in the taskbar and by selecting or alt-tabbing you can easily switch from app to app while working. How is that done in Win8?

"Speaking of Windows 8 I have a question. When you are multitasking with 5 or 6 programs and switching among them in 7 you see all of the apps in the taskbar and by selecting or alt-tabbing you can easily switch from app to app while working. How is that done in Win8? "


With native Windows 8, you move your cursor to the upper left corner and it shows what apps are open, then click on the one you want active.

If you are in Win7 desktop mode, it works like Windows 7.

I like the libraries, makes it quicker for me to navigate.

Dave T2

Dave.

Win8 its still windows, all the same keys tend to apply. With multiple apps open, you simple swipe the left side of the screen to reveal the apps running, or alt+Tab will show you all the apps running. The oldest trick in the windows book is still ATL+F4 for closing apps if you want to.

Win8 is a change in computing modes, most people try and apply the old paradigm to a new one. Win8 is for new devices that have different hardware that handles power saving differently. The idea is that you do not have to manage closing apps like we did in the past. Hence the problems people have trying to find how to close the apps. The apps you use are suppose to remain open and in standby in the background for quicker response. This new way of controlling background app state is an improvement and actually better for things like Vegas. Since background apps in standby are not competing for system time with Vegas. If Win8 is slow on an old machine, try an SSD on the OS drive it really does make a big difference. Win8 is designed to around big RAM and SSD responsiveness.

[i]" This new way of controlling background app state is an improvement and actually better for things like Vegas. Since background apps in standby are not competing for system time with Vegas."[/i}

Um, those apps are still loaded in RAM and running to some degree, and are having some impact on system resources.

It's like everybody is being treated as a "trivial" or general user.

geoff

I get that Microsoft is trying is going for convergence from desktop to laptop to tablet to phone as far as operating system and applications. And I believe from a hardware perspective we will be there in under two years. The smaller devices must be touch capable, hence the new GUI. As long as the old shell is still available for the foreseeable future then I have no problem with 8.

In fact because of this thread I'm going to upgrade my HTPC to 8 just to check it out. I was going to go to 7 on that one but I might as well just go to 8 since it's not a mission critical rig.

Thanks for all the advice.

Mark

I don't want a smaller device. Or a smeary screen !

geoff

Geoff, quite so.

Devices as different as a large desktop and a small touch tablet aren't necessarily better served by a converging UI. There is nothing wrong with retaining two different UI schemes, each optimized for the devices they run well on.

On the other hand, if convergence is going to happen no matter what, i'd far prefer to see something more like the WinXP/Win7 interface on a smaller tablet than something like Win8 on a larger screen.

i like my windows like this:

http://i.imgur.com/yMifU.png

I prefer a plain desktop and a menu without sideways advertising space for Microsoft. I use Windows Classic and have Aero switched off.