Libraries
In this section:
Moving Your User Folders
Adding A Folder To A Library
Show Libraries In Windows Explorer
Moving Your User Folders
I feel like I should explain this topic a little more. In the past I’ve always called this moving your Libraries. While this has been sufficient for most folks, it is technically inaccurate. What I describe as moving a Library actually involves moving your user folders. Libraries and User Folders are not the same thing. A particular folder is part of a Library but it is not the Library itself. For instance, your Music folder shown in This PC is an actual, real folder. Your Music Library is not an actual, real folder but “is simply a container for storing files—nothing more and nothing less. A Library doesn’t contain files. Rather, a Library provides a single aggregated view of multiple folders and their contents.”
Win 10 defaults:
User Folders: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos
Libraries: Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos
My most important tip for User Folders is to move the ones that are important off your C: drive / partition. This is a critical step in the way I set up computers. A problem-free backup / restore process depends on you having your docs, music, pics, etc. on a drive or partition other than the one Win 10 is on. Using this method, you do not have to worry that some issue (virus, crash, hardware failure, etc.) will mean losing your data. Moving important user files to another drive may also speed up access to those files.
– Decide where you want to move these to.
– A second disk is your best option, but in a single disk system a second partition will do.
– Press the Windows + E keys. Your User Folders are the Folders you see listed
– Select the folders you wish to move and copy / paste them to the new location.
– Pick the stuff you wish to be safe from any problems.
– I would do at least: Downloads, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos.
– Once you’ve copied the files, go back to the original User Folder, right-click on each folder you moved.
– Choose Properties from the menu, and in the resulting window, click on the Location tab, and then the Move… button.
– Browse to the location you copied the files to.
– Click once on the folder you want it moved to and then click the Select Folder button (bottom right of the screen).
Even though the files were moved to the new folders when you copied/pasted the contents of your folders, but I would click Yes to be sure
Repeat this section for each folder you moved.
Adding A Folder To A Library
You can add any Folder to your Library. However, these DO NOT show in your User Folders only in your Libraries. I will show you how to add your Libraries back to Windows Explorer in the next section.
Simply right-click on the folder you wish to add to the Library > choose Include in library > choose the Library.
Show Libraries In Windows Explorer
In Windows Explorer go to Navigation pane > choose Show Libraries or Show all folders.
Arjen says
Hi Eric,
Thanks for a masterpiece again.
I have posted about your guide in my favorite security forum: malwaretips.com
Shaneel says
Appreciate the hard work you put in.
Thank you
steve says
I went through it page by page. Nicely done.
Edward Kiefer says
I notice in your Wise Disk cleaner part your showing version 8, there at version X which has Windows WinSxS (not show in version 8).
not a big deal but thought I mention it.
Steve B says
Hey Eric,
I guess gone are the days where we would pour thru Black Viper’s tables to figure out what to disable. Kudos to BV of course, but it’s nice we don’t have to worry about Windows services all that much anymore.
I would recommend disabling 2 additional services — Remote Registry (maybe I’m old school and this doesn’t matter anymore, but the name of the service is still downright scary), and Connected User Experience & Telemetry (thanks but no thanks MSFT).
Great guide and thanks as always for your efforts,
Steve
Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) says
Thanks Steve. Remote Registry is disabled by default. Connected User Experiences and Telemetry is taken care of here via O&O Shutup10.
Richard Freeston says
I’ve noticed a small typo on page 17 under File History. The seventh word has an extra ‘s’ in it (constinuously).
Also the grammar of the first sentence does’nt seem quite right. I suggest leaving out the second and third words.
7 says
Eric: The registry hack for removing the word “Shortcut” from new shortcuts doesn’t seem to work in my version of Win 10 Pro 64b (20H32 v19042.746 Experience pack 120.2212.551.0). Instead the hex for link appears to operate as an incrementing count. For instance, say the Hex is showing 17 00 00 00 when I open RegEdit; I can set the Hex to 00 00 00 00 but on restart it shows 18 00 00 00. I wonder if it’s me, or MS?
Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) says
Try:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer]
“link”=hex:1e,00,00,00
Beta says
Where is the .reg to make the tweaks to a new system?
Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) says
https://www.tweakhound.com/2020/12/30/tweaking-windows-10-version-20h2/19/
Rita R. says
(Libraries) Just an FYI copy pasting the folders to a new location is an unnecessary step. The move dialog will do the work of moving the files in those folders for you, save yourself a couple of seconds and an insignificant amount of bytes on the web.
Peace, Love, Donuts,
Rita
Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) says
A folder with the name of the library needs to exist in the location you want to move it to. The files are still moved. Copy/paste is just as fast and easy as your way.
Rita Rodriguez says
Since Windows 10 is funky, if anyone reads these comments I have something to add, particularly for y’all gamers.
#1 Heed the warning and /do/ not remove windows apps from your machine with O&O, user only is enough. It deleted my app manifest so a batch reinstall did not work, and couldn’t find a way to restore it. Windows Store works fine for everything but Cortana, you need to do an extra step to get her back, even if only to disable, its a windows 10 trend that follows to my next suggestion.
#2 Go into gaming settings and just disable Game Mode/Game bar, don’t remove the app from user or computer. While it has no affect, every game you run calls the game bar and will pop an error saying its missing, I assume it has to do with the processes that start up Full Screen Optimizations calling game bar as well, regardless if its disabled it will never load. It is safe to uninstall the console companion.
DanS says
In 20h2 there is no longer the option “sign in with a local account instead” after you have signed in with a Microsoft account. I had a coworker do this by mistake and now I cannot remove his Microsoft account from the workstation. Is there a way to manually remove the Microsoft account?
Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) says
???
Michael Damian says
Hi Eric,
you may provide a reg-hack which patches the Windows 10 version number (not product key) to a recent one?
Reason:
MS does not deliver any apps via [Get], in my case today the free HTML5 Video Downloader by Arcadio Garcia (link below),
if they do not meet version # 10586.0 at least.
Last December I updated the OS for the sake of another app which left me in a total language mix, missing device and BT manager, a deliberate removed group policy editor (gpedit) but a proper reinstalled Cortana, Edge and all the other stuff MS cr*ps users lawn with.
Hence I re-installed my former shutupped/winslapped and outbound firewall protected v10240 again but been left in the rain
now when it comes to add simple addons from MS.
There is no rason whatsoever a downloader or else shan’t run on even older version than mine, just the usual
MS ignorance driven by complacency.
Your sincerely
Michael Damian
Eric (a.k.a. TweakHound) says
AFAIK there is no permanent way to do this.
Michael Damian says
Cheers Eric,
maybe the Hound digs that out one day 😉
Take care.
mbk1969 says
Nice and cool guide!
I just wanted to offer a tool for better power plan settings editing
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/windows-power-plan-settings-explorer-utility.416058/