Organising My Documents?

[terrypin]

My new PC's file structure has the initial standard organisation:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users (86 MB)

C:\Documents and Settings\Default ( 1 MB)

C:\Documents and Settings\Terry ( 3 MB).

I'll keep running my old PC until I have an appropriate selection from 6 years accumulated applications, tweaks, macros etc satisfactorily working on the new machine. Using my broadband router I've copied across most of the data and setup executables I need. This is organised how I set it up years ago, not in the standard fashion. For example, on the new PC I now have temporary folders preserving the old PC structure, like these:

C:\Docs (13 GB, my re-location of 'My Documents')

C:\Docs\Sundry (2 GB, one of scores of sub-folders)

C:\Docs\My Pictures (Virtually empty)

C:\Docs\My Music (Virtually empty)

C:\Docs\My Videos (Virtually empty)

C:\My Pictures (37 GB)

C:\My Music (12 GB)

C:\Movies (14 GB)

etc

So the question facing me now is whether to keep that structure or go back to the MS 'standard'.

The main reason I re-organised in the first place was because I hated all those long path names, which were usually impossible to see in full, like

C:\Documents and Settings\Terry\My Documents\Sundry\Restaurants.txt

With my structure, it's C:\Docs\Sundry\Restaurants.txt which fits comfortably in the title area of most folders. Also, I've never felt comfortable with such enormously large folders. Mine are large enough, but if they were all inside C:\Documents and Settings\Terry\My Documents\ they would make that around 70 GB, and growing.

But there's another important advantage now. Six years in, I have hundreds of shortcuts (and macros) that use the existing structure, which would now have to be changed.

However, on the other side of the coin, there are some factors making me hesitate. For a start, it's obviously easier to 'go with the crowd'. Setting the standard approach up on the new PC would be simple - just move the contents of each of my folders into their appropriate equivalents inside 'My Documents'. Another problem with my non-stadard structure is that several of my applications insist on trying to save (and open) folders that follow the MS pattern, and I have to intervene. For example, I make DVDs, and some of my video editors and burning programs have a fixation on 'My Videos', whereas all my stuff is in C:\Movies.

So, faced with those pros and cons (and probably some I've missed), I'd greatly welcome other experienced users' views please.

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Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[DL.]

I've relocated the "My Documents"-folder in a similar fashion to what you've done and it works great. Just like you I didn't like the way the folders are deep down in the "Documents and settings"-tree.

Also to make it easier to administer if a computer has more than one user i combine all of the "My Docs"/Favorites/Start menus, it's ok to do so since most people using the computers (in a home) don't have any problem with that.

Some apps do have a fixation to use the default names, but for those (rare) cases i just let them do it (like your C:\Docs\My Videos).

I use the "My Documents"-folder only for the most recent stuff. I keep the old stuff in some other "archive"-folder on another partition since I don't need to access those files very often.

Keep the old files separated from the more recent ones and you'll save quite a bit of time when you don't have to scroll through long lists of files every time you need some specific file(s).

A rule of thumb when managing files is to not just let them be and think that "I'll organize them later", instead get a habit of doing it every now and then.

All of a sudden you'll realize you've got thousands of files and then it's almost too late to try organizing them.

Somewhat related is the fact that you should make regular backups of the stuff you like to keep, better safe than sorry (harddrives won't work forever).

Recordable DVD's (and DVD-recorders) as well as harddrives are cheap these days so it's wise using them to make frequent backups.

[GrofLuigi]

I treat the default 'documents and settings' structure as dispensable - it could be deleted (unintentionally) any time and I won't miss it. Whoever wants to put things there, it's fine with me, but I won't. Lately I don't even bother with redirecting it - just customize the Places bar of the file open/save dialog to suit my needs (and of course create/copy the folder structure elsewhere).

GL

[terrypin]

Thanks both, appreciate your advice.

GL: Could you amplify a bit on the 'Places Bar' comment please - not sure I know what you mean.

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Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[GrofLuigi]

Thanks both, appreciate your advice.

GL: Could you amplify a bit on the 'Places Bar' comment please - not sure I know what you mean.

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Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Here are some of the most helpful links that Google spit out for "customize places bar":

http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/5_Minute_Tips...ows_and_Office/

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/PlacesBar.htm

http://lifehacker.com/photogallery/tweakui/2831580

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/826214

GL

Edited April 21, 2008 by GrofLuigi

[terrypin]

Thanks GL, got it. I'll use TweakUI.

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Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Tripredacus]

I've never actually used My Documents to store anything. All of my experiences using profile storage at companies ALWAYS had some sort of rule or regulation that data be kept somewhere else. Either on a network share, or with one company, in c:\data. So I only keep my stuff in c:\data if I am keeping anything on the C drive. Other drives just act like a big data folder to me. I've had to learn the hard way of keeping stuff in the profile storage, or at least not me but users I had supported.