Do you have content spread out all over your hard drive causing you to always search for the files you need? Libraries in Windows 7 make it easier to find your files even if similar files are not all located in the same place.
The libraries in Windows 7 do not actually contain any files or folders. They point you to where your files and folders are actually located. For example, if you write articles for websites, you might store files for the articles written for one website in one folder and articles written for a different website in another folder. You could create a library containing all the folders in which you store article files in one place. This makes it quicker and easier to switch among the different articles you are writing. For more information about libraries, see our post about creating and using Windows 7 libraries.
Managing libraries in Windows 7 is not a straightforward process. The tools for creating, editing, and removing libraries are not easily accessible in Windows. We found a free tool, called Librarian, that makes managing your Windows 7 libraries easier. Librarian allows you to easily create new libraries with any folders inside, rename libraries, change the icons on the libraries, change the type of content contained in a new or existing library, among other useful features.
Download Librarian from
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Install Librarian
To install Librarian, extract the .zip file you downloaded and double-click on the .exe file.
If the User Account Control dialog box displays, click Yes to continue.
NOTE: You may not see this dialog box, depending on your User Account Control settings. See our post, Windows 7 – How to configure UAC (User Account Control), for more information.
The Welcome screen on the setup wizard displays. Click Next.
The Choose Install Location screen displays. If you want to install Librarian to a different location other than the default location listed in the edit box, use the Browse button to select another location. We accepted the default location. Click Next to continue.
The Choose Components screen displays. There are two optional components you can install with Librarian. If you want a shortcut to be placed on the Desktop, select the Shortcut on Desktop check box. Librarian comes with a sample set of icons you can use on your libraries. To make these icons available in the Librarian program folder, select the Sample Libraries iconset by carlosjj check box. These two check boxes should be selected by default. If you don’t want to install one or both of these components, select each check box so there is NO check mark in the box. Click Install.
Once the installation is done, the Completing the Librarian Setup Wizard screen displays. If you want Librarian to start as soon as you close the setup wizard, select the Run Librarian check box so there is a check mark in it. To view the Read Me file that comes with Librarian, select the Show Readme check box. Both check boxes should be selected by default. Click Finish to close the setup wizard.
Create a New Library
If you selected the Run Librarian check box before closing the setup wizard, Librarian automatically opens. If you chose not to open Librarian right after closing the setup wizard, open Librarian using the desktop shortcut or from the Start menu. To create a new custom library, click the New library button on the Librarian main window.
On the New library name dialog box, enter a name for your library in the Enter library name edit box. Click OK.
Select the Library Type
The New library dialog box displays. Select the type of library you are creating from the Library type drop-down list. We selected Generic, which is the default choice, because our new library will contain a combination of different types of files, such as documents and pictures.
Add a Folder to the Library
To add a folder to the new library, click Add.
NOTE: To see the new library in the Navigation Pane in Windows Explorer, make sure the Show in Navigation Pane check box is selected. It should be selected by default.
The Browse for Folder dialog box displays. Navigate to one of the folders you want to add to your library. Use the Make New Folder button as needed if you need to create any new folders. Select the desired folder and click OK.
To add additional folders to the new library, click the Add button on the New library dialog box again and select another folder on the Browse For Folder dialog box.
The folders you added to the library display in the Library locations list on the New library dialog box.
Wrap Up
This was the first part of a two-part article about using Librarian to easily create, edit, and remove libraries in Windows 7.
The first part covered installing Librarian, creating a new library, selecting the type for the library, and adding folders to the library.
The second part of this article will cover changing the icon for a library, selecting the default save location, removing a folder from a library, editing the settings for a library, renaming and deleting libraries, and viewing paths for folders contained within a library. Stay tuned!
by Lori Kaufman
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