Help Desk Geek – Help Desk Tips For IT Pros

Welcome to the second part of this two-part article about using Librarian to easily create, edit, and remove libraries in Windows 7.

The first part of this article covered installing Librarian, creating a new library, selecting the type for the library, and adding folders to the library.

This second part discusses 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.

Make sure you have downloaded Librarian and followed the steps in the first part of this article prior to proceeding with this part.

Change the Icon for a Library

The default icon applied to the new library displays in the upper, left corner of the New library dialog box. To change this icon, click Change icon.

The Change Icon dialog box displays. You can select an icon from the default imageres.dll file that displays by default. You can also select any other .dll or .exe file that contain icons or any specific .ico file. We are going to use one of the icons that were installed with Librarian. To use a different file for your icon, click Browse.

To use one of the icons that came with Librarian, navigate to the Librarian program directory (generally “C:\Program Files\Librarian”, unless you changed it during installation). Open the carlosjj folder and click on a desired icon (.ico) file. We selected the Writer icon. Click Open.

You are returned to the Change Icon dialog box. If you selected a .ico file, there is only one icon available and it is automatically selected. If you selected a .dll or .exe file, there may be multiple icons available in the Select an icon from the list below box. Click on the desired icon to select it. Click OK.

You can go back to using the default icon again by clicking Default icon.

Select the Default Save Location

When you save a file into a library, it is saved into only one of the folders included in the library. This is the default save location for that library. In Librarian, the default save location for a new library is automatically set to the first folder you added to the library. To change the default save location for the new library, select the folder you want to use as the default save location in the Library locations list and click Default save location.

Remove a Folder

If you added a folder you now want to remove from the library, select the folder and click Remove. Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box that displays to complete the removal of the selected folder.

Finish Adding the New Library

Once you have finished setting up your new library, click OK to close the New library dialog box.

The new library displays on the Librarian main window.

The New Library in Windows Explorer

The new library displays in Windows Explorer, as shown below. If you chose to show the library in the Navigation Pane, the library also displays in the list of libraries in the left pane. Double-click on the library in the right pane to open it (or single-click the library in the Navigation Pane).

All of the folders you added to the library display their contents in the right pane of Windows Explorer.

Change Library Settings

To change the settings for a library, select a library on the Librarian main window and click the Change library settings button.

NOTE: You can also double-click on a library to change its settings.

The Change library settings dialog box displays with the same options as the New library dialog box. The folder currently set as the Default save location is indicated with a green check mark.

Rename a Library

You can also easily rename libraries. To do so, select Rename from the Libraries menu.

A dialog box similar to the New library name dialog box mentioned earlier displays, called Enter library name. Enter the new name for the library in the Enter library name edit box, or change the existing name, and press OK.

Delete a Library

To delete a library, select the library on the Librarian main window and click Delete library. Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box that displays to complete the deletion process.

View Locations of Folders in a Library

If you want to remind yourself of the folders contained within a library, select the library on the Librarian main window and select Show “Locations” dialog from the Libraries menu.

The Library Locations dialog box displays. The full paths to all the folders in the currently selected library are listed and the folder selected as the Default save location is labeled. This dialog box provides an additional method for adding folders to and removing folders from libraries using the Add and Remove buttons. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Exit Librarian

To close Librarian, select Exit from the File menu.

Wrap Up

This second part of this article covered 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!.

The first part of this article discussed installing Librarian, creating a new library, selecting the type for the library, and adding folders to the library.

Librarian only runs in Windows 7 and you can view the interface in English or Russian using the Language menu in the program.

The features available in Librarian are also available in the Windows operating system, but Librarian makes then easier to access. If you create, edit, or delete libraries often, Librarian is a useful tool you may want to add to your software toolbox.

by Lori Kaufman