Windows 7 Desktop folders all open in the same place - unlike XP

LBlanca

New Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Habitually, I keep six or seven folders on my desktop and, when using XP, they would always remember their individual proportions and what part of the screen they were to open up on - that way I could always have several columns of folders side-by-side, with no overlaps, always with the same content in the same place, so I knew exactly where everything was. I used Vista briefly and it worked just fine.

I've tried to do the same with Windows7, but they just don't remember their places. If I have, say, FolderA on the left of my screen, FolderB in the centre, and FolderC on the right, and then close them all, whichever folder was closed last is the only one whose place is remembered - say I closed FolderB last; regardless of whether I open A, B, or C next, the folder opens in the centre of my screen, so if I open more than one folder, they're all on top of each other. This is incredibly annoying, as it means I have to move (and usually resize) every folder every time I open it. Imagine having to do that seven times every time you turn on your computer.

There's probably a technical name for what I'm trying to do, but I don't know it. I've torn the folder options settings apart, but they seem to have nothing, and all the help menus are, to be frank, only telling me all that I already know and nothing that I need.

So can anyone help me? It's only the folders on the desktop; once any one of them is open, everything inside seems to work fine.

(Edit: Also, I cannot seem to set the appearance of the folders to windows classic, which I'm simply more comfortable with. The personalisation section of the control panel is equally simplistic. Has this option been removed?)
 
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The folders should return to where they were, unless possibly you are using aero snap or maybe multiple folders/windows from the same program.
 
There is an option to open each folder in its own window, if that would help. Folder Options-General
 
Okay, it makes sense that there's a hidden file, but apparently it's not doing anything other than remember what folders use lists and which use the details view, because there is no change. The link you gave me tells me that to make it work, I need to change each folder to a system folder, which doesn't seem to make sense given that you said every folder should have it. Is there maybe something wrong with my folders? (My Win7 is brand-new, by the way. I installed it yesterday.)

(Let me also add that I'm not as computer-savvy as I'd like to think. If you're telling me I need to re-write code, then I'm going to need to ask for very specific instructions, else I'll probably start a self-destruct.)
 
No, I'm afraid not, Saltgrass - I have six basic folders which each have my files arranged differently, and within those there are many sub-folders that I've always had open within the main folder. Opening fifty individual folders would just be a cascading mess.
 
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. If you're telling me I need to re-write code, then I'm going to need to ask for very specific instructions, else I'll probably start a self-destruct.)

No.. not suggesting that. I can't repliate your problem.

I made shortcuts to several folders on my desktop. I open and resort and close and when i reopen they are always the way I left them.

The only think i can think of is ... well think about it this way


Say you open a text file in notepad... then you open the same file in wordpad and make changes.... save the file and close it... if you THEN go back to notepad and save the file .... guess what? Your changes were lost/overwritten by the last program to save and close.

That must be similar to what's going on with all the open windows.
 
Well, maybe there's a difference in that my folders are actually on the desktop as opposed to just having shortcuts there, but I don't think so. The content of the folders, once I open them, are always the same, but the folder window is not - maybe I was being unclear? It's the size and placement of the folder window that keeps changing on me. What you say about the text file sounds about right in terms of content, but when I open a new text document, it always opens in the same place as the last ones - which is fine, in that case, but not so with desktop folders, because I can't see everything at once.

Hmm.
 
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