Windows 7 Why are there 2 Picture folders in my libraries folder in my Windows 7 ?

Kealoha

New Member
Have an Admin user acc. and a personal user acc. When I'm in personal acc. always see 2 'Pictures' folders in Libraries pane, there is under each a sub folder each named 'My Pictures' and both have different amount of photos, most are similar Photos. First 'Picture' has a 'My Pictures' and a 'My Videos" folders, the 2nd has a 'My Pictures" and a 'Public Pictures' folder in it. When I scroll down the pain in my personal user folder there is another 'My Picture' folder. It's confusing with all these 'My Picture' folders in the same window pane. Can I combine then or do I just live with it.
 
You can move the contents of whichever folder you prefer to the other, then remove that folder from the library. To do this, open the library and you will notice at the top just under the address bar it says includes "x locations". Click there and you can customize what folders are included in the library and where files saved to the pictures library will go automatically.

Hope this helps!
 
Have an Admin user acc. and a personal user acc. When I'm in personal acc. always see 2 'Pictures' folders in Libraries pane, there is under each a sub folder each named 'My Pictures' and both have different amount of photos, most are similar Photos. First 'Picture' has a 'My Pictures' and a 'My Videos" folders, the 2nd has a 'My Pictures" and a 'Public Pictures' folder in it. When I scroll down the pain in my personal user folder there is another 'My Picture' folder. It's confusing with all these 'My Picture' folders in the same window pane. Can I combine then or do I just live with it.

A library is a tool for letting you view all of the similar things that may be in different locations on your computer that you have access to. Some common folders come pre-populated with samples from Microsoft. My Pictures is a good example. Each user account will get a My Pictures folder pre-populated with the same sample pictures. That includes not only you, but "default user", "public", etc. You have access to your own folder and the public folder, so both of these will appear in the library. You can add libraries and modify them. Each of the folders is on the computer for a reason. Your folder, of course, is your own files. The public folder contains files intended to be shared by other users of your computer (physically using your computer or via a network). The public folder is community space where everyone can share access to the same file. The samples that Microsoft supplies are intended to get people started, so they don't get a new computer and have a blank piece of paper.

It's your computer, so you can decide what folders you want and what you want in them. Keep in mind, though, the purpose of the various folders. You can safely delete the Microsoft sample images, but if your computer has any form of shared access and people make use of the community space to share files, be careful, in general, about deleting files in the public folders. There may well be duplication between your folder and the public folder. For example, the version of a file being shared may not match the version being actively worked on in your private folder, or you may want to keep an original version of a file that has public access.

The library is just a convenient way to view multiple folders with a common subject. If there is a reason why a file could be in different folders, the library streamlines looking for it or saving it. If you find the libraries more confusing than convenient, just eliminate the libraries (they are just views, not the actual contents).
 
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