How can two identically named folders exist in the same directory?

[Lateralus]

I copied over my Documents folder to another drive last night in preparation for a new install of Windows, and happened to notice that there were two sets of folders that were identical:

Notice the Codemasters and Thief - Deadly Shadows folders. I have checked and they are in fact identical in name (no extra spaces, etc.). Just for kicks, I tried creating a third one but (as expected) I cannot because Windows recognizes that there is already a folder with that name. The ones you see were created automatically when installing said games, but I've never had this happen before. Is this just a glitch? I am using Win 7 x64 Release Candidate (hence my preparation for an installation of 7 RTM).

 

[Snowknight26]

They're in different physical locations. Right click, properties, and note the different Location.

 

[Lateralus]

Son of a...you're exactly right. Gosh I feel like a n00b. One of each of those sets is in the Public folder and the other one exists in mine. I guess that's possible due to the Libraries feature. I've not taken advantage of Libraries yet and was just shocked to see duplicate folder names. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Azhar]

Windows 7's system is different from XP. It's a library of personal folders. You could add Public Documents and My Documents in a library for example, and when you go into the Windows Explorer link from your task bar (by default), it'll list your collection of folders you've added to it's library.

 

[Lateralus]

Windows 7's system is different from XP. It's a library of personal folders. You could add Public Documents and My Documents in a library for example, and when you go into the Windows Explorer link from your task bar (by default), it'll list your collection of folders you've added to it's library.

Right...I understand the concept, but am still discovering all of the advantages of utilizing Libraries as it has been a somewhat foreign concept until lately.

For example, let's say I had 3 hard drives (C:, E:, and F: ) with a music collection split up between E: and F:. In XP, I might have created two shortcuts in the "My Music" folder called "MP3s on E" and "MP3s on F". In 7 I could still do that, but I'm guessing most people would simply opt to set the Music library to include those locations and have all of the folders from those directories displayed in the Music library for consolidation and ease of access. Though if I had a folder in each location called "[H]ardBand" it would be listed twice, which is just a bit surprising to see after doing things the traditional way for so long.

Are there any other ways to use Libraries that would make my life easier? Feel free to post how you guys are using them to enhance your Windows 7 experience.

 

[Snowknight26]

Son of a...you're exactly right. Gosh I feel like a n00b. One of each of those sets is in the Public folder and the other one exists in mine. I guess that's possible due to the Libraries feature. I've not taken advantage of Libraries yet and was just shocked to see duplicate folder names. Thanks for clearing that up.

That's actually not a feature of Libraries as you could do the same on XP.

 

[Azhar]

Right...I understand the concept, but am still discovering all of the advantages of utilizing Libraries as it has been a somewhat foreign concept until lately.

For example, let's say I had 3 hard drives (C:, E:, and F: ) with a music collection split up between E: and F:. In XP, I might have created two shortcuts in the "My Music" folder called "MP3s on E" and "MP3s on F". In 7 I could still do that, but I'm guessing most people would simply opt to set the Music library to include those locations and have all of the folders from those directories displayed in the Music library for consolidation and ease of access. Though if I had a folder in each location called "[H]ardBand" it would be listed twice, which is just a bit surprising to see after doing things the traditional way for so long.

Are there any other ways to use Libraries that would make my life easier? Feel free to post how you guys are using them to enhance your Windows 7 experience.

I have 5 computers in the house, one of them which is on 24/7 running WinAmp Remote (aka WinAmp Orb). I keep my media files - DVD converted to MP4, and MP3 music files - on a NAS storage unit, a Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220 4TB.

Using Windows 7's Sync Center in Control Panel, I made those media storage an offline folder on all of my computers (works with Vista too). Then once the media storage is sync for offline, I add it to my "My Video" and "My Music" library on all of my computers.

This way I don't have to make copies of my media files on every computer in the house. I can listen to them at will anywhere I go. The best part is since one computer is always on with Winamp Remote, I am able to watch my DVD movies (converted to MP4) while commuting to and from work on my iPhone over the internet.

Here's another neat trick to supplement your My Documents folder: make an account and download the free Dropbox program on your home and work computer (and iPhones too!), and your homework and work documents will always be synched on every computer you have it installed on. You won't have to make sure you've copied your Excel sheet or Word doc or whatever on thumb drives anymore.