Using the My Documents Folder
Using the My Documents Folder
The My Documents icon on your desktop represents a special folder created automatically by Windows 2000 for every
The target folder for My Documents is an ordinary file folder, which happens to be named (initially, at least) My Documents. The My Documents icon is a shortcut that points to this folder. You can see what that location is for your account by right-clicking the My Documents icon and choosing Properties from the shortcut menu. (See Figure 8-6.) The Target folder location, shown on the Target tab of the My Documents Properties dialog box, shows the current address of the My Documents folder.
Figure 8-6. You can change the default storage location for documents by right-clicking the My Documents icon and choosing Properties.
Changing the Target Folder
You can change the current default location for documents on your system by changing the properties of the My Documents icon. To make My Documents point to a new location:
- Right-click the My Documents icon on your desktop, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
- On the Target tab, click the Move button.
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In the Browse For Folder dialog box, navigate to the new target location. If necessary, use the New Folder button to create a new folder. {% if main.adsdop %}{% include 'adsenceinline.tpl' %}{% endif %}
Windows asks if you want to move all existing documents from the current My Documents target to the new one. This is an optional step. If you say no, Windows creates a new default document location but
leaves all your old documents where they were.
Using the My Pictures Folder
Windows always creates a subfolder called My Pictures in the current My Documents target. This folder is designed to be a default storage location for graphics files generated by such applications as Paint. If you've enabled Web content in Windows Explorer folders (the default state), you'll find a handy HTML template in My Pictures that previews your graphics documents without opening them. (See Figure 8-7.) Simply select an image file, and you'll see that image in the lower left corner of the window. Buttons at the top of the image previewer let you zoom in and out, display at full screen, and print the selected image.
TIP
If you like the Image Preview HTML template, why not add it to other folders where you store image files? Navigate to the folder, choose Customize This Folder from the View menu, and then use the Customize This Folder Wizard to choose the Image Preview template. For more information about HTML templates and enabling Web content in folders, see "Choosing Web View or Classic View."
If you change the target location for My Documents, Windows creates a new My Pictures subfolder at the new location.
Figure 8-7. The Image Preview HTML template, applied by default to your My Pictures folder, shows the contents of an image file without opening it.
[Previous] [Running Programs and Opening Documents
Icons for programs, documents, and shortcuts in a Windows Explorer window behave exactly as they do on the desktop. Double-click or
Nondefault actions are available via the shortcut menu. The choices on that menu vary depending on the kind of object you right-click. You might want to experiment with documents you use regularly to see what commands appear on their shortcut
Opening Documents in Different Programs
To open a document in a program other than the default program associated with its filename extension, choose Open With from the shortcut menu. In the Open With dialog box that appears (see Figure 8-8), select the program you want to open.
Figure 8-8. The Open With command lets you open a document with a program other than the file type's default program. Selecting the check box makes the alternative file association permanent.
Once you've used the Open With command with a particular file type, Windows modifies the command to make it easier for you to reuse that file type with the same alternative program. For example, suppose you occasionally want to open .doc files (files that are normally associated with Microsoft Word) in WordPad. The first time you right-click a .doc file and choose Open With, you'll need to scroll through a relatively long list of program
You can use the Choose Program command from this submenu if you need to see the full list of available applications again.
Changing the Parent Application for a File Type
As Figure 8-8 shows, the Open With command also includes a handy check box that lets you make a permanent change to a file type's association. For example, if you decide that you always want .doc files to be opened by WordPad, this is the
Opening Documents That Don't Have a Parent Application
If you double-click or click a file that isn't associated with any application, Windows