Section 2.13. StartRecent Items

2.13. Start Recent Items

When you click or highlight this command, a submenu sprouts to the right, listing the last 15 documents you've opened. The point, of course, is that you can re open one just by clicking its name .

This list can save you time when you want to resume work on something you had open recently, but you're not in the mood to burrow through folders to find its icon.

Note, however, that:

• Documents appear on the Recent Items list only if your applications are smart enough to update it. Not all programs do.

• The Recent Items list doesnt know when you've deleted a document or moved it to another folder or disk; it continues to list the file even after it's gone. In that event, clicking the document's listing produces only an error message. (At least the message now offers to delete the listing from Recent Items so you don't confuse yourself again the next time.)

By the way, there's another easy way to open a document you've recently worked on. To start, simply open the program you used to create it. Many programs maintain a list of recent documents at the bottom of the File menu; choose one of these names to open the corresponding file.

UP TO SPEED
Secrets of the Personal Folder

Why did Microsoft bury my files in a folder three levels deep?

Vista has been designed from the ground up for computer sharing . It's ideal for any situation where different family members , students, or workers share the same PC.

Each person who uses the computer will turn on the machine to find his own separate desktop picture, set of files, Web bookmarks, font collection, and preference settings. (You'll find much more about this feature in Chapter 15.)

If you're the only one who uses this PC, finesimply ignore the sharing features. But in its little software head, Vista still considers you an account holder, and stands ready to accommodate any others who should come along.

In any case, now you should see the importance of the Users folder in the main hard drive window. Inside are foldersthe Personal foldersnamed for the different people who use this PC. In general, nobody is allowed to touch what's inside anybody else's folder.

If you're the sole proprietor of the machine, of course, there's only one Personal folder in the Users foldernamed for you. (You can ignore the Public folder, which is described on Section 16.4.2.)

This is only the first of many examples in which Vista imposes a fairly rigid folder structure. Still, the approach has its advantages. By keeping such tight control over which files go where, Vista keeps itself pureand very, very stable. (Other operating systems known for their stability, such as Windows 2000 and Mac OS X, work the same way.)

Furthermore, keeping all of your stuff in a single folder makes it very easy for you to back up your work. It also makes life easier when you try to connect to your machine from elsewhere in the office (over the network), as described in Chapter 16.