XP Annoyance
22 March 2004 09:08![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vakkotaurWindows Explorer in XP, or whatever XP calls the file manager, is trying to be helpful. That means it is really being annoying. On the desktop is a shortcut for "Documents" that opens the file manager to a documents directory. This directory is, however, not the one I really want. I want C:\home\neubauer instead.
I figured I'd just change the shortcut and give it the properties I want. It almost worked. It will give me direct access to C:\home\neubauer\ BUT that's now seemingly a ghost of the real thing. I'm not really there in the directory tree where I can, if I want to, easily jump to another directory, like C:\usr\bin or some other that I want to get to fast from time to time.
Instead of doing what I want, the system is trying to guess what I need and getting it wrong. It wants to be helpful in the worst way. And it is that: helpful in the worst way. I don't want this incompetent help. I want it to get out of my way. The Win95 box's Windows Explorer comes up at C: and shows the whole directory tree. That is acceptable. At least I can navigate directly from there without having to go through the extra step of clicking a "Folders" button. Even Windows 2000 got it right. But XP just had to go improve things the Microsoft way. The result: it sucks.
I've put up with this silly XP behavior for a few weeks now and my patience is running out. Anyone know how, or even if, the XP file manager can be whacked into doing the right thing? I haven't looked into replacement file managers just yet, but it may come to that.
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Ack...
Date: 22 Mar 2004 08:38 (UTC)You would need to make a new shortcut to the carpet you want, in that carpet, play around until you get the whole machines tree, though you would have to activate the view the tree every time you want to move. or put another shortcut inside that folder to the other one you want to go to. The whole thing is still really hectic. though another idea, is if youve got acticated the quick access bar, you could put the shortcuts to those folders you want to go to.
I havent quite tested any of this suggestions, but ill check when I get home, if you need further help, lemme know.
Blue.
Re: Ack...
Date: 23 Mar 2004 06:59 (UTC)I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, but I have tried making a new shortcut on the desktop a few times. It's very persistent about not doing what I want, alas.
no subject
Date: 22 Mar 2004 09:21 (UTC)no subject
Date: 23 Mar 2004 06:57 (UTC)I tried making a new shortcut and got the same nonsense, whether I just said C:\ or explicitly invoked explorer.exe Thanks for the suggestions.
no subject
Date: 25 Mar 2004 22:27 (UTC)Then go to the desktop. Right click on the desktop and choose "Paste".
There, you have a Windows Explorer icon. It should, when you click on it, come up to My Documents, but in the left-hand toolbar, have My Computer, which you can always click on to get to your various drives. If it doesn't, then you need to go in the top menu items to View, then in "Explorer Bar ->" click on "Folders". That'll bring up the left-hand folders toolbar, which is kinda critical to have in Windows Explorer, yet sometimes it defaults to not having it...
If none of that solves it, lemme know and I might be able to come up with another solution for you.
no subject
Date: 26 Mar 2004 06:46 (UTC)That results in the same old thing. I get aother desktop shortcut which opens up to a non"Folders" view" of Documents. What I want is for it to open up in "Folders" view, and ideally at C:\ like on the Win95 box.
Looking at the Win95 shortcut properties, the target file is C:\Windows\explorer.scf if that means anything of any use.
no subject
Date: 26 Mar 2004 18:26 (UTC)no subject
Date: 26 Mar 2004 19:47 (UTC)I can do that next week.
The folders view is the one with the entire directory tree with all the drives, local and network, visible at once in the left pane. What I get at startup instead is a simplified (dumbed down) version showing just a directory or so.
no subject
Date: 27 Mar 2004 11:02 (UTC)You didn't say whether you tried what else I suggested, and I need to expand on it anyway... this might be the problem. After Explorer is opened, go to "View" then in "Explorer Bar" pick "Folders". The "Folders" menu should appear on the left.
Then, go to "Tools" and in it pick "Folder Options..." click the "View" tab at the top, and then hit at the top of the "View" settings, "Apply to All Folders".
That way, the "Folders" menu will always appear on the left.
One of the things about XP is that it likes to remember different Explorer settings for different directories, and the only way to tell it to remember anything you tell it to do is to go hit that "Apply to All Folders" button. That goes for just about any change you make to the display options in Windows Explorer..
no subject
Date: 29 Mar 2004 11:35 (UTC)I didn't see that anywhere up-thread, but it didn't work this morning when I tried it.
Here are the screen-shots: What I get (http://www.conmicro.cx/~vakko/LJdisposable1/What_I_Get.gif) and what I want (http://www.conmicro.cx/~vakko/LJdisposable1/What_I_Want.gif).
no subject
Date: 29 Mar 2004 18:00 (UTC)no subject
Date: 29 Mar 2004 18:16 (UTC)You can't do the "Apply to All Folders" setting and have it save that from the My Documents icon, for some reason. The My Documents shortcut is rather stubborn.
Bloody Hell. And they wonder why people hate them? Well, something more to try tomorrow. Damn I hate all this stupid hoop-jumping.
Okkay, WTH is the "quick-launch" thing?
no subject
Date: 29 Mar 2004 18:30 (UTC)no subject
Date: 30 Mar 2004 07:58 (UTC)I dragged the icon from Accessories to the "quick-launch" area. It made the link. I opened Windows Explorer with that link. I change it to how I want thing to look at startup. I did the "Apply this folder's setting to all folders" and closed Explorer. I used the quick-launch link to open it again. And got a little bit closer. This time the directory tree is at least there, though it still insists on starting with the silly Documents folder rather than C:\ or even "This computer" (I refuse to leave it named "my"). I suppose it's progress, in "settle for" kind of way.
Bah, dammit! I tried to pull that link onto the desktop and it just went *poof*... and the link is no longer in the Accessories menu. Hrm. Making a copy of explorer.exe and giving it a different name (DUPEexploree.exe) and making a shortcut to it does the same thing.
Is there such a thing as a command-switch to tell it where to open?
no subject
Date: 30 Mar 2004 14:30 (UTC)Not quite what you were hoping for, but closer, I hope.
VICTORY!
Date: 30 Mar 2004 12:11 (UTC)It took a Google search for "Windows Explorer Annoyances" that lead to a page about Windows Explorer harf (http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/winmeannoy/chapter/ch02.html) on Windows Me but, finally, I have what *I* want. The trick? Command-line switches that XP's help seems not to mention.
How about them apples? Windows XP is what you get when you infect the stability of Windows 2000 with the poor user interface choices of Windows Me.
Target: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe /n,/e,C:\home\neubauer\
Now I have what I want rather than what some imbecile in Redmond thinks I need.