Among the cool new features in Windows 7 is the ability to organize your folders into something called Libraries. Most people do not store their files in just one folder, which is good for organizational purposes. But using Libraries is a nice way to view your related files in one place. In Windows 7, a library is a collection of folders and directories. The actual location of the files and folders in a library does not matter. You can include any folder from your computer and even folders from external drives.
So let's say you just downloaded a bunch of new desktop backgrounds. Some of the backgrounds are nature images. Some are landscapes. You want to save those new images into categorized folders because you like to stay organized, but you want to be able to scroll through and view all of them at once.
Here are the steps to organize those new images into a library called "Desktop Backgrounds".
1) Open up Windows Explorer
Click Windows Key + E, or click the Computer link on your Start Menu.
2) Navigate to your user directory and open up the My Pictures folder
The location of your user directory should by default be something like C:\Users\[username], where [username] is the name of your Windows account.
3) Create two new folders under My Pictures
Click "New Folder" at the top of the window and enter folder names for folders "Nature" and "Landscape".
4) Create a new library called "Desktop Backgrounds"
In the same window where you created the new folders, you should see a link on the left location pane for "Libraries". Click Libraries and then click "New library" at the top. This will create a new library just like you created the two new folders. Enter "Desktop Backgrounds" as the name.
5) Add your two new folders to the Desktop Backgrounds library
In your new Desktop Backgrounds library, click "Include a folder". Browse and select the two folders you created for Nature images and for Landscape images. Your Desktop Backgrounds library will now display images from the two folders you have added. You can manage the folders in your library by clicking the link at the top of the library window. You can include up to 50 folders in one library.
Remember that adding folders to your libraries does not change the actual location of the folders. You are simply creating a new way to view the files from those folders in one window.
Now that you've created a Desktop Backgrounds library, you can use that library to display images for a Windows 7 desktop slide show.
Share your own tips and tricks for Windows 7 libraries below.