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Summary

This is the second article in the series of articles on Windows 7 Libraries. Throughout this series, you will learn what libraries are, what they mean to you as a Windows 7 user, and how you can take the full advantage of this new feature in Windows 7.

Creating a Library

In the previous article, we gave an overview of what Windows 7 libraries are, and how they integrate within Windows Shell to provide a better user experience.

Windows comes with some of the predefined libraries — such as Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos — that fit into the needs of most of the users. However, there might be a chance you want to create your own libraries for various purposes. For instance, you may want to have all your PDF documents — whether it be a e-book or a whitepaper — to show up under a single view.

Creating a library in Windows 7 is a snap. Just follow these easy steps:

1. Click Start button, or press the Windows Logo Key to open up Start Menu.
2. Click on Computer to open Windows Explorer.
3. Look for a folder named Libraries in the left panel of Windows Explorer.
4. Right-click that folder, move your mouse over to New and then, click Library.
5. Type a suitable name of your new library such as Downloads or PDF Documents and press ENTER key.

Your new library has been created. Now, creating a library itself has no use unless you include atleast one folder in the library. To do that, right-click the library you've created and then, click Properties. Windows will show a window similar to the following:

Click Include a folder... and in the resulting dialog box, navigate to and choose the folder to include. Repeat this process for all of the folders you want included in the library. In the end, it should look similar to the following:

Click OK when you're done.

Note that in this article, we've included folders from local machine only but as described in the previous article, the folders you want to include in a library can be physically present on a remote machine too.

Conclusion

In this article, you've learned that by following a few easy steps, how easy it is to create a library in Windows 7. As useful as this feature itself is, as easy it is to set it up.

1. Windows 7 Libraries In Detail - Part I
2. Windows 7 Libraries In Detail - Part II
3. Windows 7 Libraries In Detail - Part III