Welcome back to your free training course for Windows 7. In this video I will look at
folder virtualization. All though this is the correct technical term, you will often
also hear folder virtualization referred to as a library. This is because Windows Explorer
uses folder virtualization to create libraries. Libraries allow the user to have a collection
of files in the same view. These files may exist on the local computer or on the network.
For example, on your network you may have a number of templates but they are stored
on different servers on your network. You may also want to give your users the option
to create their own templates and store them on the local computer. Using folder virtualization
you can group these items under the once place. You also have the option to make these files
available offline. Having data on a server means it is easy to
backup with the rest of the server. This also allows roaming. Roaming is a feature that
allows the user to have the same settings and access to the same documents regardless
of which computer they logon to. You also have the option to make these files
available offline. Using Offline files means that when you disconnect the computer from
the network, which is common with laptops, a local copy of the file is still available
for you to use. This feature can also be used to assist roaming users.
To demonstrate folder virtualization and how it is used in libraries, I will first open
Windows Explorer and show you the libraries that are created by default on Windows 7.
Here you can see under libraries the folders documents, music, pictures and videos. To
create a new library, right click library and select new library.
This library I will call templates and will contain templates on the local computer as
well as templates on the network. Since the library has just been created, when I select
it I will need to select the option include a folder. From here I will browse to the “my
templates” folder I have created on the local computer to store user templates.
If you select the options folder at the top right hand corner, you can change the way
the files are arranged on the screen. Notice the option at present related to general files.
This will show files based on the date the file was last modified, types and their name.
To further customize my library I will select the library and go into the properties for
that library. I will now select include a folder to add a folder on a network drive.
Notice that if I select the newly included network drive location I can also select the
option set save location. When saving files to this library Windows will now favor the
network rather than the local computer where possible.
The option below this allows you to change how the library is optimized. Since this library
will contain templates I will select the option documents. Notice in my library a list of
files is shown for each of the folder locations. If I again select the arrange option, the
options have changed because I made that change to the optimization settings in the properties
section for the library. If I select the option names, the library is now shown as a list
of files with the location of these files not shown and thus totally transparent to
the user. Using library you could group files together from many different locations making
it easier for the end user to locate files. This concludes folder virtualization. In the
next video I will look at new feature in Windows 7 called Home Group. Home group allows home
users to share files with each other easier than ever before. For more free videos and
free exams questions for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 release 2, remember to have a
look at our web page. Thanks for watching.