Folders, Search, and Indexing for Windows Vista
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In this second part of a three-part article covering the Windows Vista filesystem, you'll learn about folder properties, folder and search options, and more. It is excerpted from chapter four of the book
Windows Vista in a Nutshell, written by Preston Gralla (O'Reilly, 2006; ISBN: 0596527071). Copyright © 2006 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O'Reilly Media.
Folder Properties
View and change the properties of folders.
To open
Right-click a folder -> Properties
Click a folder -> Organize -> Properties
Description
The Folder Properties window has five tabs:
General
This tab (Figure 4-6) displays basic information about the folder, including its parent folder, size, size on disk, date and time created, and number of files and subfolders contained within. The Advanced button lets you compress and/or encrypt the folder, add or take away the folder from the index for searching, and add or take away the Archive bit (for use in backups).
Why are there two listings for folder size--one for size, and one for size on disk? If a folder has been compressed, the size listing shows its uncompressed size, and the size on disk shows its actual size on your hard disk.
Figure 4-6. The General tab, which shows you basic information about the folder
Sharing
This tab (Figure 4-7) lets you set sharing options for the folder. Click Share to share the folder, or change sharing options if the folder is already shared. Click Advanced Sharing if you want to give it a shared name in addition to its existing folder name. You would do this if you wanted to make it easier for someone to find the folder.
Security
This tab (Figure 4-8) shows you who has access to read and modify the folder and its attributes, and lets you change those permissions. Click each group and username and you'll be shown the rights that person or group has to the folder-- whether they can read it, modify it, and so on. You can modify the permissions for each person or group, add new groups or people and set their permissions, and delete people or groups, which means they would have no access to the folder. The Advanced button gives you additional ways to edit permissions, as well as a way to change who has ownership of the folder.
The various file permission options and their meanings are quite complex, and beyond the scope of this book. However, if you want more details about the available options, go to the Microsoft Knowledge Base article at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308419/en-us.
Figure 4-7. The Sharing tab, which lets you set sharing options for the folder
Previous Versions
This tab (Figure 4-9) lets you view, save, or restore a previous version of a folder, if such a version is available. Two types of previous versions may be available: those from a backup and those from what Windows Vista calls shadow copies. As explained earlier, a shadow copy of a folder is a copy of a file made when Windows creates a restore point. (See "System Protection and System Restore," in Chapter 11, for details.) Different files and types of folders have differing options for how you handle previous versions, but in general, you'll be able to open and save the previous version of the folder to a different location, or restore it over the existing folder.
Customize
This tab (Figure 4-10) lets you customize how the folder looks and acts. You can choose the kind of folder it is (All Items, Documents, Pictures and Videos, Music Details, or Music Icons). Based on what type of folder it is, the documents in it will be displayed differently, and different features will be available. For example, if a folder is a Pictures and Videos folder, the details it will display about each file include the date taken, tags, size, and rating, and the folder toolbar will include a Slide Show button so that you can display a slide show of the files in the folder. If the folder is a Documents folder, the details it will display are the date modified, type, size, and tags, but no Slide Show button will appear on the toolbar.
The tab also lets you choose a file that will be displayed on the folder's icon in Windows Explorer, and lets you choose a different icon than the default.
Figure 4-8. The Security tab, which lets you see what rights different people and groups have to the folder--and lets you alter them
Notes
See also
"File Properties," earlier in this chapter, "Sharing Resources and Files," in Chapter 7, and "System Protection and System Restore," in Chapter 11
Next: Folder and Search Options >>
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 This article is excerpted from chapter four of the book Windows Vista in a Nutshell, written by Preston Gralla (O'Reilly, 2006; ISBN: 0596527071). Check it out today at your favorite bookstore. Buy this book now.
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