This technique is probably appropriate for advanced users only. I learned about it from David A. Karp’s “Windows XP Annoyances” book, although I could not get the method he describes on p. 155 to work. Found a better method…
Some background. Every (most??) Windows users understands that the disk is organized like a tree, with one direct path to each folder. Sometimes it is nice to have “cross paths” — a direct route from one folder to another without navigating the whole directory tree. That is typically done with shortcuts — most advanced users know how to create shortcuts to folders. I typically right-drag and drop a folder onto a location where I want the shortcut to exist. The result is a typical .lnk file. Nothing unusual there…
There are three problems with this method: 1) the .lnk files are *files*, so they appear in Windows Explorer together with the other files in the folder, not with the folders at the top of the pane. 2) they do not appear in Explorer’s left-hand pane (the tree), nor do they appear in the “folder list” dropdown box on every File Open/Save dialog box 3) the .lnk files launch Windows Explorer, so when you double-click a .lnk file that is a folder shortcut, a new instance of Explorer is launched instead of drilling down into the folder.
The solution is to create “folder shortcuts” as described by Karp since they act like true folders, but creating them is not well documented (despite Karp’s best intentions!!). Here’s an easy method:
Open three instances of Windows Explorer. One instance points to your Start Button (right-click on Start, and choose Open). The second instance points to the TARGET folder. The third instance points to the folder where you want the shortcut to APPEAR.
Drag the target folder and drop it on the Start Button (the actual start button, not Windows Explorer — they react differently!!)
An entry will appear in the Start Button and the Explorer that points to that location. Notice that it’s type is called “Folder” and it is NOT a .lnk file. If you had dragged the same folder onto some arbitrary folder, then Windows would have moved the folder or created a .lnk file whose type would have been “shortcut” instead of “folder”. Notice also if you create a real folder, then its type is “file folder” — three different animals!!
Move or copy the folder shortcut to its final destination.
The key to this method is that the Start Button knows how to create a “folder” which is different than a “shortcut” and is different than a “file folder”. In that regard, the Start Button seems to be different than any other folder that I’ve tried.
Confused yet? Maybe… but it’s a powerful technique very similar to Linux’s symbolic links and (IMHO) is worth learning. Besides, you are already using it… what are My Documents, Shared Documents, and My Network Places if not symbolic links to other locations??? This technique puts *you* back in control.
How do I use it? Two ways: 1) I have a (real) folder named “@@Links” in My Documents, with folder shortcuts that point to a host of common locations across the disk and network 2) some work procedures require me to jump regularly between two distant folders. I put a link in each one, back to the “other” folder so I can jump quickly between the two folders, especially in File Open/Save dialogs.
Try it out, you might find it useful. BTW – thanks to David Karp for picquing my curiosity in this area!
