Can I hide Program Files for better organization?

[Tim Meddick]

Are you talking about the programs folder as in the:

"%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs"

....or the actual 'Program Files' folder:

"C:\Program Files"

???

....although, I really don't think that there will be any impact, negative or
otherwise, from making any folder in either location 'hidden'.

Program files and the operating system don't really pay much attention to
the 'hidden' attribute on folders and files, what has much more impact are
what's called the 'extended' attributes (NTFS only) such as the SD (Security
Descriptor) attributes that govern file permissions.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Raymond Shaw]

As I look in Program Files I see various programs that I never will click on
to use. Perhaps they are being used by other apps - it doesn't matter. I
thought it might help to make these programs Hidden (right click,
Properties). Then I won't get distracted by programs that I have no use
for. Is there any down side to this? Can it make them function any
differently?

I would think that this, along with organizing programs in grouped folders
in Program Files would vastly help "clean up" the way things are displayed.
I've only found a couple of non-Microsoft programs (Folder Size and an
antivirus program) that seem to object to being installed in a folder.

You can probably hide them without consequence. Grouping them in
folders will be disastrous. When they were installed, their location
and the location of all needed files are placed in the registry.

Move them, they won't work. Heck, even shortcuts to them won't work.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

The presence of these subfolders of %system%\Program Files folder aren't
causing any harm. Your computer doesn't care about them & you shouldn't
either.

If you need something to do, I've got a house you can clean. <w>

 

[Sam S]

As I look in Program Files I see various programs that I never will click on
to use. Perhaps they are being used by other apps - it doesn't matter. I
thought it might help to make these programs Hidden (right click,
Properties). Then I won't get distracted by programs that I have no use
for. Is there any down side to this? Can it make them function any
differently?

I would think that this, along with organizing programs in grouped folders
in Program Files would vastly help "clean up" the way things are displayed.
I've only found a couple of non-Microsoft programs (Folder Size and an
antivirus program) that seem to object to being installed in a folder.

 

[Sam S]

The actual Program Files folder. As in C:\Program Files
Yes - it seems the OS couldn't care less if its hidden or not. That is
great. It allows you a lot of customization options getting rid of stuff
you'll never need to use or never need to very often. I wish I realized
this before. I could have cleaned up my layout so much better.

 

[Sam S]

As I look in Program Files I see various programs that I never will click

You can probably hide them without consequence. Grouping them in
folders will be disastrous. When they were installed, their location
and the location of all needed files are placed in the registry.

That doesn't seem to be the case here. Some I can just move into a folder
and they still work. Of course I have to change the shortcuts. Others need
to be reinstalled. Fortunately most installation programs allow you to
choose where you want to install it. So the AVG antivirus program could be
in
C:\Program Files\ANTIVIRUS\AVG
Another antivirus program could be in
C:\Program Files\ANTIVIRUS\Symantec

Now an antivirus program is probably the worst example to use as its running
all the time in the background. But say you're having problems playing a
video. So you want to make sure you try all your players. That's an
example of when its nice to have them grouped together.

Move them, they won't work. Heck, even shortcuts to them won't work.

As I said, most of my programs work when moved. The others worked when
reinstalled in their new "foldered" location. (Except for a very few.) I'm
not talking about Microsoft programs. I hide them as they rarely offer the
best software for any category. I realize MS programs are usually useless
when installed into anything but C:\Program Files. But no matter. No one
needs their programs anyway so no loss....lol.

 

[Sam S]

Well for most people, having your programs organized in groups makes all the
difference in the world. Its same reason most of us use filing cabinets.
Organization rocks. The Microsoft way is like Apple's OS X. Just toss into
a big bin and the operating system will find them somehow. Not good.
Unless you just use 1 program per function of course. But I think most of
us are a little above that.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

<kindly> If you want an application's program folder to be located somewhere
other than %system%\Program Files <=this folder, select the alternate
location when you install the program, not afterwards.

 

[Nate Grossman]

Well for most people, having your programs organized in groups makes all the
difference in the world. Its same reason most of us use filing cabinets.
Organization rocks.

"Most people" would seem to be an exaggeration lacking even minimal
support - anecdotal or empirical.

You are obviously assuming that your rather obsessive organizational
needs are typical of other computer users. I've been following the MS
Usenet groups for over 10 years and I've never seen this topic raised
in all that time until now.

You want to organize Program Files. The rest of us organize the Start
menu and our shortcuts.

 

[Nate Grossman]

"Most people" would seem to be an exaggeration lacking even minimal
support - anecdotal or empirical.

You are obviously assuming that your rather obsessive organizational
needs are typical of other computer users. I've been following the MS
Usenet groups for over 10 years and I've never seen this topic raised
in all that time until now.

You want to organize Program Files. The rest of us organize the Start
menu and our shortcuts.

I would add that I'd bet that most of us rarely feel the need to even
LOOK into the Programs Files area.

 

[Tim Meddick]

Sam,
why is arranging the applications in your 'Program Files' folder
into hierarchies going to help you?

The reason that Microsoft just 'lumps' apps all together, is that the
'Program Files' folder is considered by Microsoft to be, sort of, out of
bounds to mere mortals.

Their idea for organization of your programs is to create hierarchies out of
the shortcut sub-menu within the 'Start Menu' !!

Here is where you launch the apps from - so here is where the need for
organization is needed most, surely? It would be not much help to you if
you had got the actual program's folders in a nice feature-related
structure, only to have a totally neglected and DISorganized 'Start Menu'.

You'd never find ANYTHING despite a highly organized 'Program Files'
folder....

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.