Documents folder not recognized as "My Documents"

  • Thread starter Thread starter David Witus
  • Start date Start date
D

David Witus

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista no longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista creates a new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have deleted an
attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so now the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might accomplish it, but
I get a message that says "you need permission to do that" then asks me to
retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder needs to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated as "My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's 'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a 'Location' TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab. The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not the folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' & 'Links', and
those are normally under the User Profile folder (C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each will open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs' bar and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text file and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links
 
I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents folder, nothing
opens.

Keith Miller MVP said:
In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's 'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a 'Location' TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab. The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not the folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' & 'Links', and
those are normally under the User Profile folder (C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each will open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs' bar and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text file and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

David Witus said:
I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista no longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista creates a new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so now the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might accomplish it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that" then asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder needs to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated as "My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents folder,
nothing
opens.

Keith Miller MVP said:
In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's 'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a 'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab. The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' & 'Links', and
those are normally under the User Profile folder (C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs' bar and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text file and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

David Witus said:
I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might accomplish it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that" then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated as "My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal in the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows thinks my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates another folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

Keith Miller MVP said:
In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents folder,
nothing
opens.

Keith Miller MVP said:
In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's 'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a 'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab. The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' & 'Links', and
those are normally under the User Profile folder (C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs' bar and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text file and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might accomplish it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that" then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated as "My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree. You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view properties -- is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press <Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be designated as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the previous post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents folder its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal in the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows thinks my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

Keith Miller MVP said:
In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab. The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' & 'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder (C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs' bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that" then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it is the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the General screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into the Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default automatically go to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the name must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

Keith Miller MVP said:
If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree. You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view properties -- is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press <Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be designated as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the previous post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents folder its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal in the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows thinks my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

Keith Miller MVP said:
In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab. The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' & 'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder (C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs' bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that" then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
Attached is a zip file which contains a .reg file that will reset your
Documents folder. Save the zip file to your Desktop, then right-click it &
select 'Extract All...'. If you accept the defaults from expansion, you'll
now have a folder on your Desktop containing a single file,
'DefaultDocumentsEntry.reg'. Double-click this file to merge it, you'll get
a warning, but proceed through it. Log off & log back on and your Documents
folder should be reset to 'C:\Users\Sandy\Documents'.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it is
the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the General
screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into the
Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default automatically go
to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the name must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

Keith Miller MVP said:
If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the
up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree.
You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view properties --
is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents
folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press
<Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty
folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied
over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be designated
as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the previous
post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents folder
its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal in
the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows thinks
my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a
blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have
tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

:

In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents
folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab.
The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not
the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you
want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' &
'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder
(C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each
will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs'
bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text
file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista
no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista
creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that
the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so
now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might
accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that"
then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me
there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated
as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
I suppose the actual attachment would help!!! :-)

--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it is
the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the General
screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into the
Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default automatically go
to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the name must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

Keith Miller MVP said:
If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the
up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree.
You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view properties --
is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents
folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press
<Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty
folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied
over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be designated
as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the previous
post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents folder
its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal in
the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows thinks
my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a
blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have
tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

:

In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents
folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab.
The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not
the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you
want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' &
'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder
(C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each
will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs'
bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text
file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista
no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista
creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that
the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so
now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might
accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that"
then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me
there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated
as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
Thanks for all your help, Keith, it is very much appreciated. I hate to be
such a dummy, but I can't find the attached zip file to extract onto my
desktop.



Keith Miller MVP said:
I suppose the actual attachment would help!!! :-)

--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it is
the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the General
screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into the
Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default automatically go
to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the name must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

Keith Miller MVP said:
If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the
up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree.
You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view properties --
is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents
folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press
<Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty
folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied
over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be designated
as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the previous
post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents folder
its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal in
the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows thinks
my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a
blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have
tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

:

In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents
folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General' tab.
The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's not
the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you
want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' &
'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder
(C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search', each
will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the 'BreadCrumbs'
bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text
file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow Vista
no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista
creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes that
the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder so
now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might
accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that"
then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me
there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be treated
as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
Sorry, I didn't see you were using the MS web interface to these groups --
attachments don't show up there -- but they do on Google:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...a.file_management/msg/80224f70f2316601?hl=en&

At the bottom of the page, you'll see a download link.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
Thanks for all your help, Keith, it is very much appreciated. I hate to
be
such a dummy, but I can't find the attached zip file to extract onto my
desktop.



Keith Miller MVP said:
I suppose the actual attachment would help!!! :-)

--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it is
the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the General
screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into the
Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just
delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default automatically
go
to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the name
must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

:

If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the
up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree.
You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view
properties --
is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to
each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents
folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press
<Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty
folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied
over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be
designated
as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the
previous
post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say
yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents
folder
its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal
in
the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows
thinks
my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a
blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have
tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates
another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

:

In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion
but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents
folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General'
tab.
The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's
not
the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you
want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' &
'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder
(C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search',
each
will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the
'BreadCrumbs'
bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text
file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow
Vista
no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista
creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes
that
the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must
have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder
so
now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username
folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might
accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that"
then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me
there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents
folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be
treated
as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
Yea ! ! ! ! It worked!!! Thanks so much for your help.

Keith Miller MVP said:
Sorry, I didn't see you were using the MS web interface to these groups --
attachments don't show up there -- but they do on Google:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...a.file_management/msg/80224f70f2316601?hl=en&

At the bottom of the page, you'll see a download link.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
Thanks for all your help, Keith, it is very much appreciated. I hate to
be
such a dummy, but I can't find the attached zip file to extract onto my
desktop.



Keith Miller MVP said:
I suppose the actual attachment would help!!! :-)

--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it is
the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the General
screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into the
Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just
delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default automatically
go
to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the name
must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

:

If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the
up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder tree.
You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view
properties --
is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path to
each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is Documents
folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press
<Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty
folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has copied
over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be
designated
as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the
previous
post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents, say
yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents
folder
its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type shell:personal
in
the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows
thinks
my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has a
blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I have
tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates
another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper. I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

:

In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your suggestion
but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents
folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General'
tab.
The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's
not
the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location you
want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' &
'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder
(C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search',
each
will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the
'BreadCrumbs'
bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a text
file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow
Vista
no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista
creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes
that
the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must
have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents folder
so
now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username
folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might
accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do that"
then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me
there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents
folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be
treated
as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
Whew!!!! ;-)

You're welcome. Glad it's fixed.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
Yea ! ! ! ! It worked!!! Thanks so much for your help.

Keith Miller MVP said:
Sorry, I didn't see you were using the MS web interface to these
groups --
attachments don't show up there -- but they do on Google:

http://groups.google.com/group/micr...a.file_management/msg/80224f70f2316601?hl=en&

At the bottom of the page, you'll see a download link.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

Sandy J said:
Thanks for all your help, Keith, it is very much appreciated. I hate
to
be
such a dummy, but I can't find the attached zip file to extract onto my
desktop.



:

I suppose the actual attachment would help!!! :-)

--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

OK, I was able to right-click and get the properties tab to open.
The Blue icon folder has a location tab that reads:
C:\Users\Sandy\Documents\New Folder\Documents. It is empty. But it
is
the
default Document folder.
The Yellow icon folder has no location tab but it says in the
General
screen
that the location is: C:\Users\Sandy. It has all my documents in
it.
When I follow your instructions to move the Blue icon folder into
the
Yellow
icon folder I get this error message: Cannot redirect descendant
into
parent. The specified path is invalid.

How did I screw things up so badly? Is there a magical way to just
delete
the empty folder? If I could, then wouldn't the default
automatically
go
to
the folder named Documents? I can't delete either folder so the
name
must
have some signficance.

Thanks for your help.

:

If Favorite Links are filling the left-pane of Explorer, click the
up-arrow
at the bottom where it says 'Folders' so you can see your folder
tree.
You
should be able to right-click the blue folder icon and view
properties --
is
that not working?

Click once in the Breadcrumbs bar of each folder to view the path
to
each
folder.

If you want the empty folder that Vista currently thinks is
Documents
folder
to remain your Documents folder, just open the other folder, press
<Ctrl>+A
to select everything, right-click & select 'Copy'. Open the empty
folder,
right-click & select 'Paste'. Once you're sure everything has
copied
over,
you can delete the contents from the other folder.

If you want the folder that currently has your documents to be
designated
as
the Documents folder, use the 'Move' button I mentioned in the
previous
post
to point it at the folder that currently contains your documents,
say
yes
when asked about moving all files, this will give your Documents
folder
its
special icon & delete the now unused folder.


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

It is in the Explorer window that opens when I type
shell:personal
in
the
start search box. It opens to the documents folder that windows
thinks
my
documents are in, but they are in the other one. This folder has
a
blue
icon, the one where my docments are is a yellow folder icon. I
have
tried
moving my documents to the blue folder, but that just creates
another
folder
in the document folder and buries the documents one layer deeper.
I
cannot
rename or remove either document folder.

:

In an Explorer window or on the Start Menu?


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I am having the same issues as David and I tried your
suggestion
but
didn't
get anywhere. When I click on "Properties" for the Documents
folder,
nothing
opens.

:

In the 'Start Search' box on the Start Menu, type:

shell:personal<Enter>

This should open the folder that Vista thinks is your user's
'Documents'
folder.

If you view the Properties for this folder, there should be a
'Location'
TAB
(not to be confused with the Location label on the 'General'
tab.
The
textbox contains the file system path to the folder. If it's
not
the
folder
you want, use the 'Move' button to point it to the location
you
want.

However, you mention the new folder containing 'Favorites' &
'Links',
and
those are normally under the User Profile folder
(C:\Users\UserName).

If you could run the following commands from 'Start Search',
each
will
open
an Explorer window. If you right-click once in the
'BreadCrumbs'
bar
and
select 'Copy Address', you can paste those addresses into a
text
file
and
post them back with your reply.

shell:Personal
shell:Favorites
shell:Links


--
Good Luck,

Keith
Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]

I have a Documents folder in my username folder but somehow
Vista
no
longer
recognizes it as such. So, whenever I re-start my PC, Vista
creates a
new,
empty Documents folder in the same username folder and makes
that
the
Documents folder for purposes of Favorite Links, etc. I must
have
deleted
an attribute of some sort of the pre-existing Documents
folder
so
now
the
system views it as just a plain old folder in the username
folder.

I just tried merging the two folders thinking that might
accomplish
it,
but I get a message that says "you need permission to do
that"
then
asks
me to retry or cancel - neither of which, or course, get me
there.

So, how do I give it back whatever attribute the Documents
folder
needs
to
make Vista recognize it as the Documents that should be
treated
as
"My
Documents" was treated in Windows XP?
 
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