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Windows tip of the week

Create a custom Documents library for faster searches


By Ed Bott


Even the most organized individual can have trouble keeping track of files that are scattered across multiple locations, especially when your filing system includes multiple local drives (such as a Documents folder on the system drive and an Archive folder on an external drive) as well as folders on cloud services that you share with co-workers or family and friends.


To bring all those files together into a single virtual folder that you can search at one time, use a Windows library. If the Libraries heading isn't visible in File Explorer, right-click the navigation pane and click Show Libraries.


You can right-click and use the New menu to create a new library from scratch. Or use one of the four default libraries that are automatically created for each user account. In File Explorer, click the Documents icon under the Libraries heading to display the library's content; then click Manage Library on the Library Tools tab. Use the Add and Remove buttons to specify which folders are included in the library.


Opening the Documents library in File Explorer gives you a unified view of all those files, which you can browse, sort, filter, and, most importantly, search just as if they were all neatly stored in the same folder. When you use the search box from a library, your search results come from all library locations. But because a library is a virtual folder, the folders themselves remain in their correct location, and any changes you make are saved exactly where they should be.

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