Win7 Library Tool

Windows 7 libraries are a really useful feature of Windows 7, however unfortunately they arrive in a slighly cut-down form out of the box.  Microsoft decided against exposing some really useful capabilities to users, like adding network locations, pretty much the first thing I tried to do.  You get this message:

windows7libraryerror

Luckily, you can add network locations (and any other un-indexed locations), but it must be done programatically.  MS supply a command line utility slutil.exe, candidate for the worst named executable in history.  Pretty sure it stands for shell_library_util.  Anyway, I decided to write a tool to make it easy to add network locations, and added a few other features as well:

  • Add network (UNC or mapped drive) and any other un-indexed folders to libraries.
  • Backup library configuration, such that a saved set of libraries can be instantly restored at any point (like after a re-install of the OS or for transfer between multiple computers).
  • Create a mirror of all libraries (using symbolic links) in [SystemDrive]:\libraries.  This means you can reference all your files using a much shorter path, and also provides another entry-point to your files in many places in the Operating System (e.g. file open/save dialogs).
  • Change a library’s icon.

win7librarytool

Hopefully it’s easy enough to use, so I don’t have to explain it :)

You can download it for free below.  (Note: This will only run on >= Windows 7.)

Download Installer | Source Code

I must give credit to Josh Smith for his TreeView CodeProject article, upon which this solution is modelled.

The application uses the Microsoft API CodePack to manipulate libraries, which I encourage you to check out if you are writing software to integrate / take advantage of new features in Windows 7.

If you want to learn why and how libraries were introduced in Windows 7, including diving into the .library-ms file format, you can read this MSDN article.

Now featured on Tekzilla!

  1. Bram says:

    I found a small but annoying bug for users of foreign language Windows 7 users: Sometimes the librarary tool changes the dutch word ‘Afbeeldingen’ (the dutch name of one of the default library’s) in ‘Pictures’ (the english translation with the same meaning). Windows does not recognize the english term ‘Pictures’ and the library is ‘lost’ (for Windows, but the keen library tool recognizes it perfectly). When I change the name ‘Pictures’ back in ‘Afbeeldingen’ (dutch) , possible only in Win7 library tool, everything functions normal again. I have my bug fixed, but can you fix your bug? (Hard to find in the English version of Windows). It’s strange the library ‘Documents’ does not seem to suffer the same abbaration.

  1. [...] Understanding the Libraries Feature in Windows 7 Understanding the Libraries Feature in Windows 7 The new libraries feature in Windows 7 makes it easier to manage your files and folders. Today we take a look at how to access libraries, how to use them, and how to include network locations to the libraries as well. The libraries feature in Windows 7 provides a central place to manage files that are located in multiple locations throughout your computer. Instead of clicking through a bunch of directories to find the files you need, including them in a library makes for quicker access. Access Libraries To access the libraries in Windows 7, type libraries into the search box in the Start Menu and hit Enter. The default libraries in Windows 7 will open up in Explorer which are Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos. Anytime you’re in Windows Explorer, you’ll be able to access libraries from the Navigation Pane. Using Libraries In these examples we’ll take a look at the Documents Library, but the procedures will work for any library you want to add locations to. If you’ve been working in Windows 7 for a while and storing documents to the My Documents folder, when you open the Documents Library, you’ll see those documents. Some applications install folders in the My Documents folder by default and you’ll see those as well. What if you have documents stored in a folder other than My Documents? You need to add it to the Documents Library. There are a couple of ways you can go about it. Right-click on a folder and select Include in library from the context menu, then choose the Documents Library. Keep in mind that when you add a folder to a library, that folder is still in it’s original location. Or when you have the folder containing your documents open, select Include in library and choose the library to put them in from the dropdown. Here we take a look at the Documents library that contains files that are located in different places throughout the hard drive, including some on another partition. You can also remove items from libraries as well. When you’re in a library click on the locations link. The Documents Library Locations window opens up and from here you can add or remove locations. Create New Libraries The default libraries are all well and good, but if you really want to take advantage of this feature, you’ll want to create your own. While in the libraries directory click on the New library button and give it a name. In this example we made a new library called Work Projects. The first time you open it you’ll be prompted to include a folder. Browse to the location with the files you want to add then click Include folder. Now the files included in that folder will show up in the new library. After you’ve created some libraries they’ll be added to the list to select from. Add Network Locations While libraries are a handy new feature, it’s not perfect. Not all folders can be added to libraries as Microsoft has stuck some rules on them. You can pretty much add anything from a local drive, including other volumes or partitions. External USB drives formatted as NTFS or Fat32 can be added as well. Things get kind of weird when you’re trying to add network and non-indexed locations. Thankfully there’s a handy free utility you can use that makes adding network locations a lot easier. Win7 Library Tool is small and straight forward to use. Just click on the Create a new library button. Then add the network location you want included in the library. Notice this tool will also allow you to easily change the library icon which is a neat additional feature. In this example we’ve added a home network share that contains music files to a library named MP3 library. Conclusion This should help get you started using Libraries in Windows 7, which at first might take some getting used to. Once you understand how they work and start creating your own, you’ll find they’re actually pretty useful. Once you get going, you’ll find the Win7 Library Tool makes adding network locations a snap. How about you? Do you use libraries in Windows 7? Leave a comment and let us know what you like or don’t like about the feature. Download Win7 Library Tool [...]

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  3. [...] please also add the option to export and import library configurations as implemented in the Win7 Library Tool? 3. Search support for Distributed File System (Dfs) Distributed File System was once one of [...]

  4. [...] there’s a handy free utility you can use that makes adding network locations a lot easier. Win7 Library Tool is small and straight forward to use. Just click on the Create a new library [...]

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  6. [...] waar zelfs op de site van Microsoft naar verwezen wordt. De bekendste hiervan zijn slutil.exe en de Win7 Library Tool. De toepassing van deze tools in een bedrijfsomgeving echter niet aan te bevelen. De garantie is [...]

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  14. [...] in Uncategorized. trackback Recently I’ve had an issue with Windows 7 library errors.  Here’s a tool that can help!  especially if trying to index network locations. 0.000000 [...]

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