Help me understand File Explorer

Ztruker said:

You can get rid of Libraries by clicking on View then Navigation pane and unchecking Libraries.
See Brink's Tutorial for OneDrive: How to Add or Remove OneDrive in Navigation Pane of File Explorer in Windows 10
That will leave just Quick Access above This PC.

I don't have a problem with onedrive; I get why it's there. When I uncheck the libraries box under view, nothing happens. It's still there.

Ztruker said:

Here is a brief article that will get you started. Quick Access and Libraries Living in Harmony

Google is your friend for this kind of stuff. Just search for what is quick access windows 10 and what are libraries windows 10. You'll find lots of info on both of these features, why to use them and what they can and can not do for you. I make heavy use of Quick Access but don't use Libraries at all. Just personal preference.

Of course, I did that, but I didn't find what I wanted, so here I am.

Atom1 said:

Of course, I did that, but I didn't find what I wanted, so here I am.

So, see what you can do using View > Navigation pane which I think is buggy, and if you are not satisfied with it -as of course is most expected- you may read this:
Add or Remove Folders from This PC in Windows 10 | Tutorials

The good thing with Win 10 is that trying to understand it, you can become a guru...

Atom1 said:

Of course, I did that, but I didn't find what I wanted, so here I am.

You can pin whatever you wish to Quick Access but they won't be expandable there.

If you want to add a custom folder or custom shell location to the navigation pane, you need to check out Brink's tutorials or try Winaero Tweaker.

Ztruker said:

NO NO NO, Do as I said and uncheck Libraries in View. Delete can end up deleting things you don't want deleted sometimes.
Be careful when deleting things.

Before you start messing around, please create a full image backup of your system to an external hard drive using Macrium Reflect Free. Then if something you do has unexpected consequences you can easily recover.

Unchecking libraries in view does nothing as far as I can tell.

Atom1 said:

Unchecking libraries in view does nothing as far as I can tell.

It does if you have "Show all folders" unchecked...I think.

HeM said:

It does if you have "Show all folders" unchecked...I think.

Both of those are unchecked, and I still have the libraries folder, but then I clicked on restore default libraries, and the libraries folder is not hidden. Must have been something I did.

Atom1 said:

...Must have been something I did.

Perhaps not. I think, it's buggy.

What I've done: I've "Show all folders" checked and then used this :
Add or Remove Folders from This PC in Windows 10 | Tutorials
to remove Library folders under "This PC" and this is how it looks like:


As for "Quick access", it is just a link place for your easiness and you can modify it as you like, removing or pinning folders & files (links). It can also pin folders & files (links) automatically, depending of use and you can modify it via View > Options :