Solved I'm lost with File Explorer

24H2 (OS Build 26100.2605)

Hope it is OK to ask a number of questions in the same thread as they relate to File Explorer.

- Have used Windows XP, 8 and 10, but cannot sort basic issues in W11. Is it possible to simplify W11 File Explorer? W10 is straight forward which I prefer e.g. Documents and Pictures etc. are libraries, within these I make folders and sub-folders, saving to a specific folder/sub-folder. W11, got rid of quick access icons. There are libraries > sub-libraries, which I then make folders and sub-folders within? I save a file/photo and it is saved in the 4 areas (red dots).

- Open photo in W10 with Windows photo gallery, straightforward. Open photo in W11 (set for single click) select Open with Windows Media Legacy Player > Always > click on thumbnail, does not open.

- Cannot set up desktop screen saver. Set background colour blue > created album > slideshow > time/change > preview shows a photo in selected album > apply and still just have blue background with my shortcut icons.

Thanks for any assistance.

Hi @jw05

To open the Screen Saver settings, click the Windows key and type screen saver in the search box in the Start Menu and select Change Screen Saver to open the applet.

Marcus, thanks for the reply. Sorry I may be losing it, but I don't see Change Screen Saver. What I am trying to achieve is when I log on, get the desktop with my shortcuts with the screensaver as background in shuffle mode.

Right click on the desktop, choose Personalise and then click on background. Pick the slideshow option and make sure the correct folder is selected.

jw05 said:

- Open photo in W10 with Windows photo gallery, straightforward. Open photo in W11 (set for single click) select Open with Windows Media Legacy Player > Always > click on thumbnail, does not open.

Click to expand...

Windows Media Player Legacy is more for audio files and pictures open with Photos,
Windows Photo Viewer or Paint.

jw05 said:

Is it possible to simplify W11 File Explorer?

Click to expand...

You could always decide to just bring back the Windows 10 File Explorer by following Option Three in this tutorial: Restore Classic File Explorer with Ribbon in Windows 11

jw05 said:

W10 is straight forward which I prefer e.g. Documents and Pictures etc. are libraries, within these I make folders and sub-folders, saving to a specific folder/sub-folder. W11, got rid of quick access icons. There are libraries > sub-libraries, which I then make folders and sub-folders within? I save a file/photo and it is saved in the 4 areas (red dots).

Click to expand...

Libraries are not actual (sub-)folders, but rather, they are virtual containers that, if the Libraries feature of File Explorer has been enabled, can appear in the navigation pane of File Explorer, i.e., similar to how the Home (former Quick Access) item appears in File Explorer by default. Windows Libraries

Winaero Tweaker has two options that let you customize what items should appear in the Navigation Pane of File Explorer.

jw05 said:

- Open photo in W10 with Windows photo gallery, straightforward. Open photo in W11 (set for single click) select Open with Windows Media Legacy Player > Always > click on thumbnail, does not open.

Click to expand...

On Windows 11, it is still possible to install Windows Photo Gallery.

Adding to what @hdmi said about Libraries, in the left Navigation pane and ABOVE This PC right-click an item and choose Properties, note the Location of the file or folder, will give actual location of that item.

Right-clicking on an item in File Explorer doesn't always give the option to choose Properties, though. (Even, if the item appears above This PC in the Navigation Pane, e.g., the Home item.) If the item in question does have the Properties option in its right-click (context) menu, then if the item represents an actual sub-folder, choosing Properties gives the full path of that sub-folder's parent folder. However, the name of the item itself may be localized depending on what language settings you have in Windows. Due to the fact that I have selected the Dutch language, File Explorer shows the Documents folder as an item named Documenten, for example. This is in spite of the fact that the actual sub-folder is still named Documents, which can tend to be confusing for users whose language is not English.

Even if your language is English, the Libraries feature of File Explorer might still be confusing to you, which might part explain why Microsoft had decided to no longer enable this feature by default. Users added their photos to their Pictures library, then they pulled their memory card out of their SD Card reader or they unplugged their USB flash drive, and then they wondered why their photos had disappeared from the library. So then Microsoft decided to invent another item, Gallery. lol

Thanks for your replies.

Going back to desktop slideshow what I am trying to achieve is shown in screen shot of W10 at log-in to my PC. It is a slide show of a folder containing 10s of my photos and changes every 10 seconds. Cannot remember how I changed time!

With W11 all I can get is the blue background with shortcut icons at log-in. However, if I sit just looking at this thread in W11, Edge page disappears and the slideshow starts after 1 minute. Interestingly when the slideshow starts, the picture changes every 10 seconds. Presumably this is because MS recognises W10 is configured for 10 seconds, even though supposedly minimum time for W11 is 1 minute. W11 set up as a local account, not MS a/c!!!

So am I trying to do something in W11 which cannot be done?

Thanks again.

jw05 said:

So am I trying to do something in W11 which cannot be done?

Click to expand...

Are you trying to configure a Screensaver Slideshow or a Desktop Wallpaper Slideshow?

OK, thanks to all. Sorted desktop slideshow and opening of photos. One last question if I may. When I look in File Explorer, the same photos in a 'folder' can actually be viewed in another 5 different locations, not 4 as I said in my opening post. Does this mean they are only ‘displayed’ 6 times, or is it using 6 times the MB on the SSD. Do I just use one library(?) with series of folders and sub-folders (as shown in attachment) and can ignore all the repetition

jw05 said:

, or is it using 6 times the MB on the SSD.

Click to expand...

Why would it do that? As has already been explained previously, when in doubt, you can check by choosing the Properties option from the right-click menu (also known as the 'context' menu) on any item that has that option.

Also, you can use free tools like dupeGuru or VisiPics (or both) to find duplicate files/pictures, easily and fast.

jw05 said:

Do I just use one library(?) with series of folders and sub-folders (as shown in attachment) and can ignore all the repetition

Click to expand...

You can use multiple libraries and/or make your own libraries if that's what you like. (Personally, I, don't use the Libraries feature at all.)

You might find this information beneficial

including this one at the bottom of the above info

You just need to find a way to strip away all the garbage and get back to basics.