Accessing "Documents and Settings"

OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet understand
working around the security features. But when I click on Documents and
Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as well as several
others).
How do I access these folders?

Bogey@coastal SC wrote:
> OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet
> understand working around the security features. But when I click on
> Documents and Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as well
> as several others).
> How do I access these folders?

You don't access those folders because they aren't real folders. They
are junctions, sort of like shortcuts, there for backwards
compatibility. The file hierarchy is different in Vista. There is no
"Documents and Settings" any more; you have all your user files under
C:\Users\Your-Username\.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

"Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote ...
> OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet understand
> working around the security features. But when I click on Documents and
> Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as well as several
> others).
> How do I access these folders?

Hi Bogey,

In Vista "Documents and Settings" isn't really a folder. It's a "junction
point" - like a soft link, in Unix.

The *real* directory where user data is kept in Vista, is called "C:\Users".
If you use "Users" in place of "Documents and Settings" you should be sweet.
Eg, C:\Users\Bogey\Documents, etc.

The "Documents and Settings" junction point exists to preserve compatibility
for applications which have this path name hard-coded. Well-behaved
applications should not have a hard-coded "Documents and Settings" string;
they should call SHGetSpecialFolder() instead, to find the User directory on
a system. But just a sad fact of life, many apps out there do look for a
"Documents and Settings" directory ....

"Users" is preferable to "Documents and Settings" because many apps have
problems with path names containing spaces. It also soaks up more chars
from the limited 260 char MAX_PATH length for directory names. Finally,
"Users" is more intuitive for folks coming from Unix and other, more normal
operating system environments :-)

The "Documents and Settings" junction point is usually hidden and not
visible in Explorer. If you are seeing it in an obtrusive way, you may have
turned ON the folder option to see hidden files?

Hope this helps,
--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au

"Andrew McLaren" <> wrote in message
news:1E8C5B18-D0BC-412A-89A3-...
> "Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote ...
>> OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet understand
>> working around the security features. But when I click on Documents and
>> Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as well as several
>> others).
>> How do I access these folders?
>
> Hi Bogey,
>
> In Vista "Documents and Settings" isn't really a folder. It's a "junction
> point" - like a soft link, in Unix.
>
> The *real* directory where user data is kept in Vista, is called
> "C:\Users". If you use "Users" in place of "Documents and Settings" you
> should be sweet. Eg, C:\Users\Bogey\Documents, etc.
>
> The "Documents and Settings" junction point exists to preserve
> compatibility for applications which have this path name hard-coded.
> Well-behaved applications should not have a hard-coded "Documents and
> Settings" string; they should call SHGetSpecialFolder() instead, to find
> the User directory on a system. But just a sad fact of life, many apps out
> there do look for a "Documents and Settings" directory ....
>
> "Users" is preferable to "Documents and Settings" because many apps have
> problems with path names containing spaces. It also soaks up more chars
> from the limited 260 char MAX_PATH length for directory names. Finally,
> "Users" is more intuitive for folks coming from Unix and other, more
> normal operating system environments :-)
>
> The "Documents and Settings" junction point is usually hidden and not
> visible in Explorer. If you are seeing it in an obtrusive way, you may
> have turned ON the folder option to see hidden files?
>
> Hope this helps,
> --
> Andrew McLaren
> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
I'm starting to understand. I was trying to do some cut and paste folders
into D&C to import, such as my "Favorites" from another drive, etc. Thanks
for the explanation. (I need to find the book: Vista for Dummies)...

Bogey

Take a look at the following website. There is a good explanation about
Junctions there as well as a complete list of all default folders with their
location in XP and the new location for those folders in Vista.

Svrops.com - Windows Vista Junction Points:

http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/jpoints.htm


--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote in message
news:...
>
> "Andrew McLaren" <> wrote in message
> news:1E8C5B18-D0BC-412A-89A3-...
>> "Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote ...
>>> OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet
>>> understand working around the security features. But when I click on
>>> Documents and Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as well
>>> as several others).
>>> How do I access these folders?
>>
>> Hi Bogey,
>>
>> In Vista "Documents and Settings" isn't really a folder. It's a "junction
>> point" - like a soft link, in Unix.
>>
>> The *real* directory where user data is kept in Vista, is called
>> "C:\Users". If you use "Users" in place of "Documents and Settings" you
>> should be sweet. Eg, C:\Users\Bogey\Documents, etc.
>>
>> The "Documents and Settings" junction point exists to preserve
>> compatibility for applications which have this path name hard-coded.
>> Well-behaved applications should not have a hard-coded "Documents and
>> Settings" string; they should call SHGetSpecialFolder() instead, to find
>> the User directory on a system. But just a sad fact of life, many apps
>> out there do look for a "Documents and Settings" directory ....
>>
>> "Users" is preferable to "Documents and Settings" because many apps have
>> problems with path names containing spaces. It also soaks up more chars
>> from the limited 260 char MAX_PATH length for directory names. Finally,
>> "Users" is more intuitive for folks coming from Unix and other, more
>> normal operating system environments :-)
>>
>> The "Documents and Settings" junction point is usually hidden and not
>> visible in Explorer. If you are seeing it in an obtrusive way, you may
>> have turned ON the folder option to see hidden files?
>>
>> Hope this helps,
>> --
>> Andrew McLaren
>> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
> I'm starting to understand. I was trying to do some cut and paste folders
> into D&C to import, such as my "Favorites" from another drive, etc.
> Thanks for the explanation. (I need to find the book: Vista for
> Dummies)...
>

Thanks for pointing me to that website.


"Ronnie Vernon MVP" <> wrote in message
news:8F075A27-4CA5-4F72-B686-...
> Bogey
>
> Take a look at the following website. There is a good explanation about
> Junctions there as well as a complete list of all default folders with
> their location in XP and the new location for those folders in Vista.
>
> Svrops.com - Windows Vista Junction Points:
>
> http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/jpoints.htm
>
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>>
>> "Andrew McLaren" <> wrote in message
>> news:1E8C5B18-D0BC-412A-89A3-...
>>> "Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote ...
>>>> OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet
>>>> understand working around the security features. But when I click on
>>>> Documents and Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as
>>>> well as several others).
>>>> How do I access these folders?
>>>
>>> Hi Bogey,
>>>
>>> In Vista "Documents and Settings" isn't really a folder. It's a
>>> "junction point" - like a soft link, in Unix.
>>>
>>> The *real* directory where user data is kept in Vista, is called
>>> "C:\Users". If you use "Users" in place of "Documents and Settings" you
>>> should be sweet. Eg, C:\Users\Bogey\Documents, etc.
>>>
>>> The "Documents and Settings" junction point exists to preserve
>>> compatibility for applications which have this path name hard-coded.
>>> Well-behaved applications should not have a hard-coded "Documents and
>>> Settings" string; they should call SHGetSpecialFolder() instead, to find
>>> the User directory on a system. But just a sad fact of life, many apps
>>> out there do look for a "Documents and Settings" directory ....
>>>
>>> "Users" is preferable to "Documents and Settings" because many apps have
>>> problems with path names containing spaces. It also soaks up more chars
>>> from the limited 260 char MAX_PATH length for directory names. Finally,
>>> "Users" is more intuitive for folks coming from Unix and other, more
>>> normal operating system environments :-)
>>>
>>> The "Documents and Settings" junction point is usually hidden and not
>>> visible in Explorer. If you are seeing it in an obtrusive way, you may
>>> have turned ON the folder option to see hidden files?
>>>
>>> Hope this helps,
>>> --
>>> Andrew McLaren
>>> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
>> I'm starting to understand. I was trying to do some cut and paste
>> folders into D&C to import, such as my "Favorites" from another drive,
>> etc. Thanks for the explanation. (I need to find the book: Vista for
>> Dummies)...
>>
>

Bogey

Your welcome, glad this helped.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User


"Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote in message
news:%...
> Thanks for pointing me to that website.
>
>
> "Ronnie Vernon MVP" <> wrote in message
> news:8F075A27-4CA5-4F72-B686-...
>> Bogey
>>
>> Take a look at the following website. There is a good explanation about
>> Junctions there as well as a complete list of all default folders with
>> their location in XP and the new location for those folders in Vista.
>>
>> Svrops.com - Windows Vista Junction Points:
>>
>> http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/jpoints.htm
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Ronnie Vernon
>> Microsoft MVP
>> Windows Shell/User
>>
>>
>> "Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote in message
>> news:...
>>>
>>> "Andrew McLaren" <> wrote in message
>>> news:1E8C5B18-D0BC-412A-89A3-...
>>>> "Bogey@coastal SC" <> wrote ...
>>>>> OK, I just did a clean install of Vista Ultimate. I don't yet
>>>>> understand working around the security features. But when I click on
>>>>> Documents and Settings I get: "Access is Denied" on this folder (as
>>>>> well as several others).
>>>>> How do I access these folders?
>>>>
>>>> Hi Bogey,
>>>>
>>>> In Vista "Documents and Settings" isn't really a folder. It's a
>>>> "junction point" - like a soft link, in Unix.
>>>>
>>>> The *real* directory where user data is kept in Vista, is called
>>>> "C:\Users". If you use "Users" in place of "Documents and Settings" you
>>>> should be sweet. Eg, C:\Users\Bogey\Documents, etc.
>>>>
>>>> The "Documents and Settings" junction point exists to preserve
>>>> compatibility for applications which have this path name hard-coded.
>>>> Well-behaved applications should not have a hard-coded "Documents and
>>>> Settings" string; they should call SHGetSpecialFolder() instead, to
>>>> find the User directory on a system. But just a sad fact of life, many
>>>> apps out there do look for a "Documents and Settings" directory ....
>>>>
>>>> "Users" is preferable to "Documents and Settings" because many apps
>>>> have problems with path names containing spaces. It also soaks up more
>>>> chars from the limited 260 char MAX_PATH length for directory names.
>>>> Finally, "Users" is more intuitive for folks coming from Unix and
>>>> other, more normal operating system environments :-)
>>>>
>>>> The "Documents and Settings" junction point is usually hidden and not
>>>> visible in Explorer. If you are seeing it in an obtrusive way, you may
>>>> have turned ON the folder option to see hidden files?
>>>>
>>>> Hope this helps,
>>>> --
>>>> Andrew McLaren
>>>> amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au
>>> I'm starting to understand. I was trying to do some cut and paste
>>> folders into D&C to import, such as my "Favorites" from another drive,
>>> etc. Thanks for the explanation. (I need to find the book: Vista for
>>> Dummies)...
>>>
>>
>