Maybe this has been said before, but here it is. This is on Windows XP, it should work on others with modification. I get really annoyed clicking a hundred times to get to my Runtime:textures folder (a bunch of others too). So I created a shortcut to the folder. Renamed it 'poserTextures'. Then copied it to my history folder. C:Documents and SettingsTromNekMy Recent Documents Now when I go to load a texture, I can click on 'My Recent Documents' and click on 'poserTextures' and I'm right there. Then I'm thinking why not create some folders to further organize stuff. The tricky thing to all this is that once something is in the history folder C:Documents and SettingsTromNekMy Recent Documents you can't rename it. So you need to build the stuff somewhere else then copy or move to the history folder. Then flag all that stuff 'Read Only' and it should stay there forever. Anyone else done this? Any comments or suggestions?

I have a short cut to my wardrobe wizard analysis folder in my bottom toolbar. For the rest I just use Windows Explorer. It doesn't take but a few seconds to find what I'm looking for. Besides, I'm quite anal about deleting irrelevant files from my computer, which includes trash can folders, history, cookes, temporary files, and the recently accessed archive that windows likes to keep. It would probably be just as easy to set up a whole toolbar and have shortcuts to your most used folders in it, and then hide it from view until you need it.

I solved the problem with a desktop shortcut to my textures folder. I also have one to my Poser 6 folder so that I can put runtime folders into it from opened zip files. I go from desktop folder to desktop icon.

How do you use either of those methods while in Poser's open file dialog?

There is a nice utility called Manage Folder Now by www.elongsoft.com that allows you to do all this from the context menu (even from dialog boxes and from the Start button). You can try it out first. I use it with filetargets and copymove utilities and then everything is covered.

I have a folder in my documents that contains a shortcut to each of my runtimes and one to my P6 folder. It makes installs much easier.

I just created a group in my toolbar for folder.. I have about 10 or 12 of my most used folders in there. I also added common windows folders, like "My Pictures" as well.

Attached Link: http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,81988,pg,2,00.asp

First of all, I'd avoid My Recent Documents as a place to put shortcuts. Stuff in there can get deleted, or simply disappear. This folder seems to fill up with junk, but only some of it appears on the menu.

Other likely places for shortcuts are the Start Menu, the Start Menu / Programs folder, or one of the desktop toolbars. I like these toolbars and use them for lots of stuff. First go to My Documents and create a folder to hold the shortcuts for the toolbar (I call mine Sidebar because it runs along the right side of the desktop). Then right-click on an empty area of the windows Taskbar, choose Toolbars, and then New Toolbar... Browse to the folder you created, and click OK.
The new toolbar should appear on the Taskbar. Grab the little handle on the left side of the toolbar and put it wherever you want it. (You may need to unlock the taskbar in order to move it: right-click taskbar and uncheck Lock The Taskbar.) The toolbar will dock against any side of the desktop, or float.

You set the options for the toolbar by right-clicking in a blank area. I have my sidebar set up with the following options:

View -> small icons
Show text -> unchecked
Show title -> unchecked
Toolbar manually resized to just the width of the small icons by clicking & dragging the edge.
Auto-hide -> checked

The toolbar takes up almost no room this way, and slides out of the way when not needed. Just put the mouse against the edge of the screen where it is docked, and it pops back up.

As for the shortcuts, rather than just creating a shortcut to a folder, you can do a lot more by using a shortcut to EXPLORER.EXE and specifying some switches in the shortcut. Command line switches for Explorer can be used to open it with or without folders visible, with a particular folder selected, and with a particular folder pinned as the top-level folder. I have a shortcut to my Poser runtime, which opens runtime up as a top-level folder (no My Computer, Network Neighborhood, or other clutter) and with all the sub-folders displayed in the tree on the left. The command in the shortcut's Target box looks like this:

C:WINDOWSEXPLORER.EXE /e,/root,"C:Program FilesPoser 6Runtime"

Use the link at the top of the posting to see what other command line switches are available for Windows Explorer.

Message edited on: 12/06/2005 17:02

Thank you all. This has been very helpful.

Again. I need this for the 'open' and 'save as' dialogs. As such there were two things mentioned that suit this.

Tyger_purr: Did what I did but put it in 'My Documents'. A much better place (how stupid of me not to realize that).

gezinorgiva: 'Manage Folder Now' by www.elongsoft.com ($20), with a try before by offer.
This looks even better because it will work with simple dialog boxes that don't have a 'My Documents' or 'My Recent Documents' option.

I'm going to investigate how to do the 'Manage Folder Now' thing manually (although $20 is pretty cheap). I'll report back.

The other methods mentioned although useful for many tasks do not help with the 'open' and 'save as' dialogs (unless I missed something). I have done many of the things mentioned and I picked up some more tips on this theme from all of you here.

thanks again,
tromnek

Attached Link: http://www.win-utilities.com/dba/index.html

I've used Magic Folders from PC Magic (http://www.magicfolders.com/) to do folder hiding under Windows 98/ME with great results. They have a separate version for NT/2K/XP which I have not bought. But now there is an open source alternative (http://www.truecrypt.org/) so I'll probably go with that in the future.

Message edited on: 12/06/2005 22:21

I have use a program called "Access Folders" that pops up a list of folders when you right-click the ? button in open/save dialogs. I think it's $20 too but I got a free version from some UK computer magazine site. Whether it's still available I don't know or remember the site :(