The window that appears when, for example, you download a file on the internet or you want to save an image or you want to upload a file or send it as an attachment to e-mail, is not configurable and presents, on the left side, the most common folders that are not necessarily the ones most used by the user. So changing the default folder in the window that appears when you save or open a file is really a simple thing as an idea that, however, is not possible if not with the help of some tricks.
To understand what I'm talking about just try to right click on an image, ask to save it on your computer and observe the dialog box that appears.
The five options on the left bar are always and for everyone: Recent documents, Desktop, Documents, My Computer and Network Neighborhood.
These are the places that are supposed to be the most used to save files and, by clicking on them, you immediately open that folder without having to do the "Browse" by hand.
The problem then is that I want to change them because I don't use network resources, because computer resources represent too high a point in the directory and because recent documents never have what it takes.
READ ALSO: Move special Windows user folders
To make this useful change you can use different methods, with or without support programs depending on the fact that one feels more or less geek.
We indicate more ways, since we can, so as to satisfy both those who do not want to install new programs and those who do not want to touch the system files.
1) The easiest way to, In Windows 7 and Windows 10, to change the default folders that appear in the sidebar of the Open or Save window just add other folders to the Favorites list.
As explained in the Windows 7 favorite collections and folders guide, to add a folder to your favorites, right-click on the favorites icon (in Windows 10 it is Quick Access ) in the right column and select the last item: " Add current route to favorites . "
You can then click the other elements to compress them leaving only the preferred routes for quick access.
2) To modify the default folders of the "Save / Open" dialog, you can then use the registry keys, without downloading any additional programs.
To open the registry go to Start -> Run and write the word " regedit ".
Always assuming that touching these keys in a bad way can cause malfunctions to the computer and always advising to make a backup before operating (from menu File -> Export), you navigate to the folder
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ .
Here, a new key must be created by right-clicking on the empty space.
The new key must be called comdlg32 and, under it, another one called Placesbar is created.
in the end the final path is:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ comdlg32 \ Placesbar
Inside, 5 new String values are created called Place0, Place1 ... Place4 on which to specify the paths of the folders you want to see in the left column of the save windows.
The limitations of this change in the desktop interface are the inability to create more than 5 values and the fact that this change does not apply to Microsoft Office and its window for saving or opening a new file.
If you want to go back to the old look, you can simply delete the Placesbar key.
If touching the keys is a nuisance and you don't trust them then you can use the easier Group Policy Editor
GPE can be used as a user interface to make some changes to the default Windows settings.
GPE is a hidden administration tool that can be activated by going to Start -> Run and writing the word " gpedit.msc ".
In the window that appears you need to expand the directories with the arrow that goes down and follow the path:
User Configuration - Administrative Templates - Windows Components - Windows Explorer - Common File Open Dialog .
On the right side, you can now click on the item: " Items displayed on the position bar " and, from the menu that appears, you immediately understand that you have to activate it and specify the 5 paths of the folders you want to see when you want to save or open a file.
Note: the Group Policy Editor or GPE is not present in Windows 7 and Windows 10 Home Edition.
For those who want easier things with tools that guide you through the configuration procedure, I recommend using a program that makes it easy to customize the folders of the Windows dialog box, without having to touch registry keys or administrative templates.
Placesbar Editor is free and open source and only serves to choose the folders to be displayed in the open and save it modification object of this article.
The good thing is the possibility of being able to also customize the dialog box that appears on Office in a different way than the rest of the programs and the system.
The main interface is very clear and intuitive, consisting of two tabs.
The Windows tab allows you to make changes to the path bar of the Open File and Save windows .
You can choose one of the drop-down menu paths or you can select the Custom box and choose a different folder by pressing on the small folder-shaped icon.
Up to five additional custom folders can be added.
This program adds the selected paths to the favorites bar which, therefore, are also shown on the bar of any other folder.
If you want to go back from the changes there is a button that puts everything back as it was before.
The only annoyance of this program is that the request for a donation to be canceled always appears.
