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Put 'My Documents' in Its Place

When you install Windows 98, it creates a folder called My Documents and creates a desktop icon of the same name for quick access to that folder. (You may already have such a folder if you've installed certain other Microsoft products, such as Office 95.) By default, all Microsoft applications (including Paint and WordPad accessories as well as Microsoft Office apps) turn to that folder the first time you choose File, Open or File, Save As. In addition, choosing Start, Documents, My Documents opens a window for the My Documents folder. Keeping your work files separate from your application files is all well and good, but why should you keep them where Microsoft dictates?

Fortunately, there's a quick and easy way to tell Windows where you want to store your work files. Right-click the My Documents icon on the desktop, and choose Properties. In the "Target folder location" box, type the path to the drive and folder of your choice. Or simply click Browse, select the folder of your choice from the drive-and-folder tree diagram, and click OK. Next, click OK to close the My Documents Properties dialog box. From now on, your Microsoft applications will default to the location you specified, and you'll see that folder when you choose Start, Documents, My Documents. If you previously stored some files in the My Documents folder, you can move them and delete the original My Documents folder. As a final touch, you can right-click the My Documents icon on the desktop, choose Rename, type the new name of your choice, and press Enter.