Vista Forums - View Single Post - Duplicate levels of 'Application Data' folders in Vista?

10-02-2007

Jon,

Thanks for the info - I was worried that something was wrong with my Vista
installation. It's reassuring to know that it's normal behavior.

JoanB

"Jon" wrote:

Quote:

>
> "JoanB" <JoanB@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:7D6C5CF0-7727-4D6B-9A58-DC6CD65562E6@xxxxxx

Quote:

> > This may be a stupid question, but it's driving me crazy. If you go into
> > Folder Options and uncheck the box which says "Hide protected operating
> > system files", and then go into Windows Explorer and go to the following
> > path:
> >
> > Users\'username'\AppData\Local\
> >
> > you will see the 'Application Data' folder along with all the other
> > folders
> > (e.g. Adobe, Google, Microsoft, etc.). If you click on the 'Application
> > Data' folder, it opens up and displays the exact same set of folders which
> > you saw in the 'Local' folder. If you then open up that next level
> > 'Application Data' folder, you see the same list again, and on and on for
> > as
> > long as I looked.
> >
> > Are there really nested levels of the same folders, or is this just same
> > strange apparition that I'm seeing?
> >
> > I don't see the same behavior with Windows XP. Is this something
> > different
> > in Vista, or do I have a corrupted Vista application on my new computer?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > JoanB

>
>
>
>
> It is something different in Vista. It looks like a shortcut, but in reality
> it's what's known in the trade as a 'junction'
>
> You can see this if you open up a command prompt and type the following
>
> dir /al %userprofile%\AppData\Local
>
> If you examine the output closely, then you'll see that it's a junction. In
> square brackets the target of the junction is shown, which in this case is
> its parent folder.
>
> They're essentially there for compatibilty purposes, so that if an
> application tries to write to a place that it knew and loved under XP, it
> will be redirected to a suitable place in Vista. I forget the exact mapping
> for that particular one, but there is a good reason for each.
>
> --
> Jon
>
>
>

10-02-2007	#3 (permalink)
JoanB n/a posts	Re: Duplicate levels of 'Application Data' folders in Vista? Jon, Thanks for the info - I was worried that something was wrong with my Vista installation. It's reassuring to know that it's normal behavior. JoanB "Jon" wrote: Quote: > > "JoanB" <JoanB@xxxxxx> wrote in message > news:7D6C5CF0-7727-4D6B-9A58-DC6CD65562E6@xxxxxx Quote: > > This may be a stupid question, but it's driving me crazy. If you go into > > Folder Options and uncheck the box which says "Hide protected operating > > system files", and then go into Windows Explorer and go to the following > > path: > > > > Users\'username'\AppData\Local\ > > > > you will see the 'Application Data' folder along with all the other > > folders > > (e.g. Adobe, Google, Microsoft, etc.). If you click on the 'Application > > Data' folder, it opens up and displays the exact same set of folders which > > you saw in the 'Local' folder. If you then open up that next level > > 'Application Data' folder, you see the same list again, and on and on for > > as > > long as I looked. > > > > Are there really nested levels of the same folders, or is this just same > > strange apparition that I'm seeing? > > > > I don't see the same behavior with Windows XP. Is this something > > different > > in Vista, or do I have a corrupted Vista application on my new computer? > > > > Thanks, > > JoanB > > > > > It is something different in Vista. It looks like a shortcut, but in reality > it's what's known in the trade as a 'junction' > > You can see this if you open up a command prompt and type the following > > dir /al %userprofile%\AppData\Local > > If you examine the output closely, then you'll see that it's a junction. In > square brackets the target of the junction is shown, which in this case is > its parent folder. > > They're essentially there for compatibilty purposes, so that if an > application tries to write to a place that it knew and loved under XP, it > will be redirected to a suitable place in Vista. I forget the exact mapping > for that particular one, but there is a good reason for each. > > -- > Jon > > >
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