Thursday, October 3, 2002
App developers - Get together on using 'My Documents'
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "THOUGHT" @ 10:00 AM
I am seeing a trend in apps that has an upside and a downside. The trend is some developers are storing application settings in \My documents\. This is great news for me for one simple reason. I can simply do a hard reset or get a new device and when I copy the docs back over from the desktop, those apps are configured exactly as I like them. I don't have to go looking for my icon files or customized templates. In the case of Pocket Informant, I no longer have to spend 30 minutes setting everything just so. Install PI, sync, and everything is exactly the way I like it.
The downside is they seem to be putting these settings in custom non-configurable folders.
So now I have TEN app specific folders that I am reminded of and must sort through when I am opening and browsing files! The other 4 are for me. 
Perhaps MS should step in with some standard folder that all apps use or add a configurations folder that ActiveSync keeps on the PC but normally hidden from the user. At the very least, allow the user to configure the folder name and allow more than one subfolder in your structure. I would love to have only one folder visible called zSettings that was always at the bottom of the list and then all of these folders from various apps would be below that. What do you think? I definitely want the trend of moving these settings and files to My Documents to continue, but not exactly the way it is being done today. How many folders do you have that one or more of your apps placed there?
The downside is they seem to be putting these settings in custom non-configurable folders.
So now I have TEN app specific folders that I am reminded of and must sort through when I am opening and browsing files! The other 4 are for me. Perhaps MS should step in with some standard folder that all apps use or add a configurations folder that ActiveSync keeps on the PC but normally hidden from the user. At the very least, allow the user to configure the folder name and allow more than one subfolder in your structure. I would love to have only one folder visible called zSettings that was always at the bottom of the list and then all of these folders from various apps would be below that. What do you think? I definitely want the trend of moving these settings and files to My Documents to continue, but not exactly the way it is being done today. How many folders do you have that one or more of your apps placed there?
