Libraries are missing the New Folder option

Question

Using Windows 7

A client has noted that without warning his ability to use the "New Folder" option on the file menu in Windows Explorer has disappeared.

Searching has led me to Linda Yan's "folderfix" solution but that didn't work in this situation.  Digging a little deeper revealed that the option is only missing when you try to use it in a Library folder.

Example:  Navigating into Users/<profilename>/My Documents through Windows Explorer ~or~ through the user folder on the Desktop allows me to create a new folder using the File menu, or the right click context menu.

Example: Navigating to the Documents Library through Windows Explorer and the New Folder option does not exist in the File Menu or in the right click context menu.

Has anyone encountere4d this before?  Is there a solution?

I have virus and malware scanned, I have run SFC and everything comes up clean.

Any help is appreciated.

Dale

Answer 1

I can confirm this to be an isolated bug in Windows 7. I am having the exact same problem on one of my systems as well. Perhaps it may be related to OneDrive in some mysterious way. In any case my work around is:

After you open My Documents from the Start Menu -> It opens the Document Library -> Then under the document library there is the parent folder in question. The physical location of this folder is C:\users\owner\documents\problematicfolder

If you rename the problem folder to a different name, you are able to restore the New Folder Context Menu or File Menu->New-> Folder.

Otherwise, once the My Documents window is open if you look to the left window pane where it shows the selected Library if  instead you select the Document folder instead of having the Library selected the problem will subside.

It appears only to fail to allow you to create a new folder when: Libraries is selected in the left window pane and under a specific folder name that prevents you from creating a new sub folder within the parent problematic folder.

However, if that parent problematic folder is renamed to something else, it will allow you create a new sub folder in that renamed folder. It must be a bad index in the libraries enumeration and I have no idea how to reset that reference.

Disabling and Enabling the libraries after a system reboot doesn't help. Disabling libraries all together and rebooting fixes the problem. However, then the Documents shortcut will no longer appear in the start menu and manual shortcuts will need to be placed on the desktop for direct access to the document folder.

I wish Microsoft would never have introduced such a complicated and unnecessary library solution. Windows was great before Libraries I don't know of anyone who uses the feature as it was intended.

Answer 2

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for your reply.  I have just tried the solution on Seven Forums and while the remove reg file worked admirably, the restore reg file restored everything but the folders causing the problems.

Regarding your second comment, yes the New Folder option should be there as confirmed on my own and several other machines.

Actually, the restore reg file did work, but it did not survive a reboot.  It's like the registry changes are only temporarily added, or that some other process is reverting the registry changes for some reason.

I have used the Winternals program Process Monitor, but even with ONLY the registry filter invoked, it still dumps a ton of information which has not been helpful.

If you have any other ideas, I'd be happy to hear them.

I intend on doing some comparisons between reg files that promise to resolve the issue and what exists in a working system, to see if I can't ferret out another approach.  In the meantime, I've asked the user to stop using the Libraries function; he is using the default setup with no other folders so he really isn't using the feature to any advantage.

Cheers for now!

Dale

Answer 3

Bruce, in concept, such a capability should NOT exist.  Libraries are a virtual thing and not a real actual storage location.  If you could and do set up a new folder in a library, just where would it exist???

Libraries are a "collection" of folders that Windows 7 finds in real locations.

The concept of "library" has been confusing to the nth degree for so many people.

Answer 4

On second thought, I don't have a Win7 machine to test, but I don't believe the new folder option is supposed to be there when in Libraries.

Create the folder in C>Users>Your User Name first then right click on that and Include In Library.

Answer 5

Scroll down to #5 here.

How to Remove and Restore the Default "New" Context Menu Items in Windows 7 and Windows 8

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/28677-new-context-menu-remove-restore-default-menu-items.html