When displaying Explorer folder windows in Windows 7, the Navigation Pane displays, among other elements, links to the following Libraries - Documents, Music, Pictures, and Video.

Since this Navigation Pane also displays links to Favorites, Network locations, and other folders, you might wish to collapse this list of Libraries to allow more space for other items without needing to scroll vertically. Or, you can hide individual libraries from the Navigation Pane so they are not displayed even if you un-collapse the listing.


Collapse this list:

To collapse the list of Libraries, hover your mouse over the "Libraries" link and click the small arrow to the left. Or right-click and choose "Collapse".


Remove individual entries:

Or, remove the links from the navigation pane. Right-click a library and select "Don't show in navigation pane". Repeat as desired for Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and/or any user-created Libraries.


Restoring Libraries:

If later you would like to display a particular library or all libraries in the Explorer Navigation Pane, first right-click the "Libraries" link and choose "Restore default libraries".


Explorer will now show the "Libraries" window. Now right-click each library you want to restore and select "Show in navigation pane".

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