Actually, since you guys absolutely loathe the idea of having multiple locations for your themes, you can use the very nice functionality provided by NTFS called "Junctions". Basically, it's like a UNIX symlink, only it kinda "replicates" a directory under a different location and a different name, however it appears to everything as being under the junction location and nobody knows the difference. Actually, Microsoft themselves use junctions to "replicate" old WinXP directories, like "Documents and Settings".

So, you can install WinStep, then go to %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Users\Public\Documents\Winstep\ and delete the whole "Themes" directory -- or move it to another location, if you haven't already. Then, create a junction to your preferred location, where you already have your themes, and that's it. You're done!

Example syntax:

Why spoil our moods for something so trivial?

thank you skagon i have been looking high and low for this. i could not remember what it was called. i'd seen a couple of articles a couple of years back and it looked promising for those with small drives. if i don't miss my guess this should work for program files, program files x86, users, and program data. anything install after creating the junction should install the files to the linked location instead of c. thanks again.

Hey, no problem mate! Glad to help you out.

Actually, I just moved my own themes away from \users\docs\winstep\themes, since I've got a shitload of drives, each one with its own purpose, and Winstep's themes directory was the only thing I had on the system drive -- which is something I don't like and a practice I strongly discourage. I've even moved the "documents" and "pictures" directories to a different drive, for the same reason. Thankfully, Microsoft allows drag-and-drop of these directories, updating all the links automatically, without the use of junctions.

Anyway, I'm babbling again. I just came in to post a warning:
Deleting a junction WILL DELETE THE TARGET FILES AS WELL !!!
The operating system cannot discriminate between actual directories and junctions, so it will delete the junction and all the files under it, which means all the files in the target directory will go bye-bye as well.
If you want to delete the *junction*, without harming your files, you have to use the command prompt again, and the rd (a.k.a. rmdir) command, like so:


Consider yourselves warned!
Cheers!

skagon i don't think you were babbling on either point in your last post. both pieces of info are helpful. thanks

No problem. Again.
Anyway, I guess you just proved a point: something one person may consider "general knowledge", might be invaluable information to another.
I never took the time to think about it, but I thought everybody knew about the draganddrop-ability of "Documents" and "Pictures" directories (amongst others). Also junctions. But sometimes I take a lot of things for granted.

Anyway, I just wanted to clarify something; I just realised what I wrote and maybe it will be baffling to people reading my post.


Well, what I meant was that I moved the directories containing the themes I've designed myself, to another location, and created junctions within the \Themes parent directory, because they were the only directories in the system drive that contained personal original (artwork) files.
I didn't mean that my system drive is empty or something. Nor that I've moved *everything* elsewhere. That would be stupid.

What I do strongly encourage (just in case it wasn't clear) is for people to move their own files away from the system drive/partition. First and foremost, you can format the drive/partition and reinstall Windows without ever bothering to move your files away first. Secondly, I've seen and I've suffered catastrophic meltdowns of the operating system, taking the system partition with them to digital oblivion. And in my case, with it, some of my files (including a hard-worked thesis on a 16-bit RISC processor).

Cheers!

Steve Ballmer, sweat dripping from his forehead (well, pretty much from everywhere actually) once shouted from the top of a stage onto a multitude of Microsoft people: "Developers, developers, developers!"

I shout "Backups, backups, backups!"

Oh, I heartily concur, mate. I really do. Problem was, the system crash that corrupted the partition happened *as* I was working on said thesis.
At the time, I must have had already been working for at least 10 hours straight and during that time written around 30-40 pages. I remember at the time I had Word running, Altera's Max+Plus, Paintshop Pro and another programme that produced timing signal charts. Possibly also some version of Spice. I guess Windows didn't like the combination.
After that, I even booted DOS and did a hex dump of the defunct partition, trying to at least find *some* files through inspecting the raw data from a hex editor. Yes, I was *that* desperate. But... the drive's fragmentation combined with Word's stupid file format... you can imagine...