How to Customize the File Open/Save Dialog Box in Windows

Generally, there are two kinds of Open/Save dialog boxes in Windows. One kind looks like Windows Explorer, with the tree on the left containing Favorites, Libraries, Computer, etc. The other kind contains a vertical toolbar, called the Places Bar.

The Windows Explorer-style Open/Save dialog box can be customized by adding your own folders to the Favorites list. You can, then, click the arrows to the left of the main items, except the Favorites, to collapse them, leaving only the list of default and custom Favorites.

The Places Bar is located along the left side of the File Open/Save dialog box and contains buttons providing access to frequently-used folders. The default buttons on the Places Bar are links to Recent Places, Desktop, Libraries, Computer, and Network. However, you change these links to be links to custom folders of your choice.

We will show you how to customize the Places Bar using the registry and using a free tool in case you are not comfortable making changes in the registry.

Using the Registry

To open the Registry Editor, open the Start menu and enter “regedit.exe” in the Search box. Click the regedit.exe link in the results or press Enter.

If the User Account Control dialog box displays, click Yes to continue.

NOTE: You may not see this dialog box, depending on your User Account Control settings.

Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ comdlg32 \ Placesbar

The comdlg32 and Placesbar keys may not exist. If not, you need to create them. For example, to create the comdlg32 key, right-click the Policies key and select New | Key.

A new key is created and the text is highlighted. Rename the new key “comdlg32.”

Add Placesbar as a new key under the comdlg32 key.

Select the Placesbar key and right-click in the right pane. Select New | String Value from the popup menu.

Rename the new value Place0. You can create up to 5 entries: Place0, Place1, Place2, Place3, Place4. You don’t have to define all five places, but they must be defined in numerical order.

To define the target folder for a PlaceX value, double-click on the value name.

In the Value data edit box on the Edit String dialog box, enter the full path for the location you want to add to the Places Bar and click OK.

You can also define a target folder using a numerical value for system folders. There is a table below listing the numerical values for the different system folders. To define a target folder using a numerical value, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value the same way you created the String Value.

Double-click on the new DWORD value.

Enter a numerical value in the Value data edit box. Use the values from the table below the image.

The following “DWORD” values can be used to add standard folders to the Places Bar.

00 - Desktop 01 - Internet Explorer 02 - Start Menu\Programs 03 - My Computer\Control Panel 04 - My Computer\Printers 05 - My Documents 06 - Favorites 07 - Start Menu\Programs\Startup 08 - \Recent 09 - \SendTo 0a - \Recycle Bin 0b - \Start Menu 0c - - logical “My Documents” desktop icon 0d - My Music 0e - My Videos 10 - \Desktop 11 - My Computer 12 - My Network Places 13 - \NetHood 14 - WINDOWS\Fonts 15 - Templates 16 - All Users\Start Menu 17 - All Users\Programs 18 - All Users\Start Menu 19 - All Users\Desktop 1a - \Application Data 1b - \PrintHood 1c - \Local Settings\Application Data

1d - - Nonlocalized startup 1e - - Nonlocalized common startup 1f - Favorites 20 - Temporary Internet Files 21 - Cookies 22 - History 23 - All Users\Application Data 24 - WINDOWS directory 25 - System32 directory 26 - Program files 27 - My Pictures 28 - USERPROFILE 29 - - x86 system directory on RISC 2a - - x86 C:\Program Files on RISC 2b - C:\Program Files\Common 2c - - x86 Program Files\Common on RISC 2d - All Users\Templates 2e - All Users\Documents 2f - All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools 30 - - \Start Menu\Programs\Administrative Tools 31 - Network and Dial-up Connections 35 - All Users\My Music 36 - All Users\My Pictures 37 - All Users\My Video 38 - Resource Directory 39 - Localized Resource Directory 3a - Links to All Users OEM specific apps 3b - USERPROFILE\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\CD Burning

Select Exit from the File menu to close the Registry Editor.

The Places Bar on the Save dialog box displays the custom folders and chosen system folders.

Using PlacesBar Editor

For those of you who don’t feel comfortable making changes to the registry or who just want an easier way to customize the Places Bar, there is a free tool available called PlacesBar Editor. Download the tool using the link at the end of this article and follow the instructions to install it. If the User Account Control dialog box displays during installation, click Yes to continue.

NOTE: You may not see the User Account Control dialog box, depending on your User Account Control settings.

Use the shortcut created on the desktop to run PlacesBar Editor. You may see the User Account Control dialog box again.

The first time you run PlacesBar Editor, the following dialog box displays, encouraging you to donate. Your default web browser also opens to a PayPal page, suggesting a donation.

The main interface displays showing a toolbar and two tabs. The Windows tab allows you to make changes to File Open and File Save dialog boxes containing the Places Bar. To define a custom target folder for one of the places, select the Custom check box for that place. Click the folder button to the right of the User Folders edit box to select a folder, or type in the full path to a folder. To select a system folder for a place, select a folder from the drop-down list under System Folders for that place.

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, some programs use the Windows Explorer-like File Open and File Save dialog box. Microsoft Office programs (and some other Microsoft programs, like Notepad and Paint) use this style of dialog box.

You can use PlacesBar Editor to customize the Microsoft Office dialog boxes as well. Click the Office tab. For each custom folder you want to add, enter a name for the folder in the edit box under Folder Name. Use the folder button to select the desired folder or enter the full path to the desired folder in the edit box under User Folders. You can add up to five additional custom folders. These folders are added to the Favorites, and also display as Favorites in Windows Explorer.

To apply changes for each tab, you must click Save when that tab is active. To apply changes for Office programs, make sure the Office tab is active and click Save. To save changes you made on the Windows tab, you must click the Windows tab and click Save again.

A dialog box displays telling you that the changes were made successfully.

Once you apply, or save, your changes, on a tab, you can test those changes by clicking the Test button.

The appropriate dialog box for the currently selected tab displays. If the Office tab is active, an Office program like Word or Excel opens and the Open dialog box displays. Click Cancel on the Open dialog box to close the dialog box and the program.

You can revert back to the default settings for both types of File Open and File Save dialog boxes by clicking the Defaults button. You must click the Defaults button for each tab separately.

A Confirm dialog box displays. Click Yes if you’re sure you want to revert to the defaults.

To close PlacesBar Editor, click Exit.

Customizing the File Open and File Save dialog boxes with custom folders can improve your productivity, especially if the folders you use most often are several layers deep in your folder structure.

Download PlacesBar Editor from http://melloware.com/download/.