Windows 7 History

[sicknero]

This isn't something that especially concerns me personally, but it came up in discussion elsewhere so I thought I'd post and see what you all have to say about it.

People seem to be having problems accessing/viewing their W7 history - the folder in Users\...\AppData that sorts recent items into subfolders by date and so on. I discovered today that I do too - I can't open the folder by any way that I know of, I can only view the contents via the subfolder dropdown in QTTabBar. One person I spoke to can't even see the folder at all.

So I was wondering if anyone's come across this and has a solution? Or better still, knows of a decent third-party app which would run continuously and maintain such a history - files accessed/renamed/deleted and so on. I've had a look at Nirsoft and System Explorer etc, but nothing seems to quite fit the bill.

[cmpm]

Listary is what I count on now for file history stuff.
I use the free version.

http://www.listary.com/

[Stoic Joker]

The IE history isn't so much a group of folders as it is a database of where the current user has browsed. This is easier to see if you have show hidden system files turned on and browse to a different user's profile.

I've always had good luck with the Nirsoft utility in that regard.

[sicknero]

Thanks for your replies : )

It isn't just internet history we were diiscussing though but the one that includes Windows Explorer, the directory which exists at (in W7) C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\History\ and also shows files opened as well as browsing history.

Turns out that the person in question had ticked "Show hidden..." but neglected to untick "Hide protected...", so that's sorted now. My own problem with actually opening the directory turned out to be one of those locked junction directory instances that occur in W7, so that's sorted now as well.

I've still got in mind some kind of third-party app which will display history along with a few extra details and, be immune to history cleaners such as ccleaner. Listary is very good yes, I've used it before but isn't really what I'm thinking of. Nirsoft is also excellent, I'm still looking through the suite to see if there's anything in there.

But the initial problem is sorted, thanks again.

[dr_andus]

I've still got in mind some kind of third-party app which will display history along with a few extra details and, be immune to history cleaners such as ccleaner.

-sicknero (June 26, 2013, 02:43 PM)

RecentX might do the trick

[dr_andus]

And Direct Folders is pretty handy for jumping to the last used folder (especially when dialog box is already open)

[sicknero]

Thanks for the suggestions dr_andus.

Direct Folders I've used before but have moved onto other apps now that achieve the same end, RecentX I had a look at and it seems to be the same kind of thing.

There's a difference here which perhaps I've not explained very well - on the one hand there are various programs that add themselves to Windows to provide quick access to recently/commonly used folders and files, such as Direct Folders, Listary, and Folder Menu 3 (my own favourite, along with QTTB).

In this thread however I'm talking about something that will allow the user to examine Windows history in detail, what was accessed/changed yesterday, last week, last month.

Something like, I guess, the Windows Event Viewer but simpler and more focused on basic file operations etc. Of course it's quite likely that I've just not learnt how to make Event Viewer do what I want...

Thanks for your input nevertheless I always like to hear of alternatives to programs I'm already using.

[dr_andus]

In this thread however I'm talking about something that will allow the user to examine Windows history in detail, what was accessed/changed yesterday, last week, last month.

Something like, I guess, the Windows Event Viewer but simpler and more focused on basic file operations etc. Of course it's quite likely that I've just not learnt how to make Event Viewer do what I want...

-sicknero (June 27, 2013, 06:01 AM)

Oh, I see. I was about to suggest Nemo, but that only focuses on the history of certain file types, not all file operations, as far as I know.

[sicknero]

Actually Nemo looks as if it might be really useful in a different way... bookmarked for later try-out, thanks for the link 

[Curt]

I was about to suggest Nemo,...

-dr_andus (June 27, 2013, 06:10 AM)

WHY does it install into /AppData ? Is "AppData" the new "Program Files"??
I hate it when they change my world without telling me!

[sicknero]

I was about to suggest Nemo,...

-dr_andus (June 27, 2013, 06:10 AM)

WHY does it install into /AppData ? Is "AppData" the new "Program Files"??
I hate it when they change my world without telling me!

-Curt (June 27, 2013, 08:12 AM)

Arrrgh does it really? Dropbox does that too so I don't install it anymore and just use the site. Some other prog too though I forget what right now.

I read on one forum that Dropbox does it as a way around UAC, but this doesn't make much sense to me as surely UAC watches AppData as well? I don't know though.

Shame that Nemo relies on Windows Search too, as I always have it disabled, but I'll still give it a whirl and see if it looks worthwhile.

[ewemoa]

I was about to suggest Nemo,...

-dr_andus (June 27, 2013, 06:10 AM)

WHY does it install into /AppData ? Is "AppData" the new "Program Files"??

-Curt (June 27, 2013, 08:12 AM)

Along those lines, here's a related StackOverflow post:

  What are the advantages of installing programs in AppData like Google Chrome?