Permanently Getting Rid of 'My Pictures' and 'My Music'

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 20, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Newer versions of Windows, in trying to be helpful, add some "standard" folders to your hard drive, supposedly as a repository for some of your files. The two principal folders are "My Pictures" and "My Music." These are supposed to be, respectively, for your digital images and your digital music.

Some people want to get rid of these folders, however. There are instructions floating around the Internet that describe how to get rid of them, including making some edits in the Registry. However, removing the folders will do you no good if the programs you are using (like Word) expect to find and use them.

When you first install Word, it uses your "My Pictures" folder as a starting point for your graphics files. When you choose Picture from the Insert menu, and then choose From File, this folder is where Word first looks for graphics. If you previously deleted the folder, Word assumes you made a mistake and helpfully creates the folder for you.

The way around this problem is to simply tell Word to look somewhere else. Follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the File Locations tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The File Locations tab of the Options dialog box.

  4. Select the Clipart Pictures option.
  5. Click on Modify. Word displays the Modify location dialog box.
  6. Use the controls in the dialog box to select a different folder to use as a starting point.
  7. Click on OK, then click on Close.

The Clipart Pictures folder setting (step 3) is used as the default location when you choose to insert a picture from a file. It is not used (contrary to its name) when you insert clip art.

Interestingly enough, if you leave the setting for Clipart Pictures blank, Word reverts back to the "My Pictures" default and still attempts to begin looking at that location. In other words, you must provide a different, specific folder location in order for Word to ignore the "My Pictures" folder.

In regards to the "My Music" folder, it is doubtful that Word would recreate this folder, because there is no portion of Word that uses that folder by default. There are other programs, however, that may use it. For instance, Internet Explorer may use it as your default download folder for music files. If the folder has been deleted, Internet Explorer may recreate it. The folder is also used by Windows Media Player.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1829) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Fonts in Multiple Workbooks

If you need to change fonts used in a lot of different workbooks, the task can be daunting, if you need to do it ...

Discover More

Controlling Display of Toolbar Buttons

You can assign your macros to a series of custom toolbar buttons, but you may only want those buttons to be visible when ...

Discover More

Conditionally Formatting Cells Containing Dates

Need to know if a particular cell contains a date value? Excel doesn't have a worksheet function to determine this ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing Above-the-Line Fonts

Word maintains a list of the fonts most recently used in the program. You can't modify the list, but you can turn it on ...

Discover More

Measurement of Choice Isn't Persistent

Normally, Word allows you to specify what measurement units you want used for the program; just choose Tools | Options | ...

Discover More

Automatically Opening a Document at a Specific Zoom Setting

Do you prefer to have your documents open at a specific zoom magnification? You can get whatever magnification you desire ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 - 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.