Files missing from file dialog

Question

I am completely baffled by a problem I'm experiencing with one folder on my PC.

Let's say I launch the common file dialog (e.g. "Save As"/"Attach File"/etc) and navigate to this folder using the "Libraries" tree on the left hand pane, i.e.:

If I do this, I can find the files in this directory (note the presence of the file "Chris test 4"):

But if I instead click on the "Documents" library and then navigate to the exact same folder using the main pane on the right, the folder in question is missing various files and subfolders. Example here; note that "Chris test 4" is not in the folder, and that the sort order is also different:

I've also noticed the following problem: if I click on "Documents" on the left and then click "Clients" in the main pane, I get a listing not of the subfolders of "Clients", but instead what looks like a listing of the hundreds of files in the entire "Clients" folder tree.

The problem only happens with this specific subfolder (other folders in this tree are OK), and it only happens when I'm in the common file dialog, not Windows Explorer.

I'm on Win 7; the folder in question is getting synced using Live Mesh, but I haven't configured anything specially in a way that would lead me to think the problem has to do with Live Mesh. Also, I can still repro the problem when I turn off Live Mesh.

I have been looking at this for hours and cannot figure out what is going on. I tried all kinds of sanity checks and keep results that don't quite make sense.

Can anyone make sense of this?

Answer 1

I've also noticed the following problem: if I click on "Documents" on the left and then click "Clients" in the main pane, I get a listing not of the subfolders of "Clients", but instead what looks like a listing of the hundreds of files in the entire "Clients" folder tree."Clients" folder tree.

I was able to replicate this issue. It looks like you have the Clients folder set to arrange by Date modified. This will group the contents of the subdirectories by date modified. This is why you have the Today (3) group in you screenshot. Instead, you need to set the folder to arrange by Folder:

Answer 2

I don't like the fact that the files that do show up in the 2nd screenshot have the title of "Today". Is it possible that other files are not showing because they are not from "Today"? You might follow the article Free arrange of files in Windows 7 to modify the sorting options of the folder so to avoid this funny display. I wonder why it's there at all.

Otherwise, this seems to be a problem that had many users of Windows 7 scrambling after a solution.
I have found the following suggestions:

1. Check if this happens when logging under another account, and if it doesn't, then see how to Fix a corrupted user profile.
2. Create another new library that includes the problematic folder
3. Move the problem files out of the library, then back again
4. Use a third-party product instead of Explorer

Answer 3

I have not seen anything really like this posted anywhere. Libraries are an abstract so they use XML meta-data to represent the file whose actual location could in any folder that is included in the library. I think it may be possible that Live Mesh accessing the file prevented it from getting added to the library. You might try turning off Live Mesh, make some small modification the file and see if it then gets added. I don't use libraries simply because they are an abstraction - in fact as much as i like Windows 7 I hate Libraries and the new Explorer and now use xPlorer2. The other suggestion here - trying to change the view by may also yield some results.

Answer 4

I have personally not seen this before and cannot recreate the issue.

I would first start as Harrymc said and get rid of the sort by as this may be confusing things - however I have seen that all files are from the same day.

Next, I would delete the documents library and then recreate it by right clicking on the Libraries object on the left hand bar and choosing the Restore Default Libraries option.

Lastly, in case of some sort of file corruption, you may want to quickly run a chkdsk on your hard drive to rule out problems.