Windows – UnionFS Alike Solution to Virtually Merge Folders

filesystemslinuxnetworkingunionfswindows

Scenario:
You have 10 hard-drives (A…J) across three computers (Alpha Beta Gamma) all running … say windows 7.
Lets say that these drives each have a folder for /Music /Movies etc across them all.

On Linux with UnionFS I was able to map a local share on say my computer Delta say… /Music which would be Read-Only and would contain all 10 drives' /Music directories.

Is there a similar software package (preferably with a Gui) which could give me this same flexibility. So that on Delta I could go to Z:/music and see the culmination?

This does not seem like an unlikely scenario and I'd hate to dedicate a Linux box to merging all those drives and then sharing that folder so that my windows laptop (Delta) can have something nice and clean to access.

Best Answer

Windows 7 has introduced the concept of Library, which is functionally somewhat the same as UnionFS. From How to Use Windows 7's New Library Feature:

You could say Libraries are virtual folders. You add folders to Libraries, where you can view and access the contents of each added folder from the single Library window. A Library itself can’t contain any files as they aren’t real folders, but they offer one-stop access to a collection of folders.

Here are several ways you can make use of Libraries:

  • Add folders that are scattered throughout your hard drive(s) to Libraries.
  • Create custom Libraries. For example, when I start a new writing assignment, I can create a new Library. I could add related folders such as the one that contains the publication’s guidelines, folders on previous work that I think I’ll want to reference, and folders containing any downloaded research.
  • Add network locations (shared folders from other computers) to Libraries.

For some more detailed info, see:

Windows 7 Libraries .NET Sample Library – an Overview
Understanding Windows 7 Libraries

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