Many novice users often have a lot of problems when they are asked to find the root directory and, for example, copy there or delete some files from there, when performing some actions in the "Explorer" or in any other file manager. But what is the root folder, many do not even imagine, not to mention the fact that they do not know where to look for such a directory. Let’s try to understand this issue, explaining the meaning of this term and all that is connected with it, in the simplest possible language. There is nothing difficult in understanding this term, however, when considering it, it is necessary to take into account several nuances and typical mistakes made by uninformed users.
What is the root folder in a general sense?
It’s worth starting with the fact that when you call the most common “Explorer”, the location of the main and subdirectories in it is presented exclusively in the form of a tree structure. And what is the main thing in a tree? Of course, the root is the place where all other branches grow. By and large, the hard drive or logical partition could be called the root directory, but it will be somewhat wrong.
But, for example, the same Windows folder on drive "C" can be attributed to the root directory of the system, which stores all the files necessary for its functioning. If you look at the installed programs, it is not so simple with them.
What can distinguish paths to root directories?
To fully understand what the root folder is, let's look at any of the programs available on the computer. Most often, during the installation process, the installer himself offers a place where the main files of the installed application will be placed. Usually these are Program File directories for 64-bit programs and Program Files (x86) in the case of 32-bit applications.
For example, you installed the WinRAR archiver, for which a subfolder with the name of the program was created in the main directory of program files.
It contains the main application startup file in EXE format and some related components. Thus, this is the directory for the program itself is the root (and not the program directory with all the subfolders with installed applications).
How to find the root folder with the simplest method?
What is the root folder, a little figured out. Now let's see how to get to it. In principle, in the same "Explorer" the entire presented tree structure adheres to a strict hierarchy, in which the main catalogs are at the highest levels.
If you are currently logged into any of the subfolders with the program or system objects, you can simply press the button to go up one level, which is located directly on the top panel of the file manager, until you find yourself either in the main directory or in the directory, in which he is invested.
Search for files and folders by program shortcuts
In the case of installed applications, when a shortcut is created during the installation of programs on the “Desktop”, the search is simplified even more. Where the root folder of the program is located, you can find out through the properties section of the shortcut itself, called up in the RMB menu. Pay attention to the "Object" field!
The directory preceding the name of the executable file for launching the application (for example, the EXE format) is the root for an individual program. For complete confidence, you can click the file location button, which is located in the same window a little lower, after which the root directory will be automatically opened in the "Explorer" (which, in fact, is no different from the one you already defined in the object field).
Site root directories
When building sites, the exact same tree-like hierarchical structure is usually used as in the case with the standard "Explorer". In other words, the pages or objects that you can navigate to are subdirectories, and the main page acts as the root directory itself.
So, if you first went to the main page of the resource, and then started navigating the rest of the links, using the "Back" button will be equivalent to going up one level. If you create web pages yourself and view their contents, the transition through the levels is carried out in the same way as in the file managers (up to the level and as long as possible). When the transition becomes impossible, and the transition button ceases to be active, consider that you have reached the root directory.
If you cite the example of entering the root directories of FTP resources when you use some public (open) management system like UCOZ to view the contents of the account itself, when you open the file manager, you will automatically get to the root of the site. At the same time, it’s especially worth considering the fact that the settings of any of the well-known sites simply will not allow you to rise above the root object, so the very last and available folders in this case will be the root.