Windows explorer moves the selected folder to bottom of folders list. How do I stop this?

Anonymous

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Open a windows explorer

show folders on left

Double Click Computer

Double Click C disk

Scroll to windows Double Click

Double Click diagnostics (example)

The folder is now moved to the bottom of the folder list.

This also happens when any folder is clicked once and the the open gadget is clicked once.

This is increadably annoying. How do I stop it?

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous

Hi j1234567890j - and everyone else that repsonded to this post.

I also expierence this problem and like with everyone that replied on this post an many others that this is driving me insane. To make matters worse, this problem presents itself also on the Open or Save file dialogs in any application that relies on the Windows File Dialog.

In my case I also found that the behaviour is inconsistent. Sometimes the problem presents itself and sometimes it does not. - This is why it is difficult to zero in on the behavior and some folks cannot replicate the problem. So, I believe other replies on various posts where this problem cannot be replicated. As a developer I understand this, since we often have the response: "...but it works in my computer..." - And yes it does, because typically a dev/support machine is set up for ideal circumstances. I am digressing...

Trying to understand the Problem

I have noticed a pattern, however. I have found that if I collapse the folder in question and expand (double click) again, that the navigator moves again, this time exposing all sub-folders that are direct descendants of the folder in question. I have also noticed that if the sub-folders are too many to display in the navigation panel, that the selected folder is scrolled to the top of the panel, exposing as many folders that can be viewed.

I think the intention of the navigation behavior is that when the user expands the folder, it will show as many as possible sub-folders in view - but I also think that this is where there is a bug - or at least where some other setting has an impact on the behavior. - For some reason, when a folder is expanded the navigation pane only finds the first sub-folder and exposes that one - hence the anoying movement of the selected folder away from the current mouse pointer position.

Finding an answer

And yes - even though I think I understand the problem - I agree with everyone elses user experience - This must be fixed!

I am not sure that a moderator will pick this up as this post is marked as awnsered - even though in my opnion it is not.

But if someone does: I think providing an option on the General tab of the Folder Options dialog for a user to turn off this behavior and just expand the folder without attempting to present all viewable folders in the navigation pane.

Regards

Andre Coetzee

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123 additional answers

Anonymous

2011-01-19T08:27:25+00:00

I totally agree. Microsoft has cut a lot of useful features which make Windows 7 much less useful to power users. Maintaining the folder "position" the same after expanding is like a given for navigation. Same with "Up one folder" button which is replaced by a much slower to use location bar buttons. Why they do such "cutting features" stuff with Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7 just beats me. Every time someone asked me if they should upgrade to Vista I recommended to stay on XP just for these reasons.
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Anonymous

2011-01-24T17:45:47+00:00

ALL of the suggestions to fixing this issue are WORKAROUNDS.

And in some sense some do answer my question of "How do I stop it."

But none of the "solutions" stop the behavior completely.

This is a BUG. The programmers did not set the correct parameters when redrawing the panel's display.

There is no real anwser here, until the MS managers deign to actually fix it.

This is a BUG. Not possible to excuse it as "by design."

Please do not mark any post in this thread as an answer.

J

Thank you TrekDozer for your persistance in analyzing and documenting this stupidity.
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Anonymous

2011-01-24T17:57:33+00:00

I work as a windows support person for a dozen small businesses and a bunch of individuals. These computers are using w98, wXP, wV, and w7. Although I may want to modify my home and office computers to be more useful, I cannot do so because I must be aware, and constantly reminded, of the issues my clients experience. The proposed workarounds to this type of annoyance are not appropriate for me to apply to my clients' computers en masse. Too many changes to the standard interface, that will need to be applied to all new computers. And, because these same people need to be able to expect their home computers and business computers are similarly configured. So, there is not an answer found in other than a programming change that will essentially be the default behavior for all the people all of the time. J
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Anonymous

2011-01-25T01:54:43+00:00
ALL of the suggestions to fixing this issue are WORKAROUNDS.

There is no real anwser here, until the MS managers deign to actually fix it.

This is a BUG. Not possible to excuse it as "by design."

It's now been two years since the Windows 7 beta was released with this bug, and what should be an easy fix has not been taken care of yet. But until Microsoft actually fixes it the only option is a work around - and Classic Shell comes pretty close. I also agree with the "by design" excuse, because there is no possible benefit from the behavior.

Thank you TrekDozer for your persistance in analyzing and documenting this stupidity.

Thanks, many have found the information useful so I'm glad it's helping people.

Left Pane Scroll Bug****

VOTE TO HAVE THIS BUG FIXED:

Tell MS you want it fixed by voting at the Microsoft Connect website:

**http://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsServerFeedback/feedback/details/621426/bug-when-expanding-folders-in-explorer-server-2008-r2-and-windows-7**

Watch the left pane scroll bug: Video evidence of the left pane scroll bug using Windows Explorer in Windows 7

This shows one way to reproduce it, clicking the triangle to expand a folder you're currently viewing also reproduces it.

YOU CAN FIX THE BUG IN 10 MINUTES:

Left pane scroll bug (and other fixes):

Using Classic Shell To Restore Some Features To Windows Explorer

After installing the free Classic Shell you can customize Windows Explorer closer to how you want it, the quote below is just one way to do so. Click here to see some of the options you can customize, and here is the FAQ page for Classic Shell.
A solution which did work for restoring some features.

Install the free Classic Shell. This is very customizable, and works as a mod for Windows Explorer rather than a full blown replacement. You didn't need to install the Classic Start Menu option, but you can if you want.

Reboot the computer.

Launch Windows Explorer (Start - Computer) and turn on "Always Show Menus" (Organize - Layout - check Menu Bar). This is just for configuration, you can turn it off again afterwards if you want.

Right click on the menu bar and turn on the "Classic Explorer Bar". This adds a series of cut/copy/paste icons to Explorer. Crucially, it also adds the "Configuration" icon.

Go into the configuration and from here you can tweak things to your heart's content. To kill the horrible Windows 7 folder-jumping, switch the "Navigation Pane Style" to Vista. You can even knock it back to XP mode if you want (this adds in the lines to the folder tree and adds a classic "+" icon for expanding folders). The Windows Vista style folder view looks pretty much the same as the Windows 7 view, but gets rid of the horrible jumping.

Tweak any other settings you want.

After this, you can turn the toolbar and menus back off in Explorer if you wish. Windows Explorer looks largely the same, but folders no longer jump around. Vote for Microsoft to fix this bug.

Now, if only MS could code properly so that we don't have to mess with third party apps to get Windows to actually work properly...
You can also let Microsoft know you want this bug fixed here: http://mymfe.microsoft.com/Windows%207/Feedback.aspx?formID=195

Note: don't make the message too long, there is a size limit to your message even though the page doesn't tell you about it.

Have Questions About Installing Windows 7?

FAQ - Common Windows 7 Installation Questions & Answers
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