How to sort by most recent with folders on top?

Anonymous

Is there a way to sort files by date (reverse, current items first) but keep the folders on top of the directory structure? If so, how? I used to have this setting and it disappeared.

To be clearer, I'm looking for something like this

[folder] abc

[folder] def

[folder] ghi

[file] whatever - modified 1/11/11

[file] filename doesn't matter - modified 1/10/11

[file] you get the idea - modified 1/4/11

[file] and it was 2010 - modified 12/29/10

Does this make sense? Again, I had this setting before and it disappeared. What happened to it, and how do I get it back? A reboot didn't fix it for me. I tried to right click "Sort By" and don't see this option. ALL I want are the folders on top... I don't care about the folder names.

Thanks!

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Anonymous

I don't know if this is still an issue for the original poster, or if he's gone back to WinXP :)

But recently I was having this annoyance myself.

I wanted to display the contents of a folder (not a library) in detail or list mode, with the most recent on top. However, the default behaviour is to have the folders at the bottom - NOT what I want.

After a LOT of fiddling, I realised that this only happens when the "Date Modified" field is used for sorting. I have found that by using the "Date" sorting field, the folders appear at the top as they (imo) should be.

So, to recap:

Go to a regular folder (NOT a library)
Right-click the field header area
If present, put a tick next to "Date"
If 'Date' isn't there, click 'More' and find it there.
Move the new Date field into position, and click it to sort on date.

Hope that helps :)

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Anonymous

otaru's fix did the trick instantly for me. I had messed around with that concept, but for some reason I only tried ctrl + click on name and alt + click on name. Never tried shift + click on name for some reason, and instead got all frustrated by this until now. But, all is well again! Thanks.

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Anonymous

Guys the solution for this problem is on the first page , you have to view the folder files by Detail to see each way you can sort.

Then you click on Date Modified , then Shift + Click on Name , it will fix the sort to always put folders first.

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56 additional answers

@CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2011-01-19T01:44:45+00:00

Please remember that if a file inside a folder is changed, the folder itself will not be modified, as far as the system is concerned.

However, I can no seem to reproduce your issue. For example, here's a picture from my computer. I have a folder opened and displayed in detail view. When I click the "date" column to arrange by the date modified, the files' order reverses, but the folder remains on top no matter what:

Is this not what happens for you?

If this solves your issue, click the 'Propose as Answer' link below, and vote as helpful by clicking the green triangle to the lelft. Thanks!
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Anonymous

2011-01-19T01:50:40+00:00
Halima,

This isn't helping or solving the issue.

The folders all have files within them that are recent, but somehow even a sort by date modified always puts them on the bottom. What gives? Why did this change on me all of the sudden? I kind of want to reformat to get this working properly -- that's how badly this is impacting and hindering my productivity. Why did this change on me?!

Hi Tamarw

You can only reverse the order by clicking a Column Header. You will only see Columns if you are in the Details View.
1. At the right end of the Toolbar click the View drop down menu and select the Details option.
1. In the Details View, you can click any of the Column Headers to reverse the order and bring the Folders to the top.
1. After you Reverse the order, you can select the View drop down menu again to choose your preferred view option and the sort order will be retained.
Regards,

Ronnie Vernon MVP – Windows Expert - Consumer
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