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

Anonymous

2013-11-12T18:45:26+00:00

This works BUT if I change the sorting to By name and then back to date modified it goes back to how it was before. Is there a way to make it so folders are ALWAYS at the top no matter which way it is organised?

Cheers

p.s. now it is making it so when I sort by name the files are at the bottom too. Its worse then before :(
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Anonymous

2012-03-17T08:39:28+00:00
OK, I think this summarizes the "keeping folders on top" in Windows 7 issue (as of SP 1):
1. Click on "Date modified" in a file folder window to sort files by date/time (once for latest first, twice for oldest first)
2. Holding down <Shift> while clicking on "Name" (a column header, will be at the far left unless you have moved it) will put the directories at the TOP of the file list
3. Holding down <Ctrl> while clicking on "Name" will put the directories at the BOTTOM of the file list
Get it? <Shift> + click - for folders on TOP

<Ctrl> + click - for folders on the BOTTOM

Note, though: the directories will also be in the date/time order chosen, although they will all stay together.

*** WINDOWS 7 ENHANCEMENT REQUEST***

I would suggest that this is rather non-intuitive. While keeping this functionality, it would be nice if in the "Tools -> Folder options -> View" ("Advanced settings:") that these options would appear [buttons (a) and (b): either or the other or neither, but not both)

(a) always keep folders at top of list

(b) always keep folders at bottom of list
- selecting either (a) or (b) above would allow the choice of:
(x) keep folders in alphabetical order
- NOT selecting either (a) or (b) above would turn OFF the (x) keep folders in alphabetical order (thus allowing them to display with the files in whatever order the user chooses (Date modified, Name, etc.)
*** END OF WINDOWS 7 ENHANCEMENT REQUEST***

Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Question for an expert: Does anyone know how to get folder and files intermingled depending on their Date modified or Name in the current release (Windows 7 SP1)?
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