Disable group by in Downloads folder (Windows 10 1903)

Anonymous
2019-06-18T09:01:17+00:00

Hi, since I updated to the new Windows 1903 version the files in some folders like "Downloads" are always grouped by the date. I was able to disable this in the File Explorer itself by choosing "Group by = none". But in all kind of "Save as" dialogs from any application the group by date still appears and in those special explorer windows there is no option to disable file grouping in them. So how can I disable this globally?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2019-06-19T03:25:57+00:00

Hi Chap Sistine,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

The Group by option in normal folders and in Save as window are different, so if you change the Group by to type in Downloads folder, it will not change in Save as window. Then, if you change the Group by in Save as window, it will not change in normal folders.

You can refer the below example.

Change the Group by as size in Downloads folder - Change the Group by as size in Save as window.

Change the Group by as type in Downloads folder - (Check) Group by as size in Save as window (it will not change until you right-click in Save as window and change it to type or anything else).

Also, the Group by option is specific to folders and once you change Group by for a particular folder, the changes will not be applied to all the folders. You need to change the Group by for every folder by opening that particular folder > Press the Alt and V > Click on G > Select the Group by settings or click on Choose columns for more options.

So, once you change the Group by in Save as window, it will remain the same regardless of whichever application you open the Save as window from.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-11-23T22:26:16+00:00

    You may need to go into "File Explorer Options" and set the folder view after you change it to sort by name or whatever you want.

    Yep. Did that already. So long as I open the downloads folder using the desktop link, it always opens the folder "correctly" (meaning the way I preset it). But, any other instance of the downloads folder opened by an application, e.g., a web browser, results in the Windows default "group by date" view.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-11-23T22:13:51+00:00

    You may need to go into "File Explorer Options" and set the folder view after you change it to sort by name or whatever you want.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-11-23T20:51:03+00:00

    If I set the Downloads folder to group by none under file explorer, the next time I open Downloads in file explorer it is grouped by date.

    If I set the Downloads folder to group by none in the save as dialog, the next time I have a save as dialog, Downloads is grouped by date.

    If I set a folder to group by none and sort by name under file explorer, then under view options set all folders to use the same settings, the next time I open Downloads in file explorer, it is grouped by date and sorted in some order that is not by name.

    I placed a shortcut to the downloads folder on the desktop, opened the download folder using that shortcut, and changed the "group by" view of the folder to none. "Group by none" now remains whenever the downloads folder is opened using this shortcut.

    Unfortunately, Windows reverts to the default grouping (by most recent) whenever downloads is opened by, e.g., an email attachment download, or a download via an internet browser. There doesn't seem to be a way to force a particular grouping in all instances. Frustrating.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-11-23T19:12:49+00:00

    If I set the Downloads folder to group by none under file explorer, the next time I open Downloads in file explorer it is grouped by date.

    If I set the Downloads folder to group by none in the save as dialog, the next time I have a save as dialog, Downloads is grouped by date.

    If I set a folder to group by none and sort by name under file explorer, then under view options set all folders to use the same settings, the next time I open Downloads in file explorer, it is grouped by date and sorted in some order that is not by name.

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    1 person found this answer helpful.
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