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

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.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

60+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

214 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2019-08-22T05:48:51+00:00

    All that prose and it's not clear if you ever right-clicked in the dialog background to disable grouping! Did you? Is it not sticking?

    Keith

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2019-08-22T05:34:49+00:00

    Hello Shafeeq,

    Thank you for taking the time to respond, but you missed the original poster's intent, likely due to the poster's use of the word "globally" at the end of the post.

    What we really want is to disable grouping in "Save As" dialog boxes for the "Downloads" folder specifically. While Microsoft devs obviously put the feature in as an intended convenience, the feature is most unwelcome when needing to peruse the Downloads folder to see what was already saved there more than "a few days ago".

    Let me provide an example:

    Today, I went to download an app from a website. When the "Save As" dialog box opened in my browser, I realized that I wasn't sure whether I had already downloaded that particular version of the app. Now, my Downloads folder at that time had 131 items in it, including folders. What I needed was to be able to scroll down in the "Save As" box, with files sorted by Name in ascending order, to check for file(s) with similar names differentiated by version numbers included in their respective filenames. Indeed, there was a previous version saved, but with the enforced grouping I had no choice but to open a File Explorer window, which already had the above-mentioned desired sorting in place for the Downloads folder, and scroll down quite a bit to find the filename in question. Very inconvenient.

    While there have been plenty of times where I needed to see files grouped by the date each was downloaded in descending order in the "Save As" box, that is easily enough accomplished by clicking on the "Date Modified" tab in the same box. Honestly, even in that scenario, the grouping only adds extra lines to scroll through and really doesn't add any measurable convenience for me.

    I am still hoping to see an option to disable grouping specifically for the Downloads folder in "Save As" dialog boxes. However, I wonder as to the feature's viability altogether, and maybe I should request its removal.

    Hope this clarifies, and that you can help further. Thanks again!

    Best!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2019-08-19T03:22:46+00:00

    That's what the script I posted does. But under normal circumstances, Apply to Folders should be sufficient.

    Keith

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2019-08-19T02:44:47+00:00

    This solved my problem.

    Open the registry.

    Goto

    HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags

    Search for 

    GroupView

    i.e. HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1\ComDlg{240000A6-0000-477D-B940-338200000000}\GroupView=0

    Change value to 0 for any values that are not already 0.

    Problem solved.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments