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
    2021-01-06T14:14:10+00:00

    If you find a way to do this, please let me know. I get this to work when I open Windows Explorer directly, but when I try to access this Downloads folder through other software products, this does not work and is very irritating. Hate Windows 10.

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  2. Anonymous
    2021-01-06T06:06:32+00:00

    Hi

    This works for most folders but not the download folder.  I change it and then it changes back as soon as I levae the folder.

    How do I get this to stick in the downloads folder?  Very frustrating.

    Y

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-12-04T17:54:02+00:00

    Hi Keith.

    Thanks for the reply. I did do the apply to folders as you suggested and reran the script above that didn't work, it did work this time and did read "Downloads" as you noted. So then I did do the restart and my Downloads folder when opening up Windows Explorer is working correctly the way I want it to without any grouping, but still has the grouping that I don't want when going to this Downloads folder through a software program as shown in my last post. I was hoping your suggestion would solve this problem, but it was a no-go. 

    As for your registry question, after the restart I did, in the image attached is what it looks like. Anything in here that would need to change to fix the Downloads folder issue when I'm accessing this folder through software programs or any other suggestion that would help?

    Thanks for the help.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-12-04T17:23:49+00:00

    In the registry, did you not have the all-zero GUID subkey under TopViews?

    OK. The "Cannot find path..." error occurs when you don't have any custom templates set --- meaning you've never used "Apply to Folders" for any of the FolderTypes. You should execute this from the Downloads folder when the view is set to your liking:

    Then close the folder. Rerun the code from the earlier post & it should return the string 'Downloads'.

    Assuming that's successful, copy & paste the following PowerShell to delete any views saved with the Grouped view:

    ###################

    $Bags = 'HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags'

    $DLID = '{885A186E-A440-4ADA-812B-DB871B942259}'

    (Get-ChildItem $bags -recurse | ? PSChildName -eq $DLID ) | Remove-Item

    gps explorer | spps

    ####################

    The restart just to be sure no cached settings interfere. Then test your dialogs with the Downloads folder.

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