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
    2020-03-27T12:56:41+00:00

    It would be REALLY helpful if part of the answer contained a clue as to where this mysterious "save as" window might be found.  

    Questions are asked because the people asking don't know the answers.  :)

    The save as "window" is the path selector window that is opened (outside of the file manager) by applications that require a path input (for a file, for a save path, even when you select a different folder for an app to use for its purpose (it also applies to the window u use to open or select a file in an app, not only save). Hope my idiotic way of explaining **** was useful...

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-03-27T12:18:35+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.

    It would be REALLY helpful if part of the answer contained a clue as to where this mysterious "save as" window might be found.  

    Questions are asked because the people asking don't know the answers.  :)

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-03-27T11:47:47+00:00

    Local (offline) user: issue not present

    New Microsoft account user: issue not present

    My Microsoft account: issue present :(

    Ok, now that the issue is identified let's go for the "NUKE" approach: how do i delete all the user settings on my microsoft account?

    P.S. Microsoft account keeps registry data to sync for the user???... ummm.....

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-03-27T11:40:51+00:00

    Return is 109 on all my devices...

    In the past with similar problem you could just edit the registry entry for folders to not group but it seems that downloads is not affected by that registry key - also those keys are not general anymore since there's quite a few entries that seem to be folder view settings... Easy fix would be to find that registry value for downloads but all the reg entries named GroupBy are set to "0" value on my tablet but issue persists...

    P.S. and it must be registry/user related because on my work laptop when i log into the domain user the issue is not present - and now that i think about it maybe it's some settings stored into my microsoft account user i log on with (since issue is present on fresh install). I will try now to create a new user (offline) and see if the issue persists

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