How to Stop File Explorer Sorting by Week and Month

Anonymous
2019-07-26T21:53:02+00:00

After the recent update Windows file explorer is now grouping items by day, week and month. I do not want this. I want the old way back please. How do I get rid of this new sorting? I hope this is not going to be like what happened to media folders where they now display metadata columns instead of name, date, size, type and even if you change them the next time you open the folder it has reverted back to metadata columns.

Update: I worked out that Group By must be set to none. How do I make this default so it doesn't revert back? I'd also like to stop my media folders reverting back to the old way too so they show name, date, size, type instead of Artist, Album, Title etc

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

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Anonymous
2019-09-05T03:31:56+00:00

There is no bug.  Someone at Microsoft just managed to apply their default folder setting to everyone that installs the update.

To turn off file grouping feature:

  1. Open a folder that is Grouping by/sorting using week and month.
  2. Right Click in the folder
  3. Select 'Group by'
  4. Select '(None)'

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-12-11T14:03:55+00:00

    This really helped. This is the answer to the question.

    There is no bug.  Someone at Microsoft just managed to apply their default folder setting to everyone that installs the update.

    To turn off file grouping feature:

    1. Open a folder that is Grouping by/sorting using week and month.
    2. Right Click in the folder
    3. Select 'Group by'
    4. Select '(None)'

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-12-26T04:56:17+00:00

    I had been having this probably for a few months. Finally I figured it out!

    Click view at the top or the folder, in the current view section there is a “group by” option. Click that and in the descended list is the option “none”.  

    Problem solved!

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-09-05T02:49:20+00:00

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-09-05T03:46:46+00:00

    Is there ... any difference in view settings between Downloads and Document, I could not find any.

    Downloads now has its own template:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes{885a186e-a440-4ada-812b-db871b942259}

    Its default view groups items by Date Mmodified. 

    whereas prior to 1903, it used the Generic template ({5c4f28b5-f869-4e84-8e60-f11db97c5cc7}). Its default view settings have no grouping.

    So, the situation is more questiionable design decision than outrigit bug.

     I also think this has confounded many because while Apply to Folders will delete saved views used by regular Explorer windows, it doesn't reset the Common Dialogs if they have already saved a view. But, if the dialogs haven't  already saved a view, they will use the modified template created by Apply to Folders.

    So, to cover all bases, it's three steps:

    1. Set Downloads view to your liking
    2. Apply to Folders
    3. Copy & paste the following into a PowerShell window:

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

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

    gci $bags -recurse |

       ?{$_.GetSubkeyNames() -contains $DLID} |

       remove-item -Path { join-path $_.PSPath $DLID }

    Press <Enter> to execute the above code.

    Keith

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