Windows 11 - how do I set default view for details (other thread solutions don't work or Windows 11)

The option "Also apply this template to all subfolders" works great in Windows 10.

Unfortunately, it does not work with the Windows 11 Explorer (as of KB5008353, build 22000.469, in January 2022). Since that update, Explorer's automatic folder type discovery runs repeatedly, overriding your manual folder type selection (for NTFS local volumes). So, unless you happen to set the folder type to what Explorer wants to set it to anyhow, it's a fight you'll lose. Also, since that update, that feature does not work at all on non-NTFS volumes.

Please note that some Windows 11 users have switched to the Windows 10 Explorer (aka "Ribbon UI") via tools such as StartAllBack, ExplorerPatcher, or my free SwitchExplorer. In that case, "Also apply this template to all subfolders" will work.

Unfortunately I cannot use winsetview on my work computer. Really disappointing windows doesn’t just have this built in.

Since WinSetView is a portable app and doesn't require administrator access, it probably will run just fine on your work computer, but it's likely to still be a violation of your company's rules to use it. If you were to download it at home onto a flash drive, run it at home to set your preferred options, and then use the flash drive on your work computer to just run it and click Submit, you'd be all set in a matter of seconds. I've worked at companies where that would be no problem and I've worked at companies where that could possibly get you fired, so your call on that.

Otherwise, all Microsoft provides is the "Apply to Folders" button (see the link I posted previously for details) and you'll have to manually set the view as needed. For file open/save dialogs, the View settings are available by right-clicking in the white space of the window.

P.S. Please note that "Date created" indicates when a file is first created on a given volume. That date will therefore become the current date when the file is copied. That makes it an unreliable indicator of the date the content was created. Some file types have other properties that you may want to consider. For example, photos (e.g. JPG images) have a "Date taken" property and Microsoft Office documents have a "Content created" property.

Unfortunately I cannot use winsetview on my work computer. Really disappointing windows doesn’t just have this built in.

Thank you for that explanation.

Yes, I call it a hack, but I don't mean that in a bad way. And yes, I'm aware it's been around for a long time and it's annoyed me for a long time... Every time you start on a new device it takes time to get everything to your liking.

Microsoft works in mysterious ways. Why won't they cater for experienced/ advanced users as well as average users?

These folder types are probably supposed to be intuitive but they're quite the opposite. And not showing what type Windows thinks your folder is doesn't help.

Anyway, I'll download the tool and see if corporate security will let me run it.

Thanks again!

I feel your pain. It was motivation to spend hundreds of hours on a free project to try to make things a little better.

I worked at a big company for a long time. It's very unlikely they will let you use WinSetView directly on a production machine, but you can use it on a test machine or VM to capture the settings. See the Command Line Operation section in the manual for details.