Can Win Explorer show: A) folders alpha order B) Files by date order?
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The left panel lists the folders, the right panel has some choices simply by clicking the column heading such as Name, Date, Size, Type to re-arrange ascending or descending and by right-clicking one of the headings can have others added.
Experiment, just keep right-clicking a title until getting what is desired. But I have never seen where File Explorer [and the older Windows Explorer] could sort folders separately from files, i.e. folders alphabetically and files opposite, that is if I understand the question correctly.
I have tried all that but I got nowhere.
The obvious thing to do is to sort on the field called "Date". And rather surprisingly it ignores the dates content to the extend that under all circumstances it DOES put all the folders at the top!
The problem is that although it's easy enough to change the date in that field "Date" for a file (simply by re-saving that file), however there doesn't seem to be any way of changing the date value in the "Date" field for a folder!
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PS the only other option I can think of that makes sense is to sort the whole list by Name (i.e. A==>Z).
This will put the Folders at the top of the pane.
And if you then change the actual name of the file to be the date that it was last changed, you have solved the problem.
But only by "brute force" and huge inconvenience.
Surely there has to be a better way?!
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I am puzzled that your sort behaviour does not match mine (but mine may be special without my knowing) - it might help to know which vn (and build) of Windows you are on. I am on Pro 1909, bld 18363.900.
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@mngerhold
I am running
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (x64)
Version: 10.0.19041 Build 19041
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Maybe I'll see a change when I get offered the 2004 vn.
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Hello
How can I set up my Windows Explorer view such that in the right hand pane:
A) At the top of the pane, I see the list of folders in alphabetic order
B) Then I see my files sorted by date last edited order
With thanks
J
I know this is an old thread, but the same answers works across many Windows versions, including 10 (from the post) and current Windows 11. I think this solution started with Windows Vista, definitely with Windows 7 (and definitely NOT in XP).
First, as far as I know there is no way to sort the folders in the main pane alphabetically if the files are sorted by date in that pane. That's actually what I was looking to do also and came upon this thread, but I can get it closer than any of the other answers here:
First, click the "Date modified" column heading to sort everything in the current folder by Date modified (but as you show in one of your later pictures, you can change which fields appear to use Date accessed, Date Created, or something else instead).
Second, while holding down the Shift key, click on the Name column heading (no idea why, but this works 100% of the time). This then ensures that Folders always appear at the top of the list, above the files. Unfortunately, they will also be sorted by Date, but at least all folders are at the top. Sometimes, this can be helpful, because the folder dates are USUALLY (sometimes it doesn't seem to work as expected) based on the dates of any file modified dates inside the folder. Note that this would only apply to files directly within that folder, not files within subfolders.
At this point, I also then go to Options -> View Tab -> and Apply to Folders to save the view for similar folders so all similar folders appear this way by default -- date-sorted files, with folders above them. But, alas, folders are date-sorted, which I agree is not as useful as alphabetically sorted.
As others have pointed out, you could just use the left navigation pane for the folders, because that's always sorted alphabetically, but opening folders in that left pane is a pain, because then you have a huge long list of folders that makes navigation difficult.
An alternative that I prefer, because it avoids screwing up the left navigation, is to use the little arrow in the Address bar between folders:
So this requires an extra click to see them, and at least in Windows 11, that drop-down goes away from the bottom folder in the address bar when clicking outside that Explorer window. To fix this, just go up one folder and then come back and the folder drop-down list will always come back (as long as there are subfolders in the current folder).
Unless someone knows of a way to put the folders at top and sort them by name while the files are date-sorted below, as the OP asked, I think that's the best current work-around.
Last edited by GranitStatColin; 10 Dec 2022 at 13:31.
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