Permanently Changing Column Width in Windows Explorer Search

heeshboy · 02 Mar 2021

Hello,

I'm a long time dweller and first time poster. I've recently run into an issue where my windows 10 doesn't seem to remember my default column width after each search. In other words, each time I open This PC icon, and type in the upper right hand corner to do a search of a file, the column widths will default back to the normal size as opposed to the default size I want. Is there a way to change it permanently so that my searches always show the default column width and column types I want? I can't seem to figure it out and any help would be helpful! Thanks so much.

wiganken · 02 Mar 2021

Have you tried dragging the left hand edge of the search box to the left to increase the width of the search box?

If I do this on my PC the search box width then stays at the width that I dragged it to.

heeshboy · 02 Mar 2021

wiganken said:

Have you tried dragging the left hand edge of the search box to the left to increase the width of the search box?

If I do this on my PC the search box width then stays at the width that I dragged it to.

Thanks for your response. I do that manually each time i search but if you close the window for that particular search and reopen another search then the columns go back to their default width. I am looking for a solution so that the width is the same size each time I open a new search. Do you know a work around for that?

Try3 · 03 Mar 2021

The solution is not trivial. See KeithM's post in
Customize File Explorer Search Default Columns - TenForums

Denis

heeshboy · 04 Mar 2021

Try3 said:

The solution is not trivial. See KeithM's post in
Customize File Explorer Search Default Columns - TenForums

Denis

Thank you. This is a little embarrassing but I have no idea what they're talking about on the forums. I've tried to access the registry but cannot find the subdirectory to change the values to what I want. I previously fixed this issue with a someone's premade registry file that you simply clicked on and it'll adjust the columns but I can't seem to find that file or forum thread anymore.

I'm just wondering how microsoft sucks so much donkey balls to make a product so user unfriendly compared to their previous iteration. I wish the programs I used wasn't so dependent on the windows ecosystem so I can migrate to another OS.

Try3 · 04 Mar 2021

I also thought the solution was not straightforward [adjusting search results columns is nowhere near as simple as adjusting other File explorer folder views]. I made lots of notes from the linked post and the other posts to which it refers but, other than a quick partial test run, I have not found/made the time to study the subject thoroughly enough to be able to do the job.

You could try asking KeithM by putting
@
in front of his user name. Perhaps he has posted the procedure somewhere in a single consolidated post that I have not spotted.

In my notes, I also kept a link to How to Customize Default Search Views on Windows 10 - Appuals but I don't know if it is better or just different.

The easy part of the job is getting search results to display than Details view rather than Content view and you've probably done it already - it is a simple one-off Registry change. Change Search Results Default View - Ramesh Srinivasan

Denis

KeithM · 04 Mar 2021

Hi. Just checked in & saw this thread. Search Result view settings are saved based on the folder the search is initiated from. But all these unique views are rooted in the virtual Desktop. If you don't seem to be sving the views, you're possibly maxed out.

Can you open a PowerShell window & copy & pste the following code? It will return a number. If that number is 5000, you've maxed out & need to clear all saved views. Run this code to check:

Code:

((gp "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU").Nodeslots).count

Sample Output:

Code:

PS C:\> ((gp "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU").Nodeslots).count
941
PS C:\>

If that number is 5,000, delete all saved views with this PowerShell:

Code:

sl 'HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell'
'BagMRU', 'Bags' | Remove-Item -Recurse

heeshboy · 05 Mar 2021

KeithM said:

Hi. Just checked in & saw this thread. Search Result view settings are saved based on the folder the search is initiated from. But all these unique views are rooted in the virtual Desktop. If you don't seem to be sving the views, you're possibly maxed out.

Can you open a PowerShell window & copy & pste the following code? It will return a number. If that number is 5000, you've maxed out & need to clear all saved views. Run this code to check:

Code:

((gp "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU").Nodeslots).count

Sample Output:

Code:

PS C:\> ((gp "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU").Nodeslots).count
941
PS C:\>

If that number is 5,000, delete all saved views with this PowerShell:

Code:

sl 'HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell'
'BagMRU', 'Bags' | Remove-Item -Recurse

Thank you for your response. I did indeed have 5000 counts. However, after deleting all saved views from my Powershell, I reverted to content view as opposed to Details view whenever I do a search via This PC.

I am still having trouble figuring out how to just get the columns to have name, date modified and folders as well as adjusting the width of these columns so that these settings are saved each time I generate a new search via This PC. I'm not exactly tech savvy so it's really frustrating and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Peter

KeithM · 05 Mar 2021

I'll walk you through it, don't worry. Just one thing at a time. The Content view is the default for most Search Results, so what you're seeing is normal. And you've already had sucess with executing the code I've provided. If you can continue to do that, provide requested feedback, and trust me, we can get you set to your liking.

There are several different registry tricks to accomplish this, and I think I just though of a mew way to combine some tricks to copy a view you've set as a defalut for Search Results, but I need to play & test.

For now, please test that once you modify hte Search Results for a given folder, those settings are used on a subsequent search of the same folder after closing & re-opening.

Just for fun, as you search varous locations, modify the view, and save the view by closing the window, you can verify the accumulation of saved views by running this code. Keep the PowerShell window open an re-execute the command by pressing:
▲+Enter

Code:

$BagMRU = 'HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU'
$Shell  = New-Object -ComObject shell.application
(gi $BagMRU).Property -match '\d+' | ForEach{
    Try{
        ( $Shell.NameSpace(( Get-ItemPropertyValue $BagMRU $_ ))).Title
    } Catch {}
}

*** Duplicate listing for each location is normal as each saved view for SearchResults and Library folders use two NodeSlots/Bags per view. ***

Code:

Quick AccessThis PC
Search Results in Local Documents
Search Results in Sandbox
Search Results in A Chorus Line
Search Results in Screenshots
Search Results in Pictures
One Drive
Network
Search Results in BagMRU Decode
Search Results in BagMRU Decode
Search Results in Local Pictures
Search Results in Local Pictures
Control Panel
Search Results in Windows (C:)
Search Results in Windows (C:)
...

KeithM · 06 Mar 2021

OK, here's version 1.0 of Set_Saved_Search_View_As_Default. When you run the code, you'll be presented with a GridVIvew control listing your saved SearchResults views, along with the FolderType used. All the common FolderTypes have a corresponding SearchResults type with the exception of Downloads, which uses its base type for search results as well. You have to set a default for each type to override its default. Possible search result types are:

Downloads
Contacts.SearchResults
Documents.SearchResults
OtherUsers.SearchResults
Pictures.SearchResults
Communications.SearchResults
UsersLibraries.SearchResults
Music.SearchResults
Generic.SearchResults
PublishedItems.SearchResults
UserFiles.SearchResults
Videos.SearchResults

Though it's unlikely most users will ever see all of those. In the GridView, select the folder(s) you want copy as a template for its FolderType. You can only have one template for each type, if you select a type that already has an entry under AllFolders, or if you select more than one of the same type, the last one written will be the one to survie.

Permanently Changing Column Width in Windows Explorer Search-screenshot-922-.png

Select the Folders/Types and click OK. PowerShell will display confimation for each view copied:

Code:

 . . .
>> '@ -f $Splat )
>> }
>>
Default view set for: Pictures.SearchResults
           Based on: "Search Results in Spring 2015" ( Bag #949 )
           Key Name: HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell\{4DCAFE13-E6A7-4C28-BE02-CA8C2126280D}

Copy & paste directly into PowerShell or save as a .ps1 file.

Code:

### String constans
$ShellKey    = 'HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell'
$BagMRU      = "$ShellKey\BagMRU"
$Bags        = "$ShellKey\Bags"
$ConfirmCopy = @'

Default view set for: {0}
            Based on: "{1}" ( Bag #{2} )
            Key Name: {3}

'@

### Dictonary FOlderTYpeID -> FolderType.CanonicalName
$FTKey     = Get-Item 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes'
$FT_Lookup = $FTKey.GetSubkeyNames() | ForEach{ $hash = @{'{25CC242B-9A7C-4F51-80E0-7A2928FEBE42}'='Network'} } {
     $hash.Add( $_, $FTKey.OpenSubkey($_).GetValue('CanonicalName') )
} { $hash }


$Shell  = New-Object -ComObject shell.application
(Get-Item $BagMRU).Property -match '\d+' | ForEach{
Try{
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        'Bag'  = Get-ItemPropertyValue "$BagMRU\$_" NodeSlot
        'Name' = ( $Shell.NameSpace(( Get-ItemPropertyValue $BagMRU $_ ))).Title
    } 
} Catch {}
} | Where Name -match 'Search Results' |
    Where { (Test-Path "$Bags\$($_.Bag)\Shell") -and (Get-Item "$Bags\$($_.Bag)\Shell").SubKeyCount } | ForEach{
    $Splat = @{
        'NotePropertyName'  = 'Type'
        'NotePropertyValue' = $FT_Lookup[( Get-Item "$Bags\$($_.Bag)\Shell" ).GetSubkeyNames()]
        'PassThru'          = $True
    }
    $_ | Add-Member @Splat
} | Group Name | ForEach {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
        'Name'   = $_.Name
        'Bag'    = $_.Group.Bag
        'Type'   = $_.Group.Type | Select -Unique
    }

### *** Launch GridView for folder selection ***

} | Out-GridView -PassThru | ForEach{

### Confirm copy
    $Splat = @(
        $_.Type
        $_.Name
        $_.Bag
        ( Copy-Item -Path "$Bags\$($_.Bag)\Shell\*" -Destination "$Bags\AllFolders\Shell" -Recurse -Force -PassThru ).Name.Replace( 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER' , 'HKCU' )
    )
    Write-Output ( $ConfirmCopy -f $Splat )

### Apply to existing?
    If ( ( Read-Host 'Apply this template to any currenly saved views of the same type? (Y/N)' ) -match '^y') {
        Get-ChildItem $Bags -Recurse -Depth 2 |
          Where PSChildName -eq $Splat[3].Split('\')[-1] |
          Where Name -notMatch AllFolders |
        Remove-Item -Recurse -Force
    }
}