Is there some way to make Windows let you sort the files in the folder as you wish by dragging and dropping them, rather than by having Windows sort the files automatically based on your chosen criterion (date or size etc.)?
My Windows version is 22H2.
I've never seen anybody post a method doing what you want.
There might be a third-party File explorer add-on that does what you want but it seems unlikely.
Perhaps some third-party equivalent to File explorer has the capability you seek but I haven't seen that mentioned either.
All the best,
Denis
There is no free-form custom order in Explorer, it has to be sorted by some criteria (Name, Date, Size, etc.). If Windows did support this feature, every folder would have to store this meta-data and Explorer performance would suffer especially on folders with many files.
The Desktop is the only place you can arrange files in a custom order, if you have turned off auto-arrange.
What you describe used to be standard in Windows XP. The feature was turned off in Windows 7, but could be fully enabled, via registry settings, all the way up to Windows 10 1703 in 2019. After that update, the free sorting can still be turned on (even in Windows 11) but the order will not be saved.
So, if you only need temporary free arranging in File Explorer, then follow the instructions in this tutorial.
If you want to join the chorus of other people wanting this feature, please see this discussion.
And you can make your desire for the feature known via the Feedback Hub.
Thanks a lot for the great info and explanation! I've submitted my feedback to the Feedback Hub and if there's anyone else who wants this feature back, you can upvote my request here: https://aka.ms/AAlcj22
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