Windows 10 Folder Alphabetization Issue


  1. Posts : 3
    Windows 10
       #1

    Windows 10 Folder Alphabetization Issue


    Hi all,

    I am having an issue with the way Windows 10 alphabetizes files in folders in Windows 10.

    If you were to alphabetize the following file names, how would you do it?

    001
    01A
    002
    00A

    If you're like me, you would arrange them in this order: 001,002,00A,01A.

    This is how Windows alphabetizes it: 001,01A,002,00A

    This creates a major problem for me. My family camcorder has recorded thousands of files in the alphabetical order that makes sense to me (001,002,...009,00A,...010,011,...01A), but which Windows then throws out of order (it puts 01A after 001, but before 002, which makes no sense to me). Is there a way to change the alphabetization scheme in Windows 10? If not, does anybody know of a good way I can rename all my camcorder's files so that they conform to Windows naming in an automated process? This is going to end up taking me forever if not haha
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 31,470
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #2

    Not sure its possible to customise the sort order, but apparently you can disable the current 'Intuitive or Numerical' sort algorithm and revert to the older 'Literal' sort algorithm used before XP.
    http://www.askvg.com/how-to-disable-...nd-7-explorer/

    ...or try sorting that particular folder by date instead? Should probably match the naming order. File Explorer seems to remember the sort type you choose independently for each folder.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 3,257
    Windows 10 Pro
       #3

    smithst3 said:
    I am having an issue with the way Windows 10 alphabetizes files in folders in Windows 10.

    If you were to alphabetize the following file names, how would you do it?

    001
    01A
    002
    00A

    If you're like me, you would arrange them in this order: 001,002,00A,01A.

    This is how Windows alphabetizes it: 001,01A,002,00A
    At first, I thought you were mistaken and were confusing Numerical sort with Text sort. But this seems to be something else, and is confusing.

    It seems to me that Windows is actually performing 2 sorts here. The first sort is on the number, then on the letter. So, for example, 001 and 01A are both seen as "1" but the one with the Letter is placed after it because it is larger in the sort (so it's sorted as 1A), followed by 002 because that's seen as "2" which is larger than "1".

    There is a different way to sort, but that has its own problems. That way will sort textually, which means you get 1, 1x and 1xx comes before 2, which comes before 3, etc..
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 9,765
    Mac OS Catalina
       #4

    Yes if you use Alpha Numeric with a alpha character after a number, it will do as the behavior you described. There are better tools out there than File Explorer.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 3
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Literal Sorting


    Bree said:
    Not sure its possible to customise the sort order, but apparently you can disable the current 'Intuitive or Numerical' sort algorithm and revert to the older 'Literal' sort algorithm used before XP.
    http://www.askvg.com/how-to-disable-...nd-7-explorer/

    ...or try sorting that particular folder by date instead? Should probably match the naming order. File Explorer seems to remember the sort type you choose independently for each folder.
    Thanks, yes what I need to do is to revert to the older 'Literal' sort algorithm. The only problem is, every description I've found online, including the link above, refers to an old way to fix this. It doesn't work on my Windows 10 machine because when I try to run gpedit.msc in the Run command, gpedit.msc cannot be found. I'm wondering if there's a new way to fix this for Windows 10.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 13,896
    Win10 Version 22H2 Pro and Home, Win11 Pro and Home
       #6

    smithst3 said:
    It doesn't work on my Windows 10 machine because when I try to run gpedit.msc in the Run command, gpedit.msc cannot be found.
    That's probably because you have the Home version of Win10 where gpedit comes with the Pro version and maybe the Enterprise version.

    You might try one of the free [additional or replacement] file management programs available such as MultiCommander, see if it does it the same way.
    free file managers at DuckDuckGo
      My Computers


  7. Posts : 3
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Problem Solved


    Never mind, I tried the second solution on that page and it worked! Thanks so much Bree!!!
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 31,470
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #8

    Berton said:
    That's probably because you have the Home version of Win10 where gpedit comes with the Pro version and maybe the Enterprise version.
    That is true, but all the Group Policy Editor seems to provide is the ability to mix and match from a predefined set of carefully constructed registry settings. For an Enterprise environment this is a powerful tool for managing site-wide policies in a clear and error free way - but in the end it just edits the registry. If you are very careful and know what keys to use you can do it yourself. That's why (as in the tutorials here) those of us on the Home edition can skip past the gpedit section and use....
    METHOD 2: Using Registry Editor (regedit)
    Some Windows editions such as Home Basic, Home Premium and Starter don't come with Group Policy Editor. ..., here is a Registry method given to do the same thing:
    http://www.askvg.com/how-to-disable-...nd-7-explorer/
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 17,838
    Windows 10
       #9

    Special characters take precedence, then numerical place values, then alpha characters.

    Windows 10 Folder Alphabetization Issue-000002.png
      My Computer


 

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