Enable or Disable Auto Arrange in Folders in Windows 10  

Those fixes haven't worked in quite a few years, alas.

As for fixing your problem .. did you try a system restore to before the time you applied the patch? Alternatively, most semi-decent sites that still have that patch for download will also have a link for a patch to "restore" settings. First try the page you got the bat file from.

MaitreGR said:

Hi, i have found this program to replace file explorer: Hidemaru Filer Classic

I had a look at the website. Looks like it has potential. Going through the comments page I found there were also other Japanese programs that may do the same thing. Why is it that only the Japanese have come up with a solution to this?

MaitreGR, a question for you. I couldn't find any indication on the website as to the length of the trial period? Can you shed any light on that? Also whether the licence is per user or per computer? Would I need a licence for each windows pc? With the software being Japanese, I may have a better chance getting answers from a user than the devs. :)

Hi @unsorted42, i have found this program a few days ago from https://answers.microsoft.com/ and i'm testing it too.
I didn't have an issue or any message about the trial period till now, but i have using it for a couple days and i hope it will continue working...
Till now it works and the files in my folders are staying where i put them.

MaitreGR said:

Hi @unsorted42, i have found this program a few days ago from https://answers.microsoft.com/ and i'm testing it too.
I didn't have an issue or any message about the trial period till now, but i have using it for a couple days and i hope it will continue working...
Till now it works and the files in my folders are staying where i put them.

Could you PM me the link from the MS site? And let me know how the testing goes? The website does say there is a trial period, but not how long. Of course the licence is around $US10, so no biggie, and they take payment by paypal.

The software was first released in 2010, so I'd say it's got plenty of staying power and it works with win11, so even if it doesn't work with the future Win12, Win11 will be supported for a good 10 years yet, so plenty of life in it. Just have to see if it does what I need.

I'll have to see if I can borrow a laptop from work to try it out on (I'm still using win7 on my main pc because of this issue).

I assume Hidemaru runs as an independent program, so can be run parallel to the default file explorer?

Microsoft tread with the post : Link

Yes it's independent and you can have file explorer running at the same time.
Here is a screenshot of the program with my test


edit: while installing the program, use google translate camera in your phone, to read the installer messages.

It's been some time since the last entry and I was wondering if you had found a workaround for this godamn, awful problem of Windows 10 resetting my manual ordering of files in lists and disabling auto-arrange in various icon views so that Windows "remembers" the order and way I like to see individual folder? Is there, for example, a way to uncheck the "Sort by Name" entry in the Context Menu? This seems to be disabled by default. I think that would sort out the problem, or add an option in the Context Menu to "Sort by None". Is there a way to do that? Alternatively, how to I roll back my Windows to Windows 10 1607, please?

Any such functionality within windows has been well and truly banished. The only hope would be to use a 3rd party file explorer. I know of only one viable option ATM and that's the one recommended by MaitreGR earlier in this thread, Hidemaru. The downside is that it is a Japanese program and both the website and the installer are in Japanese, so a challenge for anyone who does not know that language. Hidemaru does the job, so it is possible to create a 3rd party file manager which does not continually auto-arrange and will allow you to create a folder icon layout that survives closing the folder and even rebooting. One can only hope that one day someone with the necessary coding skills will produce an English language version. Hidemaru proves it is possible. From what I could work out from their website via you-know-who translate, their product was based on an old Win7 file manager replacement, also written in Japanese, which was upgraded to work with win10/11. Surely there's someone out there who can create an English version? Anyone???

@ZapTheCrap you can use Hidemaru Filer Classic to manage the folders you want to have Auto Arrange disable (it also supports tabs) and the windows file explorer for the rest.
The program is in English language when you install it