Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10  

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    Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10

    Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10

    How to Change the Group by View of a Folder in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Customization
    16 May 2022
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change the Group by View of a Folder in Windows 10


    In Windows, you can change the template, column width, Group by, Sort by, and layout view of items in your folders to how you like.

    In addition to sorting, you can also group files by property. Like sorting, grouping won't significantly change the way files are displayed. It just breaks them into different sections, depending on which property detail you choose. So, if you have a folder full of text documents, you might want to group them by type to see which app was used to create them. Or, if you're dealing with photos, you can group them by date to separate them by the date they were taken.

    When you have a folder's contents in groups, you can expand (show) or collapse (hide) a group or all groups in the opened folder window.

    This tutorial will show you how to change the group by view of items in a folder in File Explorer for your account in Windows 10.

    Included folders in a library will all share the same group by view.

    If you want to remove the grouping separation in a folder or library, you select to Group by -> (None).



    Contents

    • Option One: To Change Folder Group by View from File Explorer Ribbon
    • Option Two: To Change Folder Group by View from Context Menu






    OPTION ONE

    To Change Folder Group by View from File Explorer Ribbon


    1 In File Explorer (Win+E), open the folder you want to change the group by view of its content.

    2 Click/tap on the View tab (Alt+V). (see screenshot below step 4)

    3 Click/tap on Group by in the ribbon, and click/tap on the detail (ex: Name) you want to group items by in this folder. (see screenshot below step 4)

    You can also click/tap on Choose columns to be able to select to add or remove more details to sort by with, and add or remove as columns when in details layout view.

    Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10-choose_details.png



    4 Select to group items in this folder by ascending (default) or descending order with the selected detail (ex: Name) from step 3. (see screenshot below)

    Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10-folder_view_group_by_ribbon.png






    OPTION TWO

    To Change Folder Group by View from Context Menu


    1 In File Explorer (Win+E), open the folder you want to change the group by view of its content.

    2 Right click or press and hold on an empty area inside the folder, click/tap on Group by, and click/tap on the detail (ex: Name) you want to group items by in this folder. (see screenshot below step 3)

    You can also click/tap on More... to be able to select to add or remove more details to group by with, and add or remove as columns when in details layout view.

    Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10-choose_details.png


    3 Select to group items in this folder by ascending (default) or descending order with the selected detail (ex: Name) from step 2. (see screenshot below)

    Change Group by Folder View in Windows 10-folder_view_group_by_context_menu.png



    That's it,
    Shawn Brink






  1. Posts : 2
    W10
       #1

    PLEASE, I NEED HELP ...
    you are explaining something on the "group view" ... but
    how I can define the letters which will be in group? Like:
    in your show case there are two groups "A - H" and "Q - Z"; two columns (how come exactly those two - why?).
    How I can change that please?
    I want groups "A - C", "D - M", "N - Z" for example.
    Many thanks;
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #2

    Hello BACO STEF, and welcome to Ten Forums.

    I'm afraid that I'm not aware of a way to change the letters used for how Windows group by -> Name with.
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 2
    W10
       #3

    Thank you Brink!
    I've expected such answer.
    Then I shall report an error to MICROSOFT, as the sorting is not working correctly.
    In my case I've made Folders from A-Z ... now system has grouped them as follows:
    A-E, F-K, L-R and S-Z. I do see nice 4 columns in List view - BUT - the E Folder is under F-K group :)
    That was the cause of my question.
    THANK YOU AGAIN FOR REPLY AND KIND WELCOME GREETING.
    Vaso
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 91
    10 pro
       #4

    Do you have a way to do this programmatically (i.e. via a .reg, .bat, .ps1, .vbs, etc.) file?

    I'm not looking for how to backup and restore the current layout. I'm looking for something that I can add to my Windows Setup batch file that I run after every new install or major update. It applies a whole bunch of tweaks (including many of yours) in "one swell foop" so I don't have to spend the next few days trying to remember and find them all.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #5

    SpacemanSam said:
    Do you have a way to do this programmatically (i.e. via a .reg, .bat, .ps1, .vbs, etc.) file?

    I'm not looking for how to backup and restore the current layout. I'm looking for something that I can add to my Windows Setup batch file that I run after every new install or major update. It applies a whole bunch of tweaks (including many of yours) in "one swell foop" so I don't have to spend the next few days trying to remember and find them all.
    Hello Sam,

    I'm not aware of way to do so considering how the values get added to the registry for the folder view settings.

    A possible workaround is the backup of the current folder view, and use those registry values in the Windows Setup batch file. Of course, this only gets applied to the current user by default.

    Backup and Restore Folder View Settings in Windows 10
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 91
    10 pro
       #6

    Brink said:
    Hello Sam,

    I'm not aware of way to do so considering how the values get added to the registry for the folder view settings.

    A possible workaround is the backup of the current folder view, and use those registry values in the Windows Setup batch file. Of course, this only gets applied to the current user by default.

    Backup and Restore Folder View Settings in Windows 10
    I already investigated that. Applying "current user" tweaks to all users is no biggie - I already solved that a long time ago. When it's a little more stable, I'll post the relevant part of the batch file. But that isn't the problem. I want something I can put in my configureWindows.bat file so it will be applied to any new install or reinstall, no matter what its disk configuration is.

    I'm currently investigating, and this is where I'm at:
    1. By using WinMerge to compare before/after registry dumps, I've found the registry values that change when "group by" is changed. It's in the folder view settings, stored in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags. These settings are built dynamically as folders are opened, so changing them programmatically would require looping through ...\Shell\Bags looking for the right one. And it would only work on Downloads folders which that user has already opened, so it wouldn't work on a new install.

    2. I am also investigating what happens if I modify or delete the GroupBy value in the key shown in Disable "Group by" or set default to "(none)" in Windows 10 1903. I haven't finished testing this yet - stay tuned. And this key is protected, so I need to find a way to programmatically change permissions on a registry key. Do you have a tutorial on how to do this?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #7

    I look forward to hearing your results.
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 91
    10 pro
       #8

    Brink said:
    I look forward to hearing your results.
    Using a 3rd-party program (SetACL by Helge Klein), I was able to take possession of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{885a186e-a440-4ada-812b-db871b942259}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} and delete the GroupBy value. I added it to my ConfigureWindow.bat setup file and tested it on a fresh W10 install, and it works - the Downloads directory now opens with filenames sorted in normal alphabetical order. :)

    I'd like to do it without using any 3rd-party programs, but I haven't found anything that works yet. Powershell has Get-ACL and Set-ACL, but when I tried using them, I got permission errors. None of the samples I've found so far have worked. Considering that Helge Klein's SetACL program does work and is free to download, it may not be worth the effort to pursue this much further.

    I can post the code for you if you'd like to include it in your tutorial. What's the best way to do that?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 68,652
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #9

    SpacemanSam said:
    Using a 3rd-party program (SetACL by Helge Klein), I was able to take possession of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FolderTypes\{885a186e-a440-4ada-812b-db871b942259}\TopViews\{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000} and delete the GroupBy value. I added it to my ConfigureWindow.bat setup file and tested it on a fresh W10 install, and it works - the Downloads directory now opens with filenames sorted in normal alphabetical order. :)

    I'd like to do it without using any 3rd-party programs, but I haven't found anything that works yet. Powershell has Get-ACL and Set-ACL, but when I tried using them, I got permission errors. None of the samples I've found so far have worked. Considering that Helge Klein's SetACL program does work and is free to download, it may not be worth the effort to pursue this much further.

    I can post the code for you if you'd like to include it in your tutorial. What's the best way to do that?
    Great news. You can post it here if you like.
      My Computers


 

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