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Anonymous

Is it possible to set a default “Sort Filter” for a folder in File, Open dialogs in Windows 7? Even though it always opens up the same folder (“My Documents”), it ALWAYS opens up sorted by Name by default, regardless of how I try to change the filters to Sort By Date Modified (Descending), Group By File Type. Annoying.

Ciprian Adrian Rusen
Samsul

Is it possible to filter to current selection? I.e. make a selection by using shift/ctrl clicking and then hide the rest so you can sort your selection in different ways. In WinXP at least I could make a selection and sort (no filtering, but the selection highlights remain). In Win7 the selection highlights disappear as soon as I click a category header (such as ‘Type’) to sort. This wouldn’t be a problem if I could filter the selection before I click a header. Hope you get what I mean.

markinboone

File filtering is one of those almost-but-not-quite microsoft features… If you filter on a file type: say, check the box by .JPG, then move all these file types to another folder or delete them, then the list of file types no longer includes .JPG, so you can’t uncheck it to clear the filter. You’re left with an empty file list and no apparent way to clear the filter. Eventually by clicking all the check boxes, then unclicking all the checkboxes the filter is removed. But if this folder has dozens of file types, that’s annoying. You can select another folder, then come back to the previously filtered folder, but again, this is annoying and not intuitive. The guy at microsoft who puts the (All) option in lists must have been out the day they put this one together, along with the guy who knows how to put a context menu item in place (like Clear Filter).

Joshua

An VERY important hidden feature that’s not mentioned on here, that definitely should be, is multiple sort by criteria!

In details view, after selecting the first sort by criteria — either by clicking a column header or using the menu — you can then SHIFT-click an additional column to sort by.

This is useful if you want to group by date, then sort by date descending. If you shift-click name, to alternative getting folders at the top or bottom of each group. Or sort images by time, then by name; or type, then by date. Very, very handy!

I say it’s a hidden feature because nothing in the UI exposes that it exists.

Ciprian Adrian Rusen

Thank you for sharing this.

GV

How do I disable the Advanced Filtering if I want to use Details View? I am trying to figure out how to stop it from popping up when I use my keyboard (i.e. Tab and Shift+Tab) to navigate through files and directories on my computer. For example, it says “0-9, A-H, I-P, Q-Z” as if I need to ever filter by those categories! There are special filters now under date modified, type, as you laid out above. Windows Explorer functions like Excel now, and sometimes it just makes it hard to do my job.

Mick

Has anyone EVER figured out how to disable this crap? I live in the Details View, but I absolutely hate having the small arrow pop up when I move my mouse along the top of the column header to re-size the column…

I care nothing for search filters or sort filters… This never existed in XP…

Davo

Agreed. However, iff your goal is to auto-size all the columns in Details View you can avoid the “small arrow pop up” by avoiding mouse use. Use Control+NumPad+ to auto-size ALL columns while focused on Windows Explorer.

Long live the speedy keyboard, disdain the pokey slow mouse.

I rarely check my Yahoo email. Try the same name at Gmail.

RichardL

What really annoys me about W7 Explorer is the right pane not following the treeview navigation. Can anyone fix that?

As for the annoying search pull-downs on each column I’ve learned to approach the column dividers from the right to miss them.

Mianna

I’m having a big problem with Windows Explorer in Windows 7 on my husband’s computer and File Explorer in Windows 8.1 on my computer. I wonder if you can help me with it?

There are options to add extra columns in the detail view. When you click ‘more’, you see tons of extra column options (e.g. flags, priority, importance, rating, label, task status, mood, incomplete, is completed, free/busy status, etc.). But I can’t do anything with any of them. They’re all completely useless. E.g. I can’t even put flags beside anything I consider as important in order to sort them so they’ll show at the top of my file list in a folder. Know what I mean?

I have tried to click on the little arrow to the right of each column name in order to see options there and there’s absolutely nothing except one box I can check and it only says “unspecified”. Checking the box for that does nothing at all.

If we can add flags and stars and such to emails (in Gmail and Windows Live Mail, for example), then why can’t we do it in Windows Explorer or File Explorer in order to have greater sorting/grouping options?? Please, what am I doing wrong? Why would these columns not be functioning for me? I can’t even put a star rating on a song file. I remember I used to be able to do that, at least, in XP and perhaps in Win 7 on my old laptop a couple of years ago. But I can’t succeed to do it now on our newest Win 7 and Win 8.1 computers. I’ve tried to google for answers (spent hours), and am completely stumped. Help?

Sekula

How to add your own column, and write own attribute for each folder (row)?

Muhammad Nur Aliff bin Saji

i know all the thing you said.. but how do i set it by default to overall foldering system? example i want the each on every folder is sorting by type, but the column by name remain on the left. usually i need to set it every time i open the folder. hopefully will have some ways..