Viewing Windows Explorer

[hlewton]

I am trying to setup Windows 7 the way I like and am used to using Windows. In Windows Explorer I like to have the files arranged by date. I have seen how that is done but when I tell it to arrange the files by date it shows every file in every folder under the "Documents" library folder, I believe that is what it is called. Anyway I have a lot of folders below the "Documents" folder and I do not want to see the files in them unless I specifically tell Windows to display that folder. Other than arranging the files by date I have tried arranging them by folder. The problem is Windows Explorer then displays all the folders before it shows any of the files I want to work with. So my question is can I set up Windows Explorer to display the files by date modified without showing files in subfolders either that or display the files by date modified without showing all the subfolders ahead of any of the files? In other words put the subfolders last in the displayed list yet still maintain date modified for the data files I am interested in seeing. This seems to be the default in XP. I hope I am making myself clear. In Windows Explorer it opens up and I see two panes - the left side has a tree pane and the right side shows the files. It is the right side pane I am asking about.

Thanks.

[HansV]

I don't think that's possible - subfolders are always listed above files if you sort by modified date (whether ascending or descending) as far as I know.

[hlewton]

Thanks Hans. That is another thing I dislike about Win 7 compared to XP.

[HansV]

One gets used to it...

[stuck]

The closest I can get Win 7 Explorer to look and feel like Win XP Explorer is as follows:
1) Open Explorer and select a folder, any will do.
2) In the right hand pane, set the view to your preferred choice, I always use 'Details'.
3) Still in the right hand pane, set the 'Sort by' to 'Name' and 'Ascending'.
4) Above the left hand pane click 'Organize' then select 'Folder and search options'.
5) In the 'General' tab, in the bottom section, headed 'Navigation pane', ensure 'Show all folders' is UNticked but 'Automatically expand to current folder' is ticked.
5) In the 'View' tab, in the 'Advanced settings' area ensure 'Hide extensions for known file types' is UNticked.
6) Still in the 'View' tab in the top section click the 'Apply to Folders' button and then click 'Yes' to confirm.
7) OK out of the dialog box.

Now browse to C:\Windows
1) Find 'explorer.exe'.
2) Right click on it and select 'Copy'.
3) Close Explorer and on your desktop right click and select 'Paste shortcut'.
4) Right click on the shortcut and select 'Properties'
5) In the 'Target:' box put the cursor at the end of the path and add a space then type
/e,"C;\Users\yourusername" where yourusername is err, umm, your user name
6) Click on the 'Change Icon' button and pick the simple folder icon from the second row, fourth from the left.
7) OK out of the dialog box.
8) Right click on the shortcut and select 'Rename', I've renamed mine to my user name.
9) Right click on the shortcut one last time and select 'Pin to Taskbar'

There may be a simper way of achieving the above but it works for me and the end result is easing the XP to Win 7 transition under way in our office at the moment.

Ken

[hlewton]

Thanks Ken. I will keep trying but when I got to step 6 the opting to click on "Apply to Folders" was not available. As I said I'll try again but not sure it is going to sort the files by last date modified even if I can get all the above steps done. May be a silly question again but how do I find my user name? I know I have not supplied Win 7 with one. So I'm not sure where or what it is.

[HansV]

If you click the Start button, you'll see a small framed image at the top of the right-hand column of the Start Menu.
Click this image to see your username.

[hlewton]

Thanks. I did all the steps above but the one in step 6 that is not available to me and still when I open it the folders are still showing. Not sure why but that is the only step I couldn't preform.

[HansV]

Try selecting the C:\ drive, then click Organize | Folder and Search Options.

[hlewton]

OK I'll give that a try.

[hlewton]

The closest I can get Win 7 Explorer to look and feel like Win XP Explorer is as follows:
1) Open Explorer and select a folder, any will do.
2) In the right hand pane, set the view to your preferred choice, I always use 'Details'.
3) Still in the right hand pane, set the 'Sort by' to 'Name' and 'Ascending'.
4) Above the left hand pane click 'Organize' then select 'Folder and search options'.
5) In the 'General' tab, in the bottom section, headed 'Navigation pane', ensure 'Show all folders' is UNticked but 'Automatically expand to current folder' is ticked.
5) In the 'View' tab, in the 'Advanced settings' area ensure 'Hide extensions for known file types' is UNticked.
6) Still in the 'View' tab in the top section click the 'Apply to Folders' button and then click 'Yes' to confirm.
7) OK out of the dialog box.

Now browse to C:\Windows
1) Find 'explorer.exe'.
2) Right click on it and select 'Copy'.
3) Close Explorer and on your desktop right click and select 'Paste shortcut'.
4) Right click on the shortcut and select 'Properties'
5) In the 'Target:' box put the cursor at the end of the path and add a space then type
/e,"C;\Users\yourusername" where yourusername is err, umm, your user name
6) Click on the 'Change Icon' button and pick the simple folder icon from the second row, fourth from the left.
7) OK out of the dialog box.
8) Right click on the shortcut and select 'Rename', I've renamed mine to my user name.
9) Right click on the shortcut one last time and select 'Pin to Taskbar'

There may be a simper way of achieving the above but it works for me and the end result is easing the XP to Win 7 transition under way in our office at the moment.

Ken

OK I found out not all folders offer you the choice of "apply to all folders" and "Documents" is one that does not offer that option but C:\ is one that does. After completing the above steps, if mine is working correctly, I see the files I modified recently, and then the folders show up before the remaining files in that folder. I think that is how it is supposed to work so I guess I am at the point of it not getting the folders to show up last in the list. Still it is much better, in my opinion, than having to scroll through all the folders to get to any data files I may want to open.

Thanks

[stuck]

OK I found out not all folders offer you the choice of "apply to all folders" and "Documents" is one that does not offer that option but C:\ is one that does. After completing the above steps, if mine is working correctly, I see the files I modified recently, and then the folders show up before the remaining files in that folder. I think that is how it is supposed to work so I guess I am at the point of it not getting the folders to show up last in the list. Still it is much better, in my opinion, than having to scroll through all the folders to get to any data files I may want to open.

Sorry about the 'any folder will do' advice when clearly it won't!

As for your last point, try right clicking in the right hand pane of Explorer and setting the 'Sort by' to 'Name' and 'Descending'. That will put the files above the folders, though files will be listed Z to A. If that helps you can then apply that view to all folders.

Ken

[hlewton]

Thanks but I think I am going to just get used to what you have helped me get now. I'd rather have the files I most recently worked on at the top of the list. Thanks for your help.

[hlewton]

I am posting here because it is where I got the shortcut I use to open Windows Explorer so I figured it best to continue this thread since it is along the same lines.

When opening Windows Explorer on a couple of my computers even though I use the same shortcut, that I learned in this thread, to open them and have the view set to “Details” on both of them I get different views. In the attached I have tried to draw arrows to the lines that are different and the ones I would like to get rid of to match the other computer that does not have these breaks in them. I can’t seem to find any setting that is different from machine to machine and I can’t find any setting that will allow me to eliminate the lines where the red arrows are pointing. What setting can I change to eliminate these lines? To be a little more specific they are: "Today," "Yesterday," "Earlier this week," and "Earlier this year" that I want to eliminate.

Thanks

Explorer.jpg

[HansV]

Right-click an empty part of the right-hand pane. Then select Group By > (None) from the context menu.

[hlewton]

Yes that did it. Thanks.