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How can I view ALL files in the current directory when in a save dialog?

Anonymous
2018-02-22T16:47:33+00:00

Like the subject says, I'd like the "Open..." , "Save..." and "Save As..." standard Windows dialog boxes to, by default, show all files in the dialog box, not just the ones that correspond with the current "Save as type."

Essentially the same concept as looking for "All Files (*.*)" in an "Open..." dialog box. But without having to select that from the document type dropdown selector in the dialog box to the right of the filename. Set the default filetype to be "*.*" throughout all file dialog boxes, system-wide.

However, there's no option (and no workaround) to see all the files in a directory when you're in a "Save..." or "Save As..." dialog box, you're limited to the specific types of files your current program can save or save as.

For example: If you're in Microsoft Word and you want to save your document as a .docx, your file dialog changes the view so that you see only .docx files and the folder/directory structure. I'd like it to NOT do this, and always show all the files in the directory, regardless of file extension or file type.

This would allow the user to:

  • More easily recognize the folder they're saving into, by seeing the other familiar files located in the same directory
  • View file naming conventions and revisions or other file information directly in the "Save..." or "Save As..." dialog boxes, without having to leave the program, look at the same directory in Windows Explorer, and then enter the program again
  • Easily click-copy the name of a differing file and then "Save As" with the same filename but a different extension (For example, save an Excel document as .xlsx, and then export a .csv version of the same file with the same naming convention)
Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-22T17:12:20+00:00

    Yep. Totally agree; not all "Save..." or "Save As..." dialog boxes give you this option. 

    I also know that it has "always been this way" on Windows. 

      - however -

    That doesn't make it correct. Lets see if Microsoft can fix this annoyance.

    The program wouldn't be able to actually save a .TXT file as a .JPG, that would be ridiculous.

    Same with open. Obviously a program like Adobe Photoshop won't actually open a .xlsx file. 

    However, inside the file dialog box, when you're viewing the directory, you'd be able to SEE all of the files, for the reasons outlined in the original post.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-02-22T17:56:35+00:00

    Yep. Totally agree; not all "Save..." or "Save As..." dialog boxes give you this option. 

    I also know that it has "always been this way" on Windows. 

      - however -

    That doesn't make it correct. Lets see if Microsoft can fix this annoyance.

    The program wouldn't be able to actually save a .TXT file as a .JPG, that would be ridiculous.

    Same with open. Obviously a program like Adobe Photoshop won't actually open a .xlsx file. 

    However, inside the file dialog box, when you're viewing the directory, you'd be able to SEE all of the files, for the reasons outlined in the original post.

    That was an example if it would allow you to view all files and allow you to save a jpg as txt. I did not say that was possible

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-02-22T17:03:53+00:00

    If you select the menu SAVE or SAVE AS TYPE

    If there is a selection there to show ALL, then you can show all. But not all save or save as dialog boxes gives you this option. It has always been this way. If you select a folder to save a file, then wouldn't a person already know what is in that folder or the types of files they saved in that folder?

    And that is a menu to SAVE or SAVE as TYPE, so why would it list all types of files you can SAVE or SAVE as if the file can not be saved in that format or file extension. Then people would be saving a JPG file as a TXT file and the file would be useless, unless they new better and could just change the file extension back to the correct file extension.

    As for OPEN, most always the program used to browse to open a file will have specific files that you can only open or run, therefore it would not list files that it could not open or run as that makes sense and also makes it easier and faster to just select a compatible file.

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