Turning off all grouping

The thread you linked to is the exact same one I found and last night. Is the broken apply to folder view the reason why grouping kept coming back after I checked that box? An article I found told me to disable grouping and then check the box that says apply this view to all folders and subfolders, but when I did that grouping was turned back on.

Based on what you've said, that article was incorrect.

The purpose of the checkbox labelled "Also apply this template to all subfolders" is to change the current folder, and all of its subfolders, to a different folder type. For example, in theory, you could use that option to change a folder tree from type "General items" to type "Music". That function is broken in Windows 11. Or to be more accurate, that function is broken in the Windows 11 Explorer. It still works in the Windows 10 Explorer which can be used on Windows 11 (with a simple registry entry).

But all of that is moot because the function you want is the button labelled "Apply to Folders". The purpose of that button is to update the template for the current folder type and apply that change to all folders of the same type. So, for example, the Downloads folder is a special folder type named "Downloads". When you set Group by to "(None)" and do nothing else, you're only affecting one view of Downloads (aka one "namespace"). To set all views, for all folders of type Downloads, you would need to also click the "Apply to Folders" button. BUT, as I previously mentioned, the "Apply to Folders" button does not catch everything and there are certain situations where it doesn't work at all.

I didn't write WinSetView for nothing. If there was a built-in function that would let you change the folder view defaults to your preferences thoroughly and reliably, it wouldn't be needed. So, I recommend that you use WinSetView and just take your time to follow the steps in the quick start guide, so you get the defaults that you want.

If you don't want to go that route, then just note that the "Apply to Folders" button is all you've got and the "Also apply this template to all subfolders" checkbox is irrelevant to the problem of turning off grouping for the Downloads folder.

Thanks for your reply, I had forgotten how to do that. I did find a thread that recommends using a third party utility to do this. I downloaded and ran that but now everything has been changed, but now that you reminded me how to optimize folders, I can fix some things.

I assume the "third party utility" is my WinSetView app. Please note that you can get exactly the views you want using that tool.

Just take the time to follow the guide and set the views that you want for each folder type and be sure to review the items in the Options page. If you just click Submit without changing anything, you're going to get Details view pretty much everywhere. It's all under your control.

But if you're happy with the results you got using "Apply to Folders", that's fine, but please note that option has limitations. It will not update related views such as Libraries or Search results and will not update views for open/save dialogs (for folders that have been previously opened that way). In other words, you may not have seen the last of Group by date.

Also note that the option "Also apply this template to all subfolders" is completely broken in Windows 11. You cannot override the automatically detected folder type on an NTFS local disk and you will just keep getting set back to "General items" on removable drives. And you also cannot change the Downloads folder to a different folder type.

For more details see:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/completely-disable-file-grouping-always-everywhere/ac31a227-f585-4b0a-ab2e-a557828eaec5

The thread you linked to is the exact same one I found and last night. Is the broken apply to folder view the reason why grouping kept coming back after I checked that box? An article I found told me to disable grouping and then check the box that says apply this view to all folders and subfolders, but when I did that grouping was turned back on.

Thanks for your reply, I had forgotten how to do that. I did find a thread that recommends using a third party utility to do this. I downloaded and ran that but now everything has been changed, but now that you reminded me how to optimize folders, I can fix some things.

Hello rcavanaugh and welcome to the Microsoft Community!

According to your feedback, you are experiencing an issue with all folders being grouped by time

You can try the parent folder by clicking on Sort > Group By > Name

Then you can click on "..." at the top of the folder Click on Properties and when a new window opens, you can click on the last tab "Customize".

Underneath there will be a "Optimize this folder", click on your file type (this option is a drop down menu that appears when you click on it)

For example "Documents", "Pictures"... You need to select one of them

At the bottom you will see Apply to all subfolders, select this option and then apply it.

Do this for all file types, five times in total.

If there is no "Apply to all subfolders" option

you can click again on the "... "Click on the option, click on View

Then click Apply to folder

We hope you find the above information helpful, and if you have any questions, please feel free to send us your feedback!

Kirito|Microsoft Community Support Specialist