Sort by, Group by, and Arrange by Items in Windows 8 File Explorer

How to Sort, Group, and Arrange Items by a Column in Windows 8 File Explorer​

   Information

This tutorial will show you how to sort, group, and arrange items in a folder or library view by an added column (detail) in ascending or descending order in Windows 8 File Explorer.

You will also see how to only view files and folders with specified details in the currently opened folder or library. This can be handy if you wanted to find or view files and folder with only those specified details in the opened folder or library. See OPTION FOUR below for more details.

   Note

• In Libraries, Sort by, Group by, and Arrange by column changes are applied to all included folders in the library.
• In File Explorer, Sort by, Group by, and Arrange by column changes are only applied to that specific folder and the specific location it was opened from (ex: shortcut vs File Explorer), and will not be applied to any other folder unless Apply to Folders is used, or it is used to set a default view for all folders.

   Tip

Windows Update Issue Notice:

Folder's view settings continuously changes between different folder types in Windows

OPTION ONE

To Set "Sort by" Column View for Items in a Folder or Library in File Explorer

NOTE: This option shows you how to sort items in this view by an added column.

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1. In File Explorer, open a folder or library that you want to sort items by a column in, and do step 2 or 3 below.​

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2. Click/tap on the View tab, click/tap on Sort by in the Ribbon, select (dot) the detail (ex: Name) you want items to be sorted by, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: If you like, you could click/tap on Choose columns to add more options.​

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3. Right click or press and hold on a empty area in the opened folder or library, click/tap on Sort by, select (dot) the detail (ex: Name) you want items to be sorted by, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: If you like, you could click/tap on More to add more options.​

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4. To sort items by ascending or descending order, you can do step 4A or 4B below.​

NOTE: Ascending is the default setting.​

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A) Click/tap on the column name (ex: Name) on the column bar until the Ascending or Descending icon is set how you want. (see screenshots above)​

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B) repeat step 2 or 3 above, and select either Ascending or Descending. (see screenshots above)​

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5. If you like, you can also do OPTION TWO, THREE, and/or FOUR below to further arrange items in this view how you like.​

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OPTION TWO

To Set "Group by" Column View for Items in a Folder or Library in File Explorer

NOTE: This option shows you how to group items in this view by an added column.

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1. In File Explorer, open a folder or library that you want to group items by a column in, and do step 2 or 3 below.​

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2. Click/tap on the View tab, click/tap on Group by in the Ribbon, select (dot) the detail (ex: Type) you want items to be grouped by, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: If you like, you could click/tap on Choose columns to add more options. (None) is only available if you have previously set items to be grouped by a column in this view.​

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3. Right click or press and hold on a empty area in the opened folder or library, click/tap on Group by, select (dot) the detail (ex: Type) you want items to be grouped by, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)​

NOTE: If you like, you could click/tap on More to add more options. (None) is only available if you have previously set items to be grouped by a column in this view.​

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4. To sort items by ascending or descending order, you can do step 4A or 4B below.​

NOTE: Ascending is the default setting.​

​

​

A) Click/tap on the column name (ex: Type) on the column bar until the Ascending or Descending icon is set how you want. (see screenshots above)​

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B) repeat step 2 or 3 above, and select either Ascending or Descending. (see screenshots above)​

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5. If you like, you can also do OPTION ONE, THREE, and/or FOUR to further arrange items in this view how you like.​

OPTION THREE

To Set "Arrange by" Column View for Items in a Library in File Explorer

NOTE: This option shows you how to arrange items in this view by an added column. Arrange by is only available in libraries.

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1. In File Explorer, open a library (ex: Pictures) that you want to arrange items by a column in.​

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2. Right click or press and hold on a empty area in the opened library, click/tap on Arrange by, and select (dot) the detail (ex: Folder) you want items to be arranged by. (see screenshot below)​

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NOTE: Clear changes is only available if you have previously made changes to the View, Sort by, or Group by settings. Clear changes will restore the default views of this library.​

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3. If you like, you can also do OPTION ONE, TWO, and/or FOUR to further arrange items in this view how you like.​

OPTION FOUR

To Only View Items with Specified Details in a Folder or Library in File Explorer

   Note

This option shows you how to view only the files and folders with specified details of your choice in the currently opened folder or library.

These view items by details settings in this option will not be remembered after closing the folder or library.

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1. In File Explorer, open a folder or library that you want to view only the items with specified details in.​

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2. On the column bar, click/tap on the arrow to the right of a selected colum name (ex: Type), and check (add) and/or uncheck (remove) details you want to view only the files and folders that match these details. (see screenshot below).​

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3. If you like, repeat step 2 for any other column you would like to further specify details for.​

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4. If you click/tap on another column or a blank area in the opened folder or library, you will notice that any columns with checked details from step 2 above will now have a check mark instead of the default arrow to the right of it to indicate so to help let you know.​

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5. If you like, you can also do OPTION ONE, TWO, and/or THREE above to further arrange items in this view how you like.​

That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Back Up and Restore Your Folder View Settings in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
• How to Add or Remove Columns in Windows 8 File Explorer
• How to Change the Order of Columns in Windows 8 File Explorer
• How to Change the Width of Columns in Windows 8 File Explorer
• How to Change the Template of a Library, Folder, or Drive in Windows 8
• How to Set a Default Folder Template for All Folders in Windows 8
• How to Disable Auto Arrange in Windows 8 Explorer to have Free Sorting
• How to Change Icon Size and Layout Folder View in Windows 8 File Explorer
• How to Set a Default Folder View for All Folders in Windows 8
• "Apply to Folders" a Custom View to All Folders with Same Template in Windows 8
• How to Reset Folder View Settings Back to Default in Windows 8
• How to Search for Apps, Settings, and Files in Windows 8
• Arrange Folders Included in a Library in Any Order in Windows 7 and Windows 8
• How to Sort Items on Your Apps Screen in Windows 8.1
• How to Enable or Disable Numerical Sorting in File Explorer
• How to Clear Changes made to Library View in Windows 7 and Windows 8

 

[whiteboo]

Is there a way to have windows arrange compressed files like it does with folders without setting the sort to group applications?

IE: All folders on top sorted, all zip/rar/7z format folders sorted, then the everything else sorted.
essentially being something closer to this..

 

[Brink]

Hello Whiteboo, and welcome to Eight Forums.

Not that I'm aware of.

 

[whiteboo]

Thanks brink, you've been a great help to the community, I've been lurking using this site.

It is a shame though. It would have been nice to be able to edit the registry to have this type of configuration. I did think that win 7 or win xp had something like that on default, or perhaps I just had a bunch of compressed files put together in a folder.
Thanks again though.


Actually, is there a way to have it sort by groups but not show the huge dividers with the group names?

 

[Brink]

There's a few "Group by" options that do not have the dividers, but you can play with each one to see how you like each or not. You can always select Group by -> (None) to not group them anymore though.

It would almost be impossible to set view settings by registry with how it's stored in the registry, but if you like, you could back up your view settings using a .bat file that saves them as a .reg file to be able to restore them as needed.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/32105-folder-view-settings-back-up-restore-windows.html

 

[rdwray]

Here's one for you, files will not sort by type even with new account, this link will explain: Windos 8 File Explorer will not sort by Type - Microsoft Community

 

[Brink]

Here's one for you, files will not sort by type even with new account, this link will explain: Windos 8 File Explorer will not sort by Type - Microsoft Community

Setting it to view by "Details" instead of "List", should allow it to sort by "Type".

 

[rdwray]

Here's one for you, files will not sort by type even with new account, this link will explain: Windos 8 File Explorer will not sort by Type - Microsoft Community

Setting it to view by "Details" instead of "List", should allow it to sort by "Type".

I wished this was true, but it does not work no matter which "View" setting.

 

[Brink]

Please go ahead and post a screenshot showing what it looks like in "Details" view along with what you have each item ("Sort by", "Arrange by", "Group by", etc..) set as to see if it may reveal anything.

 

[rdwray]

This is a portion of the files, but the issue is present:

Don't know if the files uploaded or not, no way to tell; if it didn't, need the instructions on how to use it. When I first tried, I had to select the "Attachments" button several times before I got a popup.

 

[Brink]

Ok. What do you have your "Sort by", "Arrange by", "Group by", etc.. settings set to for this?

I also need to see the top of the columns. I think the issue is that it's showing "paint.net Image" in the "Type" column caused by a 3rd party program set as your default program instead of Windows Photo Viewer.

 

[rdwray]

You are correct, Paint.Net is set to default because Photo Viewer is undesirable and uninstalled.

"Sort" by is set to "Type" "Descending".
"View" is set to "Detail".
"Group" is not set to "None".

 

[rdwray]

I went back and set Paint as default and the files sorted correctly. Is this a bug or intentional by MS and can it be resolved?

 

[Brink]

Nar, it's not a bug. The 3rd party program changed the name for the file type to "paint.net Image", and the name in the "Type" column is what is used to sort them by. Since they all start with P, it doesn't sort them as usual.

When you use a default program from Windows, it'll actually have the true file type as the name to sort by instead of a name for the 3rd party program.

 

[rdwray]

I have never paid attention to this before and have do not remember the issue coming up on Windows 7. So Windows is not sorting by file type (the .ext), it is sorting by some "name type" that is give to the image and calling it "Type". It would not be a bug except that the files are acted upon by their extension and not an alias. Sorry, but this is a bug since "Type" is connected to the extension such as a text file always ends in ".txt" and executable always ends in .exe even though some other files may be opened in a text editor or executed.

 

[Brink]

The problem is the 3rd party program renaming the name under "Type". "Type" is not the same as "File Extension" though.

You can also add the "File Extension" column, then "sort by" it to get what you wanted.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9728-file-explorer-columns-add-remove-windows-8-a.html

 

[rdwray]

The problem is the 3rd party program renaming the name under "Type". "Type" is not the same as "File Extension" though.

You can also add the "File Extension" column, then "sort by" it to get what you wanted.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9728-file-explorer-columns-add-remove-windows-8-a.html

Brink, thank you for that one, it did the trick... :thumb:

 

[Brink]

Perfect.

 

[rdwray]

Uh, one more question: I noticed that changing/adding a sort option that it must be changed independently for some folders such as System32; is there a way to change all folders at once?

 

[Brink]

Sure. Here you go.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/9753-folder-view-set-default-all-folders-windows-8-a.html