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Disable File Grouping in File Explorer

Jul 8, 2019·Dustin·Comments (0)
Windows Downloads folder listing Advanced IP Scanner, JDK, Eclipse Installer, and Rufus executable files

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Some folders in File Explorer will default to grouping by what time period the file was accessed. Many people do not like this style of file grouping and would like to go back to the default, which is just a sorted list without groups at all. Here is how you can disable the file grouping in File Explorer.

  1. Open the folder you would like to disable the grouping.

 

 

  1. Right click in an empty space in the folder, select “Group by” then click on “(None)”. This will disable the file grouping for this folder only.

 

 

  1. Your default file grouping will be retained for this folder, to show up as a typical folder, with a list of items, sorted by the way you want.

 

 

  1. To make these changes take effect as default with all folders in Windows, click the View button in the top pane, then Options, then click “Change folder and search options”.

 

 

  1. In the Folder Options window, click the Apply to Folders button.

 

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Written by
Dustin · Founder and Head Editor, News Poster
Sr. Cybersecurity Engineer - Microsoft MVP Windows Experience (2014-2015)

Dustin is the founder and head editor of MSTechpages. He started the site to help other users of Windows. He has been very active with helping others throughout the years, from USENET to Microsoft Answers to the latest Microsoft Communities as well as other internet forums such as Reddit. He is a Sr. System Administrator, holds several industry certifications and degrees.

View all 1500 articles by Dustin →

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