Saving view preferences in Windows Explorer

When viewing folders in Windows Explorer, it seems to have a mind of it's own as far as how it will display them.

Sometimes it will display them as a Lists. Other times Tiles. Other times it's Thumbnails.

I've been trying to set it to remember how I want to view a particular folder.
It will retain my preferences until Windows Explorer is closed ... which is usually when I reboot.

Here's what I've done so far.

After selecting the view that I want, I go into Folder Options | View
and check "remember each folder's view settings "

It seems to have a short memory though.
The next time I reboot, my preferences are gone.

Has anybody had this problems.
Any ideas on what else I might try ?

thanks

 

Gerald ...

The Kelly's Korner fix that Pete suggested implies that the number of folder settings remembered by Explorer can be changed to a max of only 1000, but you can use any number. I use 4000, which should satisfy almost all power users.

Rather than dig through the page at Kelly's Korner to find the fix, open Regedit and drill down to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell. In the right pane, right-click on BagMRU Size, select Modify, click on Decimal and enter your desired value.

Do the same in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam.

On the off-chance that the BagMRU Size entries do not exist, create them as follows: right-click on Shell or ShellNoRoam and select New > DWORD Value. Rename the new DWORD BagMRU Size, select Modify, click on Decimal and enter your desired value.

In addition to checking Remember each folder's view settings, you may also want to click on the Apply to All Folders button on the Folder Options View tab. Doing so will keep your folder views consistent with each other.

 

OKay I am having a similar problem, but instead of being random it is set default and will not change. When I click on My Computer or any other window it shows the tiles view and Auto Arranged. I can change it to icons and unclick Auto Arrange but after I close the window and come back it is reset back the way it was. I deleted the reg keys as above but still get the same thing. I might add this is a new installation and I have no changed any other registry settings or processes yet.

 

WindsorFox

Open My Computer>Views and set the way you want. Open Tools>Folder Options.View Tab and click "Apply to all folders. Click Yes and close My computer. Open any folder; should be the same.

 

I prefer details in most folders and files, but there are a few I want small icons.
Can I split my preferennces? How? Joe R.

 

joeskys

After you change all of them to what you want mostly, then each individual one can be set the way you want.

 

Bill: OK How do I change individual ones to stay the way I want them??

 

For an execellent rpelacement for the " Mind of it own Windows Explorer "

Check this Which I switched to WAY back in the days of Win95.

Windows explorer does have, and always has had, a mind of it own.

I tried just about all of the suggestions posted here and have yet to see them hold.

With PowerDesk it is a BREEZE to set up a dual pane view and Drag-N-Drop stuff from one place to the other.

BillyBob

 

joeskys

Did you check "remember each folder's view settings" in Control Panel>Folder Options>View Tab>Advanced settings?

 

I do not know about others but I have checked Remember MANY times and it proved to be a useless waste of time.

Unless I am thinking wrong Explorer.exe gets used by the system in general. Alias: I believe it is used for more than Windows Explorer.

And I believe that is a good bit of the reason for the hangups when trying to drag-n-drop files from one place to another using it.

I have had Explorer.exe errors come up when I was nowhere near Windows Explorer.

PowerDesk has proven to be well worth its' cost.

BillyBob

 

I have thought about getting into this before but just have not done it.

Just for the fun ( not really ) of it I just did some checking on EXPLORER.EXE ( the file that starts Windows Explorer ).

I opened task Manager and set it to stay in top.

Explorer.exe showed as 15.+K at bootup.

No matter what I did it kept changing size. Anywhere from 15K to almost 19k ( after starting Windows Explorer). It never has as yet returned to the original 15K. It is at 16.984K right now.

Now ( at least to me ) that says that EXPLORER.EXE is used for much more than just Windows Explorer. And this is the basis for my idea ( wild or otherwise ) of what may be causing hangups when draging and droping files.

BillyBob

 

OKay, your first reply worked great. I got rid of the tiles and the STINKIN auto arrange, Thanks for the help on that one. But like Joe, when I change one folder, for instance My Music with all my MP3's to the list view, you close and go back and it goes back, no matter WHAT I do with "remember each folder's view setting ". Why does it do this ? I swear it didn't USED to do this. At least I certainly do not remember it. If I have Remember each folders view settings I should be able to change 100 folders 100 different ways and when I come back it be how I left it. AIGGG!!!! Call me a prude, but I'd reather try to do it without an addon application if I can. If my hair survives....

 

You might as well relax and accept the fact that it's one of the limitations of Windows Explorer. The easy way out, whether you like it or not, is to have all folders behave exactly the same way. To do that, see my post above.

BillyBob likes Desktop Commander, but I think it's overkill. There are other good dual-pane Explorer replacements available (some freeware) for the few times they're really needed, as when you want to compare the contents of two folders. Most of the time, Windows Explorer works quite well, and dragging and dropping is a simple matter. Remember, too, that you can always open two Explorer windows side by side, if necessary.

 

Say what ? I have no idea what the is. I use PowerDesk.

I have been messing around with Windows Explorer and when you change one you change them all.

But I also have been watching EXPLORER.EXE in TaskManager. It is now up to 25K and holding.

Could that also add to the problem of hangups when trying to drag N drop files ?

BillyBob

 

Well, I CAN live with it like it is, but I just swear it seems like I could set different folders with different views and they stuck. Maybe I just wasn't paying attention. But why have the clicky box for remembering views for individual folders if it doesn't do anything? Seems like there has got to be something I'm missing. Icidentally, I don't use the actual Explorer like you get if you click "explore this folder ", just the view you get from My Computer.

 

BillyBob ...

Oops! I was thinking one thing and said another. Sorry 'bout that, PowerDesk it is.

Explorer.exe (not to be confused with Windows Explorer, which is just one facet of it) and the Windows GUI are, for all intents and purposes, the same thing. The longer you use it (over a long period of time) the more kludged up it's going to get. My registry has grown enormously since I originally installed the OS nearly two years ago, and everything in my system has slowed down. I'm seriously thinking about a clean install before installing SP2.

WindsorFox ...

To paraphrase what BillyBob is so fond of saying, "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks ". I don't work from desktop icons, but almost entirely from within Windows Explorer, which opens on startup from my Startup folder.

I assume you mean the single-pane window that opens from the desktop My Computer icon, but I always work in a double-pane Explorer window. BTW, it's easy to open a double-pane window from the single-pane one ... just click on View > Explorer Bar > Folders.

If I'm going to look at, or work on, an existing file, I find the file in Explorer and open it in the associated program by double-clicking on it or by selecting the desired program from the context menu. If I intend to open a new file, I open the program from the Start menu.

 

Good Morning JSS3rd

I do not see any confusion at all as I see them as the same thing. Windows Explorer uses Explorer.exe. I went to the Windows Folder and double clicked Explorer.exe and get the same thing as using Windows Explorer. And this is the same right from Win95 on up. ( at least it has been for me )

As I wrote in a previous reply. With Task Manager open every thing I did in WINDOWS EXPLORER was refected in the size change of Explorer.exe.

I was messing around with Desktop Folder Icons this AM with TM Open. All but ones that applied to the INTERNET changes were reflected in the Explorer.exe in TM. Changes that I made in them ( say view as ) were also refected in Windows Explorer.

With Windows Explorer there is no way ( that I can find ) to View both C: and D: drives at the same time without opening Windows Explorer TWICE. And then resizing the Windows so you can see both.

With PowerDesk you can go to go to View and select one of several choices and have C: & D: or even a CD side by side in the SAME Window. Or you can have two views of C: showing two different folders. Makes Drag-N-Drop a Breeze. This is great for copying/moving file(s) to a CDRW. Or getting files off of a burned CD.

If I knew how to get a screenshot on here I would. It is an 82.5KB .gif file.

And as yet ( going back to Win95 ) I have not had even one hangup when either coping or moving files from one place to the other. I sure had with Windows Explorer. I have had a time or two when a file would not move because if it being in use. But that is a ligit reason. ( user did not make sure program was shut down )

I just learned something new. I went to C:\Windows and doubleclicked on Explorer.scf and got the same response as I do from opening Windows Explorer.

2nd cup of coffe time. Be back later.

From the Old trouble maker himself
BillyBob

 

OOPS !! I Forgot this.

As far as I can see that is only two panes showing two vies of the same drive/folder.

I do not think that is the same as I am thinking about in PD where I can show two different drives side by side in the same windows. Or two views of the same dirve.

BillyBob

 

I'm familiar with PowerDesk, having used it in the past. When I need to use a true side-by-side file manager, though, I like FmEdit much better. It's smaller, and can be configured to provide several different presentations.

Just scroll the Reply page down until you see the Manage Attachments button. Click on it and follow the instructions.

Explorer.scf is the shortcut for Explorer.exe.

I never meant to imply that a two-pane Explorer window equated to a double-pane file manager such as PowerDesk or FmEdit. I was merely pointing out to WindsorFox that there is more than one way to skin a cat.