Removing the de facto sort into files and folders

In Win 7 explorer, I note that whatever settings I use for file/folder sorting - it all appears to get over-ridden by an initial sort into a) folders and b) files. Even if a file and a folder have the same name (bar the extension) I cannot get the files and folders to intermingle as I expect.

What I get is a list of folders separately from the list of files. This is the same whether I choose List, Details, Content, etc views. I have attached a pic of a test folder I just put together to illustrate what I mean. The files and folders stubbornly insist on staying within their own groups - even though the "Group By" is set to "none".

Can this behaviour be over-ridden by some means?


Richard

Britton30 said:

Try right clicking in an empty space in the folder and change around these Sort by options, see if that gets what you want.
Welcome to Seven forums.:)

Thanks for the welcome. I was aware of these sorting options. None of them work at all, I'm afraid. What we have here is a first level sort by type (into folders and files), followed by whatever other sort you want at a second level.

Richard

logicearth said:

No, it has always kept folders and files separated from one another. Unless you Group by Name or some other factor the files and folder share. However in most cases the folders will remain on top and separated.

Use a third-party or the command line, dir command mixes folders and files.

Thanks for this info - that was what I was afraid of. Its inherent in Windows 7.

Any ideas which 3rd party app will over-ride this?

Richard

Hate to revive threads, but anyone got an answer for this?

The only 3rd party app that I know of is Classic Shell, but you might also try taking a look at these tutorials:

How to Change the Group By - Sort By - Stack By - Arrange By View in Windows 7 Explorer

How to Enable or Disable Numerical Sorting in Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer Auto Arrange - Disable (By the way, free sorting is only possible in the following Views:
Extra Large Icons, Large Icons, Medium Icons, Small Icons, and Details, and NOT in the List, Extended Tiles, and Content Views.)

The only 3rd party app that I know of is Classic Shell,

I have just confirmed with the developers that this feature does NOT exist in Classic Shell.