Windows 7: Disable Auto-Focus in Windows Explorer

Not sure if "focus" is the right term here, but anyway. I use "list" view almost exclusively so this may not be an issue with other views. But one of my beefs with Windows 7 is: if you're viewing a folder that has multiple rows of files or sub folders; then you click on of the the folders that's more to the right of the window and the entire contents of the window reorients itself so what you clicked on is now more towards the left area of the window. Know what I'm saying?



Here's a before and after of what I'm talking about....

Open Window...



Now I click on a file that's slightly out of view and it does this without me touching the slider at all.....




Yuck, how do I make it stop this? Is that possible?

the situation you are describing is common to all versions of windows (at least as far back as XP).

simplest solution...make the window 'bigger'

Not quite to this extent, it might shift the window so the full text is in view, but with Windows 7 it will often shift the entire contents to the left so the file/folder that's been click on is either in the center or all the way to the left side of the window. I have an XP box in the other room and it's certainly not as "helpful"

Explorer shell replacements such as Total Commander, Xplorer2, and Director Opus don't utilize this auto-focus by default. Unfortunately they have other quirks I'm not fond of, so it's back to trying to figure out Windows 7.