Windows Explorer Auto Arrange - Disable

The only trouble I've had is that, after spending some time arranging files in the order I wanted, I accidentally copied some by dragging them. When I clicked "undo copy", every change I had made disappeared. Do you know a way of avoiding that in future? Will making the folder read-only prevent any future changes of file order?

Okay, thank you very much. I will just have to be careful! And I must remember not to rename any folders or subfolders in a moment of absentmindedness!

I know this is really old. But the first time I tried finding a way to disable auto-arrange, was when I first got my computer loaded with Win 7 more than a year ago. Then, there was Dave a previous Microsoft forum MVP who found a way to do it, and it worked for every outraged person on that forum thread...EXCEPT ME. I'm still pissed off and it has ruined my picture filing experiences. So I tried again...tried a few things, and Still nothing works for me.
Today, I did everything in YOUR suggested download, and it still doesn't work once I go back into a picture folder and try to arrange the icons. Sigh. Yes, I am in administrator mode, and no I am not technically good so I really don't know what it is about MY OS that is preventing all these so -called fixes. I don't even get the option of Disable Auto Arrange in a grayed out view anywhere like other people do. Sigh again.
What can I do?

Hi Jon and Brink

I'm such a tech-feeb. I'm trying John's work-around in my pictures (not library)...so, say I've brought up my pictures and highlighted the folder I want to work with, which in this case is 'RAVELRY SWEATERS'. I've already re-arranged the pictures in this folder into the order I want them to be in....but I'm unable (when I go to the first picture in the folder and bring it up in full screen) to use the next arrow at the bottom to go to the next one in the order I've created. It defaults to the pre-auto-arranged format.
I want to use your work-around but I'm really unsure what I'm doing wrong.
So I am still IN the folder....I highlight and right click on the first photo, and NOWHERE do I see what you are describing i.e. to select 'details' ....it gives me a side window with
OPEN
Open command prompt'
Open in new window
Add to Windows media player
Play with windows media player
share with >
File Shredder
Restore Previous versions
Scan with Bit Defender
Bit Defender File Vault
Include in Library
Send to >
Copy to folder
Move to folder
Cut
Copy
Create Short Cut
Delete ]
Rename
Properties
IF I THEN click Properties, it give me a 4 tab window, tabs are general, security, Details, Previous versions.
IF I then click the Details tab, it give me the specs on the photo, then at the very bottom in blue, is an underlined "Remove Properties and personal Information".
If I then click on "Remove Properties and personal information", I get another window opening with

2 radio buttons
1. Create a copy with all possible properties removed from the file
2. remove the following properties from the file
and below that,
boxes that you can click beside
title
subject
rating
tag
comments.
etc etc

This process doesn't give me a re-name re-tag, re-rate option at all anywhere.

WHERE ARE THEY!!!? Argh I'm so frustrated.

I would appreciate any help!!!!
Laurie

,

, an

jondemassey said:

Oh that's well cool then thanx Brink. Sorry I was a bit grotty but I am finding elephant traps round every corner in W7. I mean everyone slagged off Vista but I have has zero problems with that @work!

In the meantime I had actually devised a workaround for this.

Many of the complaints are from people who are staging slideshows/presentations but want to retain the file names without an 01-, 02-, 03- etc unprofessionally tagged to the (presentation-visible) filename, which is also time-consuming.

Well the secret is in the file itself.

Say you have five pix of flowers and you want2 present them in the order dahlia, tulip, anemone, rose, friesia. W7 won't have it! It insists on anemone,dahlia, friesia, rose, tulip (alphabetical)!

Ok..... right click each file and select details.
Each file has several options... title, subject, tags, comments are the 1st 4.
Choose any one; say, "title".
Input 0100 in dahlia, 0200 in tulip, 0300 in anemone, 0400 in rose and 0500 in friesia.
Then open the containing folder and right-click the whiteboard.
click "sort by" and select "more" at the bottom
scroll down the drop-down list till you find "title", tick the box and click ok.
Now right-click the whiteboard again, select "sort by" and then select "title".
Hey look! Your flowers are bedded in the right order.
You are now set up for life because (and here is the trick)
If the next time you open the folder you want "rose" 2nd instead of 4th, just change the title in that file to, say, 0150.
Now it appears correctly between dahlia (0100) and tulip (0200). That is why I spaced the "titles" 100 apart 2 leave space so that, almost forever, you only have2 amend the file(s) you want2 move rather than the whole lot.
You can always rumble the vets who used2 program basic, can't you, LOL?

You could always use "subject" for your second arrangement, "tags" for your third, etc etc etc and therefore always have them to call up with a simple "sort by".

Is that so cool it's got ice crystals?

Anyhow I'll now try your fix, because it's bound2B more systemised... well mayB 2moro, it's nearly mice n pumpkin time now!

Thanx Jon

Hi, yes that option , to right click and rename, is open to me...but to be frank, I'm kinda not sure what happens to the picture at that point. I told you the truth when I said I am tech-challenged! Sometimes when I go to rename something, it'll get right down into the " ETGPP.jpeg1' type of format and I have no idea how I navigated there. If I remove all that and just type in 0100, or do I have to type in 001.jpeg, and/or will it remove anything important? Also, will the change that I do in the explorer window change the number of the photo in the Library?
What I'm really asking, is can anything I do manually on each file by renaming them be a permanent change so that the LIBRARY will also reflect the new order. I'm willing, in some photo files, to go to all the trouble of renumbering them if it's going to do any good at all. ( this is what I understood Jon to be doing).
I thank you for your patience, as I know most of the people in these threads actually know all this basic stuff that I don't have the brain to intuitively understand.!

regards and maybe talk to you tomorrow.
Laurie
Oh, by the way, I posted your tutorial and downloadable fix onto the original thread from Windows forum, and had an immediate reply that was toooo funny...he laughed, cried, danced around and squealed like a little girl with joy!

Brink said:

Laurie,

Unfortunately, it will still show the next picture like that in alphabetical order in the player/viewer no matter how you have them arranged in the folder.

How you have them arranged is only for the purposes of viewing them in Windows Explorer.

Are you able to right click on the file in Windows Explorer, and click on "Rename" to name the file to how you want the order to be when viewing them in the player?