Windows Explorer Auto Arrange - Disable

How to Disable Auto Arrange in Windows 7 Explorer to have Free Sorting​

   Information

In Windows 7, auto arrange is enabled by default so that all file and folder names in Windows Explorer are sorted alphabetically no matter what folder view you used.

This is basically like having how you can arrange icons how you like on your desktop in every folder in Windows Explorer now.

This will show you how to disable Auto Arrange in Windows 7 to be able to sort your files and folders in any random order and position you like in each opened folder in Windows Explorer and in the Pin to Start Menu area at the top of the Start Menu without it having to be sorted alphabetically by name. Windows 7 will also remember these random folder sortings (order and position), and open as how they were when the folder window was last closed.

   Note

When You Disable Auto Arrange:

• While using Extra Large Icons, Large Icons, Medium Icons, Small Icons, and Extended Tiles folder views, you can arrange files/folders in any random order and position.
• While using Details folder view, you can only arrange files/folders in any order and not in any random position.
• While using Extra Large Icons, Large Icons, Medium Icons, Small Icons, and Extended Tiles folder views, you can click on View (Menu bar) and check Auto arrange to have the black indicator line back inbetween files/folders when arranging files/folders in any order. This turns off the ability to arrange files/folders by random positions though.
• While using Extra Large Icons, Large Icons, Medium Icons, Small Icons, and Extended Tiles folder views, you can click on View (Menu bar) and uncheck Auto arrange to be able to arrange files/folders in any order and random positions.
• The Auto arrange and Align to grid options can be turned on and off at will in the View (Menu bar and right click context menu) when available (not grayed out) while using Extra Large Icons, Large Icons, Medium Icons, Small Icons, or Extended Tiles folder views.
• If you have items arranged by random positions and switch from a Extra Large Icons, Large Icons, Medium Icons, Small Icons, and Extended Tiles folder view to a List, Details, Extended Tiles, or Content folder view, the random positions will be reset but still placed in a order of arrangement instead.
• If you unzip a file in a folder, move a folder, or rename a folder, it will refresh and auto arrange the files in that specific folder only after each time you do this. Auto arrange is still disabled for that folder, but you will need to arrange the files back to whatever non-auto arranged order you like again after unzipping a file in a folder, move a folder, or rename a folder.

   Warning

DO NOT USE this tutorial in any other OS than Windows 7.

• While this tutorial will allow you to disable auto arrange in the main Libraries folder itself, it will not disable auto arrange in any of the other library folders (ex: Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos).
• Free sorting is not available if you use "Group by" folder views instead of only "Sort by" folder views.
• Free sorting is not available in the List and Content folder views.
• When you disable Auto Arrange, you will have Extend Tiles folder view instead of Tiles available in all folders except the Computer windows.

EXAMPLE: Auto Arrange Enabled and Disabled
NOTE: Notice in the screenshot with Auto Arrange disabled, the files can be dragged around the Windows Explorer window to sort how you like without having to be in alphabetical order.

OPTION ONE

To Disable Auto Arrange in Windows 7 Windows Explorer

   Warning

It is also recommended to create a restore point before doing this option in case you would like to undo any unwanted unknown side affects that OPTION TWO may not undo. This way, you could also do a system restore with this restore point to undo this option completely.

1. Click on the Download button below to download the BAT file below.
Disable_Windows_7_Explorer_Auto_Arrange.bat

Download


2. Save the .bat file to your desktop.

3. Close everything that you have running first, then run the downloaded .bat file.

4. If prompted, click on Run.
NOTE: If you like, you can stop getting the Run prompt by unblocking the downloaded .bat file.

5. You will now notice your screen flicker and a command prompt open as the explorer process is restarted.

6. Let the command prompt count down to finish on it's own without pressing a key.

7. When it's finished, you will see the Computer window open.

8. Auto arrange in Windows Explorer is now disabled.

OPTION TWO

To Enable Auto Arrange in Windows 7 Windows Explorer

NOTE: This is the default setting.
1. Click on the Download button below to download the BAT file below.
Enable_Windows_7_Explorer_Auto_Arrange.bat

Download


2. Save the .bat file to your desktop.

3. Close all opened explorer windows first, then run the downloaded .bat file.

4. If prompted, click on Run.
NOTE: If you like, you can stop getting the Run prompt by unblocking the downloaded .bat file.

5. You will now notice your screen flicker and a command prompt open as the explorer process is restarted.

6. When it's finished, you will see the Computer window open.

7. Auto arrange in Windows Explorer is now enabled again.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Back Up and Restore Your Folder View Settings in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
• How to Disable Auto Arrange in Vista Windows Explorer to have Free Sorting
• Make Windows 7 Start Menu User Folder Buttons Open to Users Instead of Libraries Location
• How to Enable or Disable Numerical Sorting in Windows Explorer
• How to Reset All Folder View Settings to Default in Windows 7
• How to Reset the Folder View Settings for All Folders with Same Folder Template in Windows 7
• "Apply to Folders" a Specific Folder View to All Folders with Same Folder Template in Windows 7
• How to Change a Folder Template in Windows 7
• How to Set a Default Folder Template for All Folders in Windows 7
• How to Change the File and Folder View Arrangement in Windows 7 Explorer
• How to Change the Icon Size in a Windows 7 Explorer Window
• How to Change the Group by, Sort by, and Arrange by Folder View in Windows 7 Explorer
• How to Set a Default Folder View for All Folders in Windows 7
• How to Add or Remove Windows Explorer Columns
• How to Change the Width of Columns in Windows Explorer
• How to Enable or Disable Start Menu Auto Arrange by Name in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Arrange Folders Included in a Library in Any Order in Windows 7 and Windows 8

 

[Brink]

Hello , I 'm new here , but I have found very usefull tips here as a guest , so thank you for that.
I have just got a new computer and found that I couldn't move files inside the same folder
I tried to install update KB2559049 but it failed several times, even DL it manually. This morning , windows was again nagging me to install it and because I switched to auto update , I thought to give it one more go.
I restarted my computer and again , the update failed. I cleaned my computer with Advanced system care and spybot and after that went in search again for the auto arrange problem.
I needed to look up a file on my external HDD and without thinking I moved one of my media files. To my surprise , it moved ! It didn't spring back and when I tried other disks , internal and external , it still worked. Also, moved files stayed in that place when I opened their folder again. When I changed the view from big icons to small and to detail , it still worked

Now , I know the update can't have anything to do with it , nor spybot or ASC , but that 's about the only thing I did with my computer , apart from browsing. Only changed from manually update to automatic update for windows.

I haven't used the drop down menu for arranging files yet , afraid I might somehow turn the auto arrange back on.

If someone has a similar experience , or maybe can tell me how this happened , I 'm all ears.

Hello Shipmate, and welcome to Seven Forums.

To enable auto arrange again, you would just need to do OPTION TWO in the tutorial to merge the Reset_All_Folders_To_Default_Folder_Views.reg file again.

As for update KB2559049, I would recommend to create a new thread in the Windows Updates & Activation forum area to get the best help for it.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[shipmate]

Sorry , I meant that I somehow find myself with auto arrange disabled for all my disks ( external & internal). I believe , that is what everybody wants here in this thread. I too , want it disabled and to keep it that way.

Thing is , I don't know how it happened , but I did a restart for the update I mentioned before , although I can't imagine the update (which failed again) has anything to do with it.

I didn't use your tutorial , you mentioned at the beginning of this thread. I just hope anybody here has the same experience or maybe knows what has happened.

 

[Brink]

Sorry shipmate.

What method did you use to disable auto arrange if not the one from this tutorial?

If the external disks are connected via eSATA, then that may explain it since they would be treated the same as an internal HDD.

 

[shipmate]

I don't quite know what eSATA is. They 're just external HD 's with 2.0 USB.
And I have no method , it just happened. Apart from that update thing plus deepscans with ASC and spybot , I didn't change anything ( that I know of) in either windows or the bios

I have been moving files by dragging inside the same folder and moving them to other folders since this morning and it still works.

 

[Brink]

Shipmate,

Interesting. I'm afraid that I have no idea how you may have disabled auto arrange from what you described.

eSATA is just another type of connection used by a external device (ex: HDD) to connect it to the computer with. Your's is using a USB 2.0 connection though, so it would be seen as an external drive.

 

[shipmate]

auto-arrange disabled

A little more information I found about this item

I needed to restart the computer , but it still works. I have been moving files , groups of files and such all around , inside the same folder and to other folders. Just with the mose , left-click on file , hold left-click and move the file. It also stays where I have moved it.

I tried the arrange option of "type" in de dropdown menu. It neatly arranged everything by type , and I could still move them , like I described above

In the drop down menu , I click on "view" and apart from the choices for icons and list or details , below that was "auto-arrange" marked with a 'v" and align to grid.

So basically , everything works like it used to on vista and XP , except that somehow I can't switch the arrange-option any more between ascending and decending. It seem stuck in ascending

Hope someone can figure out what happened. Myself I 'm happy that it works again like it used to.

 

[alex68785]

First of all thank you for the option to turn off auto sort. It's greatly appreciated since microsoft decided to strip the option. Has there been any way found to stop the initial auto sort on file creation/renaming? I recently had to reinstall windows 7 and I'm certain on the previous install(of 7 64bit sp1) I had this option disabled . For instance unzipping files using either 7-zip or winrar would go to the top of the folder they would unzip in regardless of name. Folders and files were also intermittently mixed. sadly I have no idea how I did this. Any ideas? I've run dry.

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Alex, and welcome to Seven Forums.

That is normal. When you disable auto arrange, and either unzip a file in a folder, move a folder, or rename a folder, it will refresh and auto arrange the files in that specific folder only after each time you do this. Auto arrange is still disabled for that folder, but you will need to arrange the files back to whatever non-auto arranged order you like again after unzipping a file in a folder, move a folder, or rename a folder.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[jondemassey]

This tutorial will not be able to disable Auto Arrange in any of the Libraries or library folders locations.

Sorry, Brink, but what on Earth use is this "fix" to man or beast then?

99% of the cases where users need manual arrangement of files (as opposed to just want it) are for presentations (e.g. slideshows). That is precisely my need.

And where will these files be located?
...... in the library folders!

So what's left? Program files? Who has so little to do of import he thinks he needs to move these about?

Was this quote correct, or is it misleading and the fix actually will disable AutoArrange in my document folders?

If it is as written, how can we enable manual arrangement in the Library files?
After all, it was available in XP and Vista without disabling AutoArrange .......until bone idle programmers (that's all it possibly can be!) skipped it in Windows 7!

I seriously am looking forward to the day when I find something, just anything, in W7 that is not a DOWNGRADE on XP and Vista! One of the worst feelings in life is knowing you have been ripped off!

Can you please help, Brink, or direct me somewhere I can get some?

 

[Brink]

Hello Jon, and welcome to Seven Forums.

You have misunderstood that statement. That is for only within a opened library. For example, this tutorial will disable auto arrange in your opened C:\Users\(user-name)\My Documents folder, but not in the opened Documents library. You basically have to navigate to the folder instead of the library.

I'm going to do some experimenting today to see if I may be able to find a way to also have auto arrange disabled in libraries though, and will post back if I find anything.

UPDATE:
The tutorial will now allow you to disable auto arrange in the Libraries folder itself, but it still will not disable auto arrange in any of the other library folders (ex: Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos).

One step closer.

 

[jondemassey]

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

 

[Brink]

No problem Jon. I hope it works the way you like in other than the library locations.

 

[Setchan]

Hello I've tested this a long time ago but today I want to disable it...but I can't xo and yes I've downloaded from this site.

I've tried the option 2, but nothing change, I can't reactivate the auto arrange ><

Can someone help me?

 

[Brink]

Hello Setchan, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Double check to make sure that after you have downloaded and merged the Reset_All_Folders_To_Default_Folder_Views.reg file download in OPTION TWO that you restart the computer afterwards.

 

[Setchan]

Yes of course, I've restarted my computer but nothing change.
My PC is it the only one which react like this?

 

[Brink]

Setchan,

Actually yes, since the REG file wipes out all set folder views and restores them to default after a restart. There's just no way for auto arrange to remain disabled after merging the REG file.

Are you logged in an administrator account when you merged the REG file?

Could you post screenshots of what didn't change highlighted to see if something may stand out as why?

 

[Setchan]

Yes I run my PC as admin.

So i've taken screenshot of the regedit:

first method: I do a right click on "Reset_All_Folders_To_Default_Folder_Views.reg" and select "merged".

Before: Imageshack - 1before.png
After patch(regedit still open):Imageshack - 1after.png
When I close regedit and reopen it(without any reboot):Imageshack - 1aftercloseandreopenreg.png
After Reboot:Imageshack - 1afterreboot.png

second method: I double click on "Reset_All_Folders_To_Default_Folder_Views.reg" (it seems the result is different with this method. Don't know if it is important...)
After patch and before reboot:Imageshack - 2retrybeforereboot.png
After reboot:Imageshack - 2afterreboot.png
Edit:finally, after some minutes, it becomes like this: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/832/2sameresult.png/ (very similar to 1) )

Finally;Imageshack - testvc.png
Same as before :'(

I hope you can help me ^^'

 

[Brink]

The REG file deletes the keys below, and is what resets the folder views.

Did you use any other method from another site to disable auto arrange than the tutorial here?

Did you right click on the REG file, click on Merge, and approve (run, yes, yes, ok), then restart the computer immediately afterwards without opening anything else?

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU]
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags]

 

[Setchan]

Yes, I have tested with the "undo.reg" of w7-fullrowsel:

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
"FullRowSelect"=-

And yes I restart immediately after patching.

 

[Brink]

Ah, ok. The method used to disable "Full Row Select" in Windows Explorer has a few quirks that come with it, and is why we do not have it here.

Since I do not know what all changes that one or any other that you may have used made to the registry, you could do a system restore using a restore point dated before you applied these to undo them.