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

 

[arandaneri]

Disabling Autoarrange

Assigning numbers to the file details is helpful only when you are dealing with a few pictures in any specific folder. I work with hundreds of pictures in any given moment. I have need to be able to name the pictures and leave them where they are until I am ready to re-arrange them manually following any personal criteria that unfortunately does not match any of the Windows 7 arranging options. And then re-arrange them again…and again. I was able to do this with Windows Vista but I cannot find any answer yet on how to do it on Windows 7. Thanks in advance for any help with this issue.

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]

Hello Arandaneri, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If you did it in Vista, then you should be able to apply the same method to do it in Windows 7 as well. Could you give an example or screenshot of what you are wanting to see if we may be able to help suggest anything?

 

[arandaneri]

Auto-Arrange is only one part of the problem because it sends pictures -right away- to where they belong according to the Windows 7 selected sorting option (non of W7 sorting options meet my needs). In other words, this issue pretty much comes down to being able to drag and drop pictures anywhere I need them, for my own specific needs within the picture folder the way I was able to do with Vista. Windows 7 is does not allow that –as far as I know. Please remember, I am talking about dozens, hundreds of pictures in one folder. Any ideas?

 

[Brink]

Sorry, but there's not a way that I know of for when you copy/move files from one location arranged how you like with auto arrange disable to another location, and still have them them arranged the same way at the new location. Windows will always auto arrange them at the new location first. Sure, you could arrange them how you like at the new location afterwards, but like you said when you have a lot of files, it's going to take a while to do so.

 

[arandaneri]

Thanks, Brink.

Do you know if Microsoft is working on any patches/updates to let us drag and drop pictures within the same folder on Windows 7 the way it was on Vista?

 

[peterart88]

Hello Brink

I run the file though I didn't see any change on windows explorer. The only change happened that after that my wireless internet connection got disabled and can't connect. How can I re-do the changes?
Thanks.

 

[Brink]

Hello Peter, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Other than restarting explorer, this would have no affect on your wireless internet connection. If your wireless connection requires a startup program to be running in the background that didn't get restarted when explorer was restarted, then logging off and on, or restarting the computer, would sort this for you.


Did you use OPTION ONE to disable auto arrange?

If so, then please check the Nore and Warning box at the top of the tutorial to see if any item may apply.

 

[Brink]

Hello Emcitement, and welcome to Seven Forums.

The BAT file restarts the explorer process, so that would be normal for you to temporarily loose wireless as explorer is restarted. My Computer (explorer) is what should have opened automatically afterwards. Nothing to worry about.

 

[Emcitement]

deleting this identity

 

[Brink]

No, it should remember how you arranged them as they were when the window was last closed from the specific location it was opened from and not if the folder was opened from a different location. For example, Start Menu vs Windows Explorer.

 

[boohbah]

has something been changed in the bat file shawn, i recently did a sfc/scannow and it reset the disabled auto arrange, on re applying the disable auto arrange i find two things different from before,
1. there are no bars showing the space used on my hardrives in "computer"
2. when i move/drag a folder in between another two folders there is no longer a black vertical
( in large icon view) bar showing before placing the file

im sure in the past there were two files to download and place one in the windows folder and merge etc, perhaps im confusing it with another tutorial ,but im sure this worked differently before.

 

[Brink]

Hello Julian,

I've updated it a while back to include more locations to disable auto arrange in and for better functionality. In a Icon view, you will not see the vertical line anymore since they are not confined to be listed like in details view, but you will have the vertical line in details view since the items will still remain in the list. It's the same everywhere else though.

 

[boohbah]

ok , i dont suppose i could have the old bat file could i, as its tricky on the laptop trying to see that the folder i/file is being placed between rather than on another folder,
also its odd that i dont have the space used bar in "computer" is there a view im not checking to show the bar ,ive tried several times now and it wont show in any setting.

also when i move a folder or file from a row of files/folders it leaves a gap behind where i moved it from,


no space used bar!!

 

[Brink]

I'm afraid that the old BAT is gone since the update.

The easiest way to tell in icons view is that the dragged folder will not have a "Move to (folder-name)" pop-up message showing if it's placed inbetween folders to be dropped and arranged to that location. The bar was removed since you can now drag and drop the folder in the middle of any open space in the window like below. Arranging them like this helps make it easier to arrange them in any order you like as well. You can quickly reset a icon arrangement by switching to another view other than a icons view and back.

With the old BAT, you were not able to arrange them in any open space like this.

 

[boohbah]

ok ,fair enough, i never did arrange them dotted around a page, rather in rows but in an order i chose,
i played around and realized the move to or copy pop ups let me know it was being placed correctly, but as i cant see the space used bar in computer im going to have to give it a miss this time, shame i didnt keep a copy of the old bat file, i will have a search on the desktop tomorrow to see if i can find an old copy, i think i may have one,
thanks for your help shawn ,its much appreciated as per...

 

[Brink]

It looks like you have your Computer window in a icons view, switch to the Tiles view to see if the bars return. Not sure why it's like that for you since the BAT is suppose to have the Computer window in Tiles view and opened automatically when used. At least it does for me.

I'll dig around tonight to see if I can find an old copy as well.

 

[boohbah]

thanks shawn, it was showing in" extended tiles" ,the "tiles" view was gone from the list

 

[Brink]

LOL Julian. I just found the solution to get what you were wanting, and it was there this whole time.



While you have a folder window open (ex: C:\Windows), click on View (menu bar) and click on Auto arrange to check it. This will now give the line back when draging folders inbetween each other to arrange them how you like in that specific folder window, but you will also lose the ability to arrange the folders in any position in that specific folder window.

 

[boohbah]

Thanks shawn that worked, now to sort out the space used bar not showing,
it really is a puzzle as to why it wont show, ive tried it in pretty much every view setting and sort by ,group by etc.

edit, ok this is odd, i found the old bat file which worked fine but oddly the space used bar still wont show.

this is annoying now.

got it! when i was setting the folder view for all folders in the folder and search options /view
and i clicked on computer ,the bars were showing . so im back to how it was before, thanks again shawn,

 

[Brink]

Thanks shawn that worked, now to sort out the space used bar not showing,
it really is a puzzle as to why it wont show, ive tried it in pretty much every view setting and sort by ,group by etc.

edit, ok this is odd, i found the old bat file which worked fine but oddly the space used bar still wont show.

this is annoying now.

got it! when i was setting the folder view for all folders in the folder and search options /view
and i clicked on computer ,the bars were showing . so im back to how it was before, thanks again shawn,

Perfect.

I was wondering what you may have been doing for Computer to not show with the bar and in Tiles view by default using the BAT.