How to Set Preferred Folder View in Windows Explorer

Most users will open Windows Explorer when they want to have an overview or access the file systems in their computers. Like it or not, Windows has set a default view when you open this file manager. If you do not like what Microsoft has set for you or if you find the default view quite difficult to navigate, etc, you could remove the default setting and apply your preferred folder view.

How to configure a default folder view? Pretty simple. Follow these steps:

a. Open Windows Explorer. Set the particulars to the view you prefer. For instance, if you prefer to view the folder in “Details” style, just Select View->Details.

b. Go to Tools and select “Folder Options”;

c. Click on the “View” tab;

d. Click on the “Apply to All Folders” button;

e. You will be prompted a message: “Set all the folders on your computer to match the current folder’s view settings (except for toolbars and folder tasks)? Changes will occur the next time you open them”. Click “Yes”;

f. Click “OK” to complete the default setting exercise.

Windows users can use this method to set their default view, either in Thumbnail, Tiles, Icons, List or Details. It works for both Windows Vista and Windows XP.

5 Responses to “How to Set Preferred Folder View in Windows Explorer”

  1. Guillaume
    October 29th, 2009 22:18
    5

    Thsi si bullshit. It never worked and never will. Whoever wrote this is an idiot.

  2. Barry
    September 25th, 2009 18:51
    4

    I agree strongly with Steet Rat.

    Surely there is a way to do this?

    Cannot the defaults be set in the registry or something.

    A fortune awaits the man who comes up with a solution. I would even pay him a couple of pounds too! :-)

  3. Steel Rat
    September 13th, 2009 00:53
    3

    I’m with ElMarko. This seems pretty random. I’m familiar with setting the folder view since Win95, and applying it to all folders. But that doesn’t seem to extend to the common dialogs either. I almost always use Detail or List, sometimes large icons for thumbmnails. NEVER do I choose tiles or small icons, yet they come up quite frequently. It’s incredibly annoying.

  4. ElMarko
    May 8th, 2009 15:51
    2

    Does this actually work? I run Vista x64. I want to see the “detail” view just about all the time. I follow these instructions and there’s the detail view. but, I double-click on a file folder and then I’m suddenly looking at tiles or small icons. I select a folder again and now I might be looking at a completely different view. Is this some sort of random view generator?! No, it’s just Vista, ensuring that its user remains highly adaptable.

    My experience is that preferred folder views don’t remain preferred very long. You can never tell what you’re going to get. . .

  5. Vvv
    February 27th, 2009 22:57
    1

    Thanks

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