General Change Folder Group by View in Windows 11 File Explorer


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Folder_views_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to change the group by view of a folder in File Explorer for your account in Windows 11.

In Windows 11, you can change the group by view of a folder in File Explorer to have all items in the folder grouped by the name, date, date modified, size, type, total size (build 22494), and more file detail you want, and have all items in the folder arranged in ascending (alphabetical ) or descending order.

The exact details available for a folder will vary depending on the template the folder is optimized for.

When you have a folder's contents in groups, you can expand (show) or collapse (hide) a group or all groups in the opened folder window.

Each separate folder will remember its group by view as set when last closed.

Home and Gallery in File Explorer do not have the Group by option available. It is grayed out.


Contents

  • Option One: Change Folder Group by View from File Explorer Command Bar
  • Option Two: Change Folder Group by View from Context Menu


EXAMPLE: Folder with group by (None) and Name
Not_grouped.png
Group_by_name.png





Option One

Change Folder Group by View from File Explorer Command Bar


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Open the folder you want to change the sort by view of.

3 Click/tap on Sort on the command bar, click/tap on Group by, and click/tap on an available detail (ex: "Name") you want to group by. (see screenshot below)

(None) will ungroup all items in the folder.

(None) will only be available if you currently have items in the folder grouped by a detail (ex: "Name").


Group_by_File_Explorer_command_bar-1.png

4 Click/tap on Sort on the command bar, click/tap on Group by, and click/tap on Ascending (default) or Descending for the order you want. (see screenshot below)

Group_by_File_Explorer_command_bar-2.png




Option Two

Change Folder Group by View from Context Menu


1 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

2 Open the folder you want to change the sort by view of.

3 Right click or press and hold on an empty area of the folder's background, click/tap on Group by, and click/tap on an available detail (ex: "Name") you want to group by. (see screenshot below)

(None) will ungroup all items in the folder.

(None) will only be available if you currently have items in the folder grouped by a detail (ex: "Name").


Group_by_File_Explorer_context_menu-1.png

You can click/tap on More to choose details to add (check) and remove (uncheck) as available, and click/tap on OK to apply.

More.png


4 Right click or press and hold on an empty area of the folder's background, click/tap on Group by, and click/tap on Ascending (default) or Descending for the order you want. (see screenshot below)

Group_by_File_Explorer_context_menu-2.png


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Last edited:
After the 22H2 update I no longer see the item count (that should be in parenthesis) beside each group heading. Can anyone else confirm?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
After the 22H2 update I no longer see the item count (that should be in parenthesis) beside each group heading. Can anyone else confirm?

Hmm, I don't see them anymore in build 25217 either.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Hi,

I also rely on the item count in parenthesis a lot as LesFerch described. Is there any way to get this back?

Thanks,

EDIT: I confirm that this is happening to me after the 25217 build as well.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11

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