How to force Win11 to sort files the way I want when opening directory?


GeneralLee01

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Windows 11 Home 64-bit
Hi all,

Win11 sort files in a certain order , no idea what order that is, possibly NAME

When one has set sorting to something else (for instance DATE in my case ) windows still opens a directory with the files sorted in the standard order and then takes 5 to 10 seconds to change the order to DATE.

This happens all the time, so also after one has already set sorting to DATE and has visited the directory multiple times.

I find this waiting annoying.

Is this standard Win11 behavior ? Is there a fix / solution for this issue ?

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner
I've just tried sorting my documents folder into date order. After exiting, and then going back in, it still displays in date order. So I don't see your problem.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel I3-10100
    Motherboard
    MSI H410M-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GT 1030
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 970 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Samsung QVO 870 SATA SSD 2 Tb
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Microsoft Office 2021 Plus
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel i3-8100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z370 D3
    Memory
    16 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GT 720
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Seagate 2 Tb HDD
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro v 23H2 (Build 22631.3374)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Precision 3660 Tower Workstation
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-12900 5.10 GHz
    Motherboard
    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
    Memory
    32.00 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 770
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell P2714H Monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 x 512GB NVME PC801 NVMe SK hynix Boot
    1 x 1TB Seagate ST1000LM049-2GH172 Internal HDD
    1 x 1TB Seagate STGX4000400 External HDD
    1 x 2TB Seagate STGX4000400 External HDD
    1 x 4TB Seagate STGX4000400 External HDD
    PSU
    300 Watts
    Cooling
    Air
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600
    Mouse
    Microsoft USB Basic Optical Mouse v2.0
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender + Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    BaseBoard Manufacturer Dell Inc.
    BaseBoard Product 0J1CP3
    BaseBoard Version A01
I just tried it on my desktop, and it's working like it should. My guess is a program or setting is causing the problem.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Please see this Windows tutorial.

Hi Ian. I am not sure I understand your suggestion. I do know how to change sorting and have the folders set to sort to date.

But internally windows sorts differently, so when opening a folder windows first takes up to 10 seconds to sort the folder according to my settings.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner
I've just tried sorting my documents folder into date order. After exiting, and then going back in, it still displays in date order. So I don't see your problem.

Mine does that too. But when opening tghe directory windows takes time, up to 10 seconds, to sort the thousands of files. So I suspect internally windows uses a different sort setting and not my sort setting.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner
I just tried it on my desktop, and it's working like it should. My guess is a program or setting is causing the problem.

Hi Winuser. How should it work ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner
Mine is okay, too. Opens instantly by preference.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG Gaming Edge Wifi (X570)
    Memory
    32GB Adata XPG DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GTX 1070 8GB ROG
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Ultrawide 34"
    Screen Resolution
    3440x1440
    Hard Drives
    Main Boot Drive : 512GB Adata XPG RGB Gen3x4 NVMe M.2 SSD
    PSU
    EVGA 600 Watts Gold
    Case
    Deepcool Genome II
    Cooling
    Deepcool Fryzen
    Internet Speed
    1Gbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    "Moderna"
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4790K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Xtreme6 Z97
    Memory
    16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI R9 290
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Ultrawide 34"
    Screen Resolution
    3440x1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung M.2
    PSU
    Thermaltake 475 Watts 80 Bronze
    Case
    Thermaltake Commander I Snow Edition
    Cooling
    Deep Cool Archer Air Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Armageddon MKA-5R RGB-Hornet
    Internet Speed
    1Gbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Moderna :)
I did did another check and will try to describe the issue a bit better:

Folder is set to sort on DATE, did that eons ago.

- I open the directory in fileexplorer. After this I do nothing, hands-off
- Thumbnails are visible instantly , sorted by "I am not sure by definitely not DATE"
- Then a green bar is slowly getting longer over what I think is the called directory address bar
- When the bar is at the end the thumbnails are re-ordered and are now sorted on DATE
- End
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner
Hi Winuser. How should it work ?
What ever sort order I choose is how File Explorer opens. There is no waiting for the files to get sorted.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
What ever sort order I choose is how File Explorer opens. There is no waiting for the files to get sorted.

Thanks. How many images are in the folder ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
    Mouse
    Logitek M185
    Keyboard
    Logitek K270
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Ah ok, mine have from about 300 files (total about 300 MB) to about 14000 files (total about 3 GB).

I can notice the effect already in the 300 folder , although it is just a tiny split second. That 300 folder sorts to DATE almost, but not fully, instantly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner
I did some extensive online searches but it seems this can not be fixed easily. The standard way Windows sorts a directory is hard coded.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Laptop Zenbook Pro 14
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-13900H 2.6 GHz, 24MB 14 cores 20 threads
    Memory
    32GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 and Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14.5" 2.8K OLED 16:10 120Hz 400nits
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800 pixels
    Hard Drives
    1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 Performance SSD
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    McAfee , Malwarebytes , Ccleaner

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