Solved Search Results View keeps resetting to unusable state

Using version 25H2, OS build 26200.7462

Since a few days ago, my search view has continuously reset to a state I find it hard to work with, and while I can manually fix it, I do the same thing every day, and I don't want to have to do this every time I turn my PC on.

Essentially, I have a main folder with a bunch of sub-folders with files in it. Throughout the day files get created and stored in various of these folders. To work on them, I do a search for ".". This shows all the files and lets me work on them as new files come in without needing to navigate from folder to folder.

Until a few days ago, I had the search view set up to show large thumbnails with new, un-renamed files at the top, renamed files at the bottom, and folders in a separate type category underneath that. Since a few days ago, each time I turn the computer on, it seems to default to Content view with no identifiable grouping, sorted by name.

To get it back to the way I want it, I have to change it to Large Thumbnails, change the grouping to Type twice to get them in the right order, and then sort by Name. I'd like it to remember this setting between logouts like it has been for years.

Explorer is supposed to remember what you set for the search results. Something is messed up. It may be the 5000 saved views limit or just some odd corruption.

If you use WinSetView to set your preferred views, including search results views, it will clear up the issue. Additionally, because it updates a copy of the templates, it will be more reliable. If you ever need to reset it again (e.g. after a major update or Windows repair) it's one click to get back to your preferences.

I had a bit of trouble getting WinSetView working (for whatever reason, it wouldn't let me set the Name checkbox in search results), but I've mostly got it back to where I want.

The only issue left is that now if I do any searches for new strings in my folders only 6 results are shown and I have to click show more each time - that never used to be the case in past searches, and I'm not sure what's going on there.

Soeroah said:

I had a bit of trouble getting WinSetView working (for whatever reason, it wouldn't let me set the Name checkbox in search results), but I've mostly got it back to where I want.

Click to expand...

The "Name" column is always present and checked in all folder views, including search results. It can't be unchecked. What were you trying to change?

The only issue left is that now if I do any searches for new strings in my folders only 6 results are shown and I have to click show more each time - that never used to be the case in past searches, and I'm not sure what's going on there.

Click to expand...

Six items? That sounds like you're doing a file search using the Windows general search box in the taskbar instead of using the search bar in Explorer itself. Explorer views, including search results, only apply to an Explorer window. Those views have no affect on Windows search. To be sure we're on the same page, please post a screenshot of what you're seeing.

I Have had a wonderful experience with void tools portable version of windows search. "EVERYTHING Search" I use the portable version as it will not do ANYTHING to the existing windows search indexes and it has many utilities that I love. It is written in C machine code or close to the hardware coding so it makes it very fast. Windows explorer search is busing doing many things not sure what but it makes me wonder why it takes it 30 times longer to show my files. portable version is the only one i have ever used.

LesFerch said:

The "Name" column is always present and checked in all folder views, including search results. It can't be unchecked. What were you trying to change?



Six items? That sounds like you're doing a file search using the Windows general search box in the taskbar instead of using the search bar in Explorer itself. Explorer views, including search results, only apply to an Explorer window. Those views have no affect on Windows search. To be sure we're on the same page, please post a screenshot of what you're seeing.

Click to expand...

In the past doing a search for a period has just shown all the results without the separation by type, ordered by PNG first, then JPG, then Folder, without needing to click the show all button. Since a few days ago, until I used WinSetView, it listed all the items by name, folders in between JPGs all haphazardly, and the default Windows search options didn't seem to let me get back to how it originally was, nor remember them when I logged out.

As for WinSetView, I mean this



You can just barely see that the name boxes are greyed out, and I can't select them for whatever reason. After I applied the changes it let to search results that didn't show the names when viewed in Detail view until I manually added the Name category by right-clicking the bar at the top of the search results

LASTBOOMER66 said:

I Have had a wonderful experience with void tools portable version of windows search. "EVERYTHING Search" I use the portable version as it will not do ANYTHING to the existing windows search indexes and it has many utilities that I love. It is written in C machine code or close to the hardware coding so it makes it very fast. Windows explorer search is busing doing many things not sure what but it makes me wonder why it takes it 30 times longer to show my files. portable version is the only one i have ever used.

Click to expand...

I did look into Everything a couple of times but a core feature I want from my search results isn't present in Everything, that I can see, being a view of everything in a set of subfolders with a metadata editing panel on the side for each item I click on, like this

@Soeroah OK, now I see the problems:

1) At some point you must have held Ctrl or Alt and clicked on the "Display in Details View" or "Add to right-click menu" column heading button. That unlocks the ability to uncheck the "Name" column. And then, I can only assume that you unchecked "Name" for some reason. When you leave that page and come back, the Name property is locked again from being changed (I probably should change the code to leave it unlocked if it has been unchecked). To fix it, hold down Ctrl or Alt and click either one of those heading buttons ( ⋮⋮⋮ or ⋮ ) and then you will be able to click Name again.

This is noted in the manual:

Note: Explorer does not allow you to remove the Name column, so the same is true in WinSetView by default. However, you can hold down the Alt or Ctrl key while clicking either the ⋮⋮⋮ or ⋮ button to enable the ability to uncheck the Name column. This would only make sense to do in scenarios where the folder type (e.g. “Music”) contains files that have another unique identifier, such as “Title”, and that identifier is set as the first column instead of Name.

Click to expand...

2) You've selected Group by Type in your "Pictures Search Results". Grouping creates the separations and the link to see more. Change grouping back to None. That is, click the Group by column heading in WInSetView so that it's an X. Then set your Sort 1 to Type and your Sort 2 to Name.

Thank you, that seems to have helped me get almost back to what I'm looking for, particularly in one folder set.

(I also didn't realise you were managing WSV, thank you for the tool. I found it before making this thread but I couldn't quite get it working, but now I understand it better.)

My last little hurdle is that I'd like to have one folder and its subfolders' search results sort by type and then name, as you've explained how to do, but the search results on another drive (a big storage folder with thousands of items) to sort by date modified (ideally with folders at the bottom but not otherwise sorted by type, but I'll live with folders sprinkled here and there if I have to). Is that possible? I can sort it easily enough by just changing the search results in Explorer for that storage folder to sort by date via Explorer itself, but that mixes the folders in with the actual files. I'm not quite sure if I can go that granular with WSV so no issues if not

@Soeroah Default folder views, including search results, can only be set for each folder type. There's no way to set defaults that apply only to particular drives or folder trees.

I'm not sure how you're getting the folders mixed with the files. In my tests, the folders are always at the top of the search results. But it's late and I'm tired and I think I've forgotten something about mixing files and folders that was in another thread. I'll check in the morning.

@Soeroah I found that searching a shell folder, such as C:\Users\Ferch\Pictures, results in folders being mixed, by Name, with files. However, when I search a non-shell folder such as C:\Pictures, folders always end up being listed first. I don't know if there is a way to control that behavior.

There was discussion about folders and files being mixed together in this discussion, but no one mentioned any difference between shell folders and non-shell folders.

Drat, thank you.

Still, you've gotten me like 90% of the way back to how I remember it working and it shouldn't impact me as much as what led me to make this thread would have, so thanks a ton for your help. I'm happy with where things are now, if frustrated at Windows randomly impacting my workflow every update.

Thanks again