Windows Explorer Folder View settings

How to Reset Windows Explorer Folder View Settings to Make Vista Remember​

   Information

Vista sets the Explorer window view settings and folder type template according to what folder types are in the window. This will show you how to reset the Windows Explorer folder view settings, turn off Automatic Folder Type Discovery, and increase the folder view cache to have Vista remember the view settings, folder type template, size, or position of a specific window for when it was last closed at the specific path location.

This does not work with the sub Save As, Open With, Open in New Tab (Internet Explorer), etc.... type dialog windows through the File menu bar item though. These do not seem to be able to have their size or position remembered. For these, you can use the free program AutoSizer to resize them.

   Note

• The Windows Explorer window pane Layout settings are universal for all window templates. These are the Search Pane, Details Pane, Preview Pane, and Navigation Pane. They can only be turned on or off for all windows with the same folder template. For example, the Music Details, Music Icons, Pictures and Videos, All Items, Contacts, and Documents.
• This will have no affect on the memory for the Open, Save, and Save As dialog boxes for having them open to the same location.
• External devices (EX: USB drive) will not retain their folder view settings when turned off or disconnected from the computer.

   Tip

It has been reported that installing the Vista SP2 has helped resolved this issue of Vista forgetting folder view settings for no apparent reason.

   Warning

The exact cause of Vista losing it's memory on your folder view settings has not been found yet. This may just reset them for now to help Vista remember them again. It has been noticed that changing a lot of window folder view settings in combination with some unknown applications settings may be triggering this forgetfulness. Make sure that you do not have a setting in a 3rd party program set to clear the folder view setting cache when it is used. (EX: CCleaner - Window Size/Location cache option under Cleaner -> Advanced)

METHOD ONE

Normal Way to Reset a Folder Type View Settings

   Note

This resets the folder view settings for all folders with this same folder template type back to the default view settings. You will need to use METHOD TWO below for Vista not remembering your settings for all the folder views.

1. Open Folder Options from the Control Panel (Classic View), and click on the View tab and Reset Folders button. (See screenshot below)​

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2. Click on Yes to the confirmation pop-up.​

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3. Click on OK to close Folder Options.​

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METHOD TWO

Reset All Folder View Settings to Make Vista Remember

   Note

• This resets all current folder view settings so they will be rebuilt when you restart.
• This will also bring back the Uninstall, Change, Repair, or Uninstall/Change buttons in Programs and Features if missing.

OPTION ONE

Automatically Using a REG File Download

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1. Click on the Download button below to download the Reset_Folder_View.zip file and save it to your desktop.

   Note

This .reg download includes and does all of the Manual section below for you automatically.

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2. Open the ZIP file and extract the Reset_Folder_View.reg file to your desktop.​

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3. Right click on the downloaded Reset_Folder_View.reg file and click on Merge.​

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4. Click on Run button in the Security Warning prompt.​

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5. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.​

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6. Click on YES in the Confirmation prompt.​

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7. Click on OK in the Success prompt.​

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8. Go to step 29 in OPTION TWO below to finish wrapping this up.​

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OPTION TWO

Manually Through Registry Editor

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Reset Folder View Settings :​

1. Open the Start Menu.​

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2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type regedit and press Enter.​

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3. Click on Continue in the UAC prompt.​

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4. In regedit, go to:​

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

5. In the left pane, right click on Bags, and click on Delete. (See screenshot below)​

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A) Click on Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.​

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6. In the left pane, right click on BagMRU, and click on Delete. (See screenshot below)​

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A) Click on Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.​

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7. In regedit, go to:​

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

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A) In the left pane, right click on BagMRU and click Delete. (See screenshot below step 8)​

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B) Click on Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.​

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C) In the left pane, right click on Bags and click on Delete.​

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D) Click on Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.​

8. In regedit, go to:​

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam

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A) In the left pane, right click on BagMRU if here and click Delete. (See screenshot below step 8)​

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B) Click on Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.​

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C) In the left pane, right click on Bags if here and click on Delete.​

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D) Click on Yes in the confirmation pop-up window.​

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9. The registry will now look like this. (See screenshot below)​

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Disable Automatic Folder Type Discovery for Templates :​

CREDIT TO: Kristan Kenney: Confessions of a Windows Enthusiast

   Note

This will allow you to have what folder type template you set for the window instead of Vista automatically assigning a default template to it based on the contents of the window. This is when you have your folder template changed to Pictures and Videos from All Items when you put one image file in the folder.

   Note

OPTION: This is an optional section, but it is recommended. Steps 1-9 must have been done first before you do this section. If you decide to skip it, then go to step 21.​

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10. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)​

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

11. In the left pane, right click on Shell and click on New and Key.​

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12. Type Bags and press Enter. (See screenshots below)​

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13. In the left pane, right click on Bags and click New and Key.​

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14. Type AllFolders and press Enter. (See screenshots below)​

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15. In the left pane, right click AllFolders and click on New and Key.​

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16. Type Shell and press Enter. (See screenshots below)​

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17. In the right pane of Shell, right click on a empty area and click on New and String Value.​

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18. Type FolderType and press Enter. (See screenshot below)​

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19. In the right pane, right click on FolderType and click on Modify.​

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20. Type NotSpecified (or one below) and click on OK. (See screenshots below)​

   Tip

You can type any one of these values in bold below instead to apply the template as the default for all folder types. You will still be able to change a individual folder type template to what you want and have Vista remember it afterwards.

   Tip

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Value	Description
NotSpecified	All Items folder type template
Contacts	Contacts folder type template
Music	Music Details folder type template
MusicIcons	Music Icons folder type template
Documents	Documents folder type template
Pictures	Pictures and Videos folder type template with large icons

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Increase Folder View Cache Memory :

   Note

This will increase the amount of folders to be remembered for changes to the folder view settings.

   Note

OPTION: This is a optional step, but the increase will help ensure that Vista does not forget. Steps 1-9 must be done first before you do this section. If you decide to skip it, them go to step 25.​

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21. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)​

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

22. In the right pane, right click on BagMRU Size.​

NOTE: If you do not have the BagMRU Size value, then right click on a empty space in the right pane and click on New and DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type in BagMRU Size and press enter.​

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23. Click on Modify.​

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24. Dot the Decimal and type 20000 (folders) and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

   Note

5000 is the default number of folders to be remembered.

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Deleting Local Group Policy Setting :​

   Note

This will show you how to check to see if this Group Policy setting has been set to not save the position of open windows or the size and position of the taskbar when users log off, and to delete if it is so that the changed will now be remembered at exit.

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25. In regedit, go to: (See screenshot below)​

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HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer​

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26. In the right pane, look to see if you have NoSaveSettings. If you do, then right click on NoSaveSettings and click on Delete and Yes to confirm deletion. (See screenshot above)​

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27. In regedit, go to:​

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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer​

28. Repeat step 26 if you have NoSaveSettings here as well.​

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Wrapping it Up :​

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29. Close regedit.​

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30. Log off and log on,or restart the computer to apply the reset and to let Vista rebuild the registry keys with a clean slate.​

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31. Open Folder Options.​

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A) Click on the View tab. (See screenshot below)​

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B) Check Remember each folder's view settings.​

   Warning

If left unchecked, Vista will ignore custom view settings for every folder and have every folder open using default settings instead. Only, uncheck this setting to force all folders to stop using display settings you have specified.

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C) Uncheck Restore previous folder windows at logon.​

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D) Click on OK.​

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32. Make the changes you want for the opened Windows Explorer windows.​

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33. To Apply These Changes to All the Same Folder Type Templates ​

   Tip

For more information on folder templates, see: How to Choose and Customize a Folder Type Template and Columns in Vista and How to Change the Windows Explorer Columns and Sort Order in Vista

A) Open Folder Options​

WARNING: Folder Options must be opened from within the same Windows Explorer window that you are changing or the Apply to Folders button will be grayed out.​

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B) Click on the View tab. (See screenshot below step 31D)​

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C) Click on the Apply to Folders button.​

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D) Click on Yes in the confirmation prompt.​

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E) Click on OK.​

34. To Apply Changes to Just this Window Template​

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A) Close the window when you make your changes to the Windows Explorer window to save the folder view settings for just that one window.

   Warning

Vista will only remember the way it is when you last closed the window.

35. To Apply Changes to All Window Templates​

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A) In step 20 above, you can change the default folder template used of (NotSpecified) to what you want instead for all folder templates without having to restart the computer again.​

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That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Back Up and Restore Your Folder View Settings in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
• How to Change a Windows Explorer Folder Type Template in Vista
• How to Change a Default Open Window Size for a Shortcut in Vista
• How to Change Windows Explorer Default Open Location
• How to Use the Windows Explorer Address Bar in Vista
• How to Enable or Disable the Menu Bar in Vista
• How to Change the Windows Explorer Columns and Sort Order in Vista
• How to Enable or Disable Folder Options in Vista
• How to Turn the Preview Pane On or Off in Vista
• How to Turn the Navigation Pane On or Off in Vista
• How to Change the Sort Order for Numbers in File and Folder Names in Vista
• How to Enable or Disable Auto-Hide for Vista Explorer Full Screen F11
• How to Hide or Show File Names in Vista
• How to Disable Auto Arrange in Vista Windows Explorer to have Free Sorting

 

[DGArch]

These instructions differed slightly from the ones sent previously for Vista, so I used those. Anyway, nothing happened- the folder views are still the same, and I still can't apply changes to subfolders. How do I get back to my original registery settings, so I can start over agian?

 

[Brink]

The registry file in this tutorial only resets all folders to default folder views with the "All Items" folder template assigned to them. To undo it and go back to what you had set before, you will need to do a system restore using a restore point dated before you applied the REG file.

 

[DGArch]

Can I manually undo all the registry editing that's been done so far, and then re-do it?

 

[Brink]

Sorry, but not since your old settings no longer exist. You can only do what I posted above to completely undo it and go back to what you had set before.

 

[DGArch]

Success, at last! I went back to the last set-point and started over, step by step. This meant actually re-reading your instructions- I realize now I was inconsistently applying the one critical step, "Apply to Folders"- sorry about that. Thanks for getting me back to where I was with XP a year ago- I don't know why I put up with things for so long. Too proud, I guess.

 

[Brink]

No problem. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted. Yeah, I like things to be the way I want them as well, and do not settle for anything less either.

 

[KClaisse]

I found an error in one of the registry addresses. The following is incorrect:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\[b][COLOR="Red"]LocalSettings[/COLOR][/b]\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

The highlighted portion is what is incorrect, it is missing the space between "Local" and "Settings". The correct address is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\[b][COLOR="Green"]Local Settings[/COLOR][/b]\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

Very informative article btw, I was getting tired of always having to fix new folders (which always set themselves to the pictures template for no reason). Works perfectly as advertised. Thanks.

 

[Sweet]

Thanks Brink

This problem i struggled with for some time.
Your solution made everything OK.

thank you very much
Sweet

 

[Brink]

Thank you KClaisse, and welcome to Vista Forums. The typo has been corrected.


You're most welcome Sweet, and welcome to Vista Forums.

 

[Adorna]

Thanks so much for this explanation.

Who knew Vista had Alzheimers?

 

[Brink]

LOL, you're most welcome Adorna, and welcome to Vista Forums.

 

[Memnon]

Will this work on Windows 7?

 

[Brink]

Hello Memnon, and welcome to Vista Forums.

For Windows 7, you would want to use the tutorial below instead.

Folder View - Set a Default for All Folders - Windows 7 Forums

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Memnon]

Thanks for the reply and welcome. Using that tutorial, though, won't do what I want, I believe. What I'm after is having each explorer window remember it's last size and position, and having a folder template-type remember its layout settings.

I don't much care about the Videos template, so I'd like to use it for the good number of folders I have on my desktop, which contain frequently used shortcuts. When I open those folders, which often have just a handful of carefully organized shortcuts each, I want them to take up as little space as possible -- no navigation pane, and small in size. But I want non-Video folders to have a different layout, and don't want Computer to open as a tiny window.

It seems that this was possible in Vista with this tutorial, but I don't see anything comparable in the Windows 7 forums. Am I missing something there?

 

[Brink]

Memnon,

The tutorial here at VF and the one linked above at Seven Forums basically do the same thing by having you set a default template for all folders, then setting and applying a default folder view to these folders.

By default Windows 7 will remember the size and position of the last Windows Explorer window that was closed, and open the next one the same way. There's not a way to have multiple Windows Explorer windows open with different sizes and positions.

You can use the tutorials below to adjust folder templates and folder views for single or multiple folders though to help out. The navigation pane settings are universal in Windows 7. If you turn the navigation pane off or on, then it will be turned off or on in all Windows Explorer windows. See the "related tutorial" links at the bottom of them as well for more.

Folder Template - Change - Windows 7 Forums

File and Folder Arrangement - Change in Windows Explorer Window - Windows 7 Forums

File and Folder Arrangement - Group By - Sort By - Stack By - Windows 7 Forums

Folder View - Apply to All Folders - Windows 7 Forums

 

[codon2]

Hi, i just come upon this thread from a reply of someone else to my problem. I see that this tutorial seems to going toward what i want, but I have a few questions:
1. Would deleting those folders in the registry do any harm, damage, or any other effects to my laptop?
2. Is there a faster way to fix the problem, besides going through all these steps? the process seems very long to me.

 

[Brink]

Hello Codon, and welcome to Vista Forums.

No, it will not harm anything. It will only reset you folder view settings. You could use the REG download in OPTION ONE of METHOD TWO to make this easier to do.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[WaltR]

I started experiencing a problem with my system shortly after running the REG download the other day. I don't know if the two are related but I'm just trying to figure out what's wrong.

I have a Toshiba L305 laptop with Vista 32 bit, service pack two. It's about two years old.

My LCD monitor has started flashing black at startup. It doesn't do it if I log off and log back in, or in safe mode, only with a regular startup. I can log in, the desktop loads and everything looks normal then after about 7 seconds everything goes black, then the taskbar quickly appears then disappears and then the desktop becomes visible again momentarily but goes black again. It repeats this very fast two or three times then starts. The quick launch area and the system tray stay lighter than usual for about a minute then they change to the same color as the taskbar. It never did that before. Everything seems to be working fine otherwise. I disabled my antivirus so it wouldn't startup but that didn't help. I've done some registry cleaning lately so I restored everything back to well before this started and that didn't help either. I've done a lot of installing and uninstalling of software lately but can't pinpoint anything that might have caused it. Unfortunately I have System Restore turned off so I don't have any restore points to try.

I've noticed my Recycle Bin icon has been disappearing lately, not the text, just the icon. I can get it back in several different ways, but this combined with the startup issue makes me think something is out of whack with Windows Explorer.

Have any issues like this ever been reported after running this hack. From what I've read in this thread the reviews are pretty favorable. Really would appreciate any advice.

 

[Brink]

Hello Walt,

It's not possible for the REG file in the tutorial to cause those issues since the REG file only deals with the folder view settings.

It sounds like it may be a video driver issue. You might see if uninstalling and resinstalling your video drivers, or installing a newer video driver version if available may help.

 

[WaltR]

You were right. It turned out to be a problem with igfxpers.exe persistence module or my Intel display driver, or both. In any case the latest Microsoft updates seem to have fixed it, so all's well that ends well. :D