Win 10 Explorer Preferences

[vark]

I already know that there is not and never will be a proper solution to this issue, but one has to try just to say one has tried, you know?

I want Windows Explorer (Win10 Pro-64 running on a PC) to display the way I want it to display. On the right side of the screen, I want to see, every single time no matter what, the following attributes in the following order:

(FIle) Name, Date Modified, (FIle) Type, (FIle) Size

And that's it. No matter what sort of file(s) are in the directory (sorry, "Folder") being Explored.

This is my default setting, insofar as one can achieve default settings, but it rarely takes for new folders except when it does. You know, fully at random. For instance, a new folder that contains a bunch of FLAC files has the following attributes listed by default:

Name, #, Title, Contributing Artists, Album

A new folder full of jpg's or mkv's or docx's or whatever will default to whatever Windows thinks is best. Mixed folders, with some of each, or one of something and a lot of everything else, will, again, default to whatever the OS prefers. Except when it doesn't and defaults to MY preference or some strange hybrid.

So, the question is: can Explorer be forced to display only the attributes I want in the order I want them, all of the time? Mind, if the only answer is "No", something dire might be in store for this soft, fuzzy, innocent mammal presently half asleep in my lap. True, it could be some gene-spliced monstrosity that viscerally angers the Universe with it's every heartbeat, but that's hardly the point...

 

[readymix]

left click open space within the folder and "customize this folder" or for more or less items left click the column header.

 

[vark]

Thanks for the input. That solution applies solely to the folder being explored, which is what I have to do nearly every time a new folder is spawned (for one reason or another), whereas what I'm after is to make all folders identical all the time, including when they're first created, whether by me or by the system. Even going to "View > Options > View > Apply to Folders" from a top-end folder doesn't work, which makes me wonder if there's another method or if I'm stuck having to change my folders views attributes manually on a permanent basis.

This applies to applications, too, of course. Opening, say, IrfanView or Foobar2000 and managing/manipulating files from within their browsers always means futzing around with folder view, the first one I generally have to cope with being to change the lists to "Details" from "Icons", then manage the details, then having the application(s) forget these preferences the next time I boot up. Even when they're browsing folders that have been "correctly" modified per my preferences, applications seem to universally default to Icon view and then put up the same fight as Windows Explorer when it comes to modifying the "Details" view.

 

[Ketchup]

I also hope that Microsoft will allow a default setting change for all folders in a future release. This would be a good question to ask in the Microsoft Forums IMO:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10?auth=1

 

[vark]

Ah, the MS Forums. Yes, a good idea, thank you. In theory, of course; I honestly can't think of any niggling issue for which I've sought a solution that was most appropriately or efficiently answered by the fine people at "answers" as opposed to travelling further afield in search of actual experts who've spent an appropriate amount of time banging their heads against the wall. I'm inferring from your reply that there is NOT a solution at this time, which is what I figured, hence the "just in case" cry for help.

Prior to anyone bringing it up, yes, I'm aware of the "RIght Click > Properties > Customize > Also apply this template to subfolders" solution, which works pretty well as a palliative but doesn't protect one from MS hijacking the view properties of New folders (again, whether created by the user or the system). Even better, if you "fix" the view to your standards and then cut/paste the folder into a different partition, it will (sometimes - at random) default back to what Explorer determines to be the "correct" view. Good times...

Since we're onto wee quibbles, didn't there used to be a solution to explorer or apps exploring files automatically selecting the whole filename (with or without the extension)? It can be useful to have the entire filename selected but too often I just want to tweak part of the name but have to first endure the whole name being selected then click AGAIN to position the cursor and make the appropriate change(s). I swear there used to be a way to turn off this "feature" but danged if I can see one, now.

 

[bruceb]

Have a look here .. a couple of alternatives to the built in windows explorer

https://www.techjunkie.com/alternative-file-explorer-windows-10/

 

[RLGL]

Try Directory Opus out of Australia

 

[vark]

Thanks, I've grabbed XYplorerFree and Directory Opus 12 and will let you know what's what. I have tried Explorer alternatives in the past and usually found them to be some stark combination of ugly and unwieldy, though I don't recall having tested either of these. Q-Dir might fit that classification given the screenshots they've posted, so I'll save it for last if the neither of the first two don't work out.

 

[vark]

Of the three, Directory Opus 12 appears to be the most robust, though it does suffer from it's own vast configurability. Trying to nuke the built-in image viewer, or establish permanent column widths, for example, wasn't possible despite their own documentation explaining how to do these things (the designated Options menus/sub-menus simply don't exist). Perhaps these things are possible in the full, registered version, but while I'd be happy to lay down the brass for such a nice piece of software, I'll not spend a dime on a maybe.

All that said, whether it's serendipity or coincidence or just good timing, File Explorer seems to be behaving itself much better just in the last week. Not just in how it displays files (maintaining my preferences), but File transfers, both internal (same HDD) and external (secondary HDD or USB) have also speeded up considerably, which was another issue for which I sought clarity a little while back. My new-ish Kinston Hyper-X Savage drive is now consistently meeting or exceeding spec rather than just being a lot faster than cheaper USB drives. Actually it's a little bit creepy that MS should decide to sort my problems all at once; remind me to check the crevices for cameras, later. And thanks much to everyone for their suggestions.

 

[JackMDS]

http://freecommander.com/en/screenshots/