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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[TABLE=class:-grid,-width:-500][TR][TD]
Value
[/TD]
[TD]
Description
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
NotSpecified
[/TD]
[TD]
All Items folder type template
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Contacts
[/TD]
[TD]
Contacts folder type template
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Music
[/TD]
[TD]
Music Details folder type template
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
MusicIcons
[/TD]
[TD]
Music Icons folder type template
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Documents
[/TD]
[TD]
Documents folder type template
[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD]
Pictures
[/TD]
[TD]
Pictures and Videos folder type template with large icons
[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]

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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

 

[Brink]

Check to see if you also have View and Tiles set along with View, Group By, and Type.

Hope this helps.

 

[TuNaY]

I have uploaded picture of what I mean...
ImageShack© - Gallery

 

[Brink]

After you set it to the way you want it, close the window. It should (well, is suppose to ) reopen back the same way.

 

[TuNaY]

After you set it to the way you want it, close the window. It should (well, is suppose to ) reopen back the same way.

So I need to do this after "each" boot-up then :huh:

BTW I found this;

Note that in Windows Vista 64-bit editions, there is another registry key that are virtually linked to the registry key above to set BagMRU Size:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell]

EDIT:
Look what happend when I unplugged my External hardisk
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5913/errorz.jpg

 

[Brink]

Doing that at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell in this tutorial will affect that Wow6432Node location as well after restarting the computer, so it's not needed.

I must admit that if you merged the .reg file and set the folder the way you liked it and closed it, then I'm not sure why your Computer folder layout keeps resetting like that. :huh:

 

[TuNaY]

Okay, thanks for replies!
REP Added

 

[OutOfTimer]

I can't even try to express how grateful I am for this awesome guide. Thanks so much, Brink. :D

Unfortunately, it only solves one of the two problems I have with Windows for many years now. The other one being thumbnail previews.

I've searched for a way to increase the thumbnail cache but what most people seem to be saying is that no limit really exists. I don't think that is the case. I'm not a programmer but it is clear to me that the size of "thumbcache_96" doesn't reach more than 0.5 GB. I think it would be safe to assume that there is a cache limit after all. The miniatures are slowly resetting after a while, which for someone with 50.000 images on their computer is quite fast. I can't understand why Microsoft doesn't fix all the old bugs that prevent advanced users from really enjoying their OS. It's really beyond me why I can't set the cache to 10 GB when I have hundreds of GBs of free disc space.

 

[Brink]

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

I have not tried this in Vista since I believe that there isn't a limit, but I found this for the thumbnail cache size for XP that you could try to see if it may help.


USER Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer]
Value Name: ThumbnailSize
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Data Value: 32 – 256

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[DGArch]

Brinksman,

Thanks- you may have saved me the effort of finally switching to Linux (for now). Before your repair, I was also thinking about using my computer for batting practise, but I just bought a 30" flatscreen.

Spoke too soon. I turned off Explorer and when I turned it on again, it had re-set my contacts folders to the "All Items" format.

 

[Brink]

Hello Arch, and welcome to Vista Forums.

Try the download in Method Two, then either log off and log on or restart the computer instead of killing and starting explorer to see if that may work better for you.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[DGArch]

It worked! I was thinking the same thing (I was- really), but was getting too cranky to continue- thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Brink]

LOL, that's great news. I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted.

Yeah, sometimes you can get away with just killing and starting explorer to apply the change, but not always.

 

[DGArch]

As Columbo would say, ah...one more question... What do you do if you want to change the appearance of the contacts folder one more time (I wasn't thinking clearly the first time). I tried to do this, but it wouldn't take (none of the subfolderes changed when I applied the latest changes to the contacts folder type).

 

[Brink]

Doing this from the main C:\Users\(user-name)\Contacts folder, check to make sure that you also check the box below first before applying. That should apply them to the subfolders as well.

 

[DGArch]

That's interesting- when I first went to Users\Guy Ayers Architect\Contacts, all the contacts folders had the "undefined" format, even though I had previously changed the format of my Desktop\Contacts folders. Anyway, the update of the update didn't take in the Users\\Contacts folder, either. The first time, it applied the contacts format I had originally designed for Desktop\Contacts, even though I had changed this format in the current (main contacts) folder of Users\\Contacts before applying. I tried again, and this time it did the same thing it did before with the Desktop\Contacts folders- kept the changes to the main folder, but didn't apply them to the subfolders.

Can I undo the registery changes and start all over, this time with the Users\\Contacts folders?

 

[Brink]

Arch,

Are you able to manually change the folder template of these folders to be "Contacts", or the one you want instead?

 

[DGArch]

Yes- I can customize the template in an individual folder, but cannot apply this to subfolders (anymore- it worked one time only). Interestingly, when I change the template in a subfolder, the main folder reverts to my previous template- that never happened before (your registery fix). BTW, when I change the templates in the Users\\Contacts folder, these changes aren't applied to the Desktop\\Contacts folder, and vice-versa.

I suppose I should get rid of one or the other of these contacts folders?

 

[Brink]

That's normal to have it the folder template or folder views to only be applied to that specific folder location. Destop\Contacts vs Users\Contacts.

They have to be applied separately instead.

 

[DGArch]

So, any suggestions on how to get back to when I could apply template customizations to subfolders? Can I manually undo the registry changes and start over again?

PPS- how do I get the file manager (explorer) window to come up in the previous location, in the previous size, and pointing at the previous folder as when I closed down (either file manager or windows)?

 

[Brink]

The REG file download in this tutorial doesn't affect you from be able to change the template or folder views manually.

You can use this to restore all folder views and templates back to default. It's the same in Vista as well.

Folder View Settings - Reset All to Default - Windows 7 Forums