Member Avatar for Salem

Every time I go to a directory, the view (tiles, icons, list etc etc) seems to be arbitrarily assigned.

The problem gets even worse with plugin USB drives as it seems to descend into chaos.

I keep doing "set all folders" to look like this, but does it remember - hell no!

Two questions:
a) can all this overly clever assumption about what windows thinks is "best" be turned OFF completely. I'm traditional, I don't need all these silly gimmicks. I'd be quite happy with the old explorer "details" view.

b) if it can't be turned off, can it at least be made to remember in a consistent way, even across different USB drives mapped to the same X: (for example).

Thanks,

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by kaninelupus

Dani AI

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Vista's Explorer is doing exactly what it was designed to do: it inspects folder contents and assigns a template (Pictures, Documents, General items, etc.) and then stores the view per-folder. That behavior is called Automatic Folder Type Discovery. It explains why a USB stick or another volume—even if mapped to the same drive letter—can suddenly show a different view and why your "set all folders" changes don't always stick.

As points out, you can force a template on a folder, but that is a manual, per-folder fix. For a more global, reliable result try this workflow first: show the Explorer menu (press Alt if needed), open Tools → Folder Options → View, click Reset Folders, then open a folder, switch it to Details and use the View → Folder Options → View → Apply to Folders button to make that view the default for folders of that type. This clears stale settings and makes a single template the default for matching folders.

If Explorer still misbehaves it has almost certainly run into the limit or corruption of its stored view cache. Those saved views are kept in the user registry under:

HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags
HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU

Back up the keys, then delete Bags and BagMRU to reset Explorer's folder-view cache. Log off and back on, set your preferred view and reapply. Only use this if comfortable with regedit and always export the keys first.

If you need absolute consistency across removable media, either standardize the folder structure/template on the media itself or use a third‑party file manager (Total Commander, Directory Opus, XYplorer, etc.) that enforces a single view independent of Explorer’s heuristics.

Member Avatar for kaninelupus

Best way to lock down folder view type is to go into folder properties, select "customise" tab, and define folder type via drop-down menu. Is a permanent fix, but has to be set folder by folder.

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