Possible to manually re-arrange files in folders?

[user25745]

I'm coming from XP to Windows 8. Not sure if this is specific to 8 or was a change starting with 7 (like apparently not being able to open .gif files or offering a scroll bar inside Windows Photo Viewer ).

Is it possible to manually move files into a desired order inside the same folder any longer? I'm presuming no because it definitely doesn't automatically work like it did in XP by just dragging files around to ones desired order but I was hoping I was overlooking something.

Also, is there any way to set the preview pane to be used in certain folders without it doing so in all of them?

I tried using it for a folder with photos, since the info it shows when a photo is selected is useful but not so much in others, but it seemed to be all or nothing or something one needs to turn on and off when needed. Seems like one could use different options like that and Windows would retain ones choice for that specific folder rather than automatically applying it system wide in XP.

 

[juvat]

Hi there,
I am somewhat new to Win8 myself. I personally just set my files to list by Date Modified.
Regarding your file arrange question, maybe this link will help answer your question.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...rangement-change-windows-explorer-window.html

Regarding your question on the preview pane. That's an annoyance I have with Win8 as well. I had posted roughly the same inquiry for Win7 and I think the answer is "no" unfortunately.

I use freeware Classic Shell and FreeCommander in my Win8Pro x64; and they are quite helpful in my navigation of this strange Windows8 Explorer.
jimb

 

[M0RPH]

This is no longer possible, it was removed in Vista, I think, just another victim of the gradual dumbing down of Windows.

I used to use this feature and I remember bitching about it's removal at the time. I'm talking about manual sorting, not the 2nd part of your question.

 

[user25745]

Thank you both.

Disappointing. Such a, seemingly, simple and obvious thing that I wouldn't have imagined it would no longer be commonplace.

Thanks for the link juvat. That lead me to some registry hack that might solve the auto-arrange problem.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/4299-windows-explorer-auto-arrange-disable-windows-8-a.html

I've never used something like that before and it makes me a little nervous since it doesn't explicitly detail the changes the .bat file makes but I think I might give it a try. I can't envision not being able to manually sort files cease to be an annoyance.

Now, to try and find a way to get the preview pane setting to be applicable in some folders but not others.

 

[Mushkins]

Yep, no more explicitly arranging icons outside of the desktop. Definitely sucks if you used it a lot in XP, but you get used to it.

As for the .bat, you can always open it up in notepad/wordpad and see exactly what commands it has in it before you run it.

Per-folder settings have always been sketchy dating back to at least Win95. Sometimes they stick, sometimes they reset, sometimes they randomly change to something else entirely. Especially with media files, it likes to autodetect that theres pictures or video and go to thumbnail view, even if you explicitly set it to detailed/list/etc. Maybe they'll fix it in Windows 9

 

[bononos]

I think it would be best to to to use a 3rd party windows-explorer file managers like the old norton commander.

 

[user25745]

Yep, no more explicitly arranging icons outside of the desktop. Definitely sucks if you used it a lot in XP, but you get used to it.

As for the .bat, you can always open it up in notepad/wordpad and see exactly what commands it has in it before you run it.

Thank you. I did not know that. Checked it out using your tip.

I'll see if I can get used to it (I think photos and music folders are the main issue). So far, seems to greatly hinder being able to organize files in a desired order so I can then rename or be able to customize in a way that sometimes is more intuitive than strictly name, date etc..

Great to have the option now.