Explorer Default View Type Removable Drive?

Windows 11

I've been running into the "bug" when trying to set the default view type of removable drives in file explorer...

I've read a few post on the forum of people running into this issue. @LesFerch had a fairly detailed post & video regarding this issue.

I was wondering if anyone has figured out a fix for this? I've tried all the common ways to set a default view type in Explorer and tried using WinSetView but with no luck.

Thanks!

CheApAss_DiY said:

Windows 11

I've been running into the "bug" when trying to set the default view type of removable drives in file explorer...

I've read a few post on the forum of people running into this issue. @LesFerch had a fairly detailed post & video regarding this issue.

I was wondering if anyone has figured out a fix for this? I've tried all the common ways to set a default view type in Explorer and tried using WinSetView but with no luck.

Click to expand...

Using the Windows 11 Explorer, you will just get the default view for folder type "General items" for your USB drive folders.

Note that removable drives that mount as "local disk", and are formatted NTFS, will behave like drive C. That is, the folder type for each folder will be determined by the majority content of each folder (and possibly some logic that prioritizes one type over another). The folders on removable drives that mount as "USB drive" will all be type "General items". That is, assuming you are using the Windows 11 Explorer and haven't switched to the Windows 10 Explorer.

If you want to set the folder type for all folders and subfolders on a drive of type "USB drive" to something other than General items, you'll have to go back to a Windows 11 build prior to 22000.469 (i.e. back to 2021) or use the Windows 10 Explorer. If you use the Windows 10 Explorer, you can then use "Also apply this template to all subfolders" to set the folder type, but you have to continue to use the old Explorer. If you switch back to the Windows 11 Explorer, it will ignore that setting. If you wish to test this, you can use SwitchExplorer to quickly switch between the two Explorer types. If you are already using ExplorerPatcher, StartAllBack, or WindHawk, you can also use any one of those tools to switch to the old Explorer.

If your removable drive is type "local disk" and is formatted NTFS, then, as mentioned, the folders types will be set automatically. If you want to force them to one type and keep using the Windows 11 Explorer, there is one other option. You can set the folder type for each folder with a hidden "deskop.ini" file. You can use my SetFolderType tool to do that for you.

If your removable drive is type "local disk", but is formatted to something other than NTFS, such as ExFAT, then I recommend reformatting it to NTFS so you get automatic folder type discovery and have the option to use the SetFolderType tool . You'll have to copy your files to another drive to reformat. You can't change the format type while keeping the data.

Sorry to revive the old thread, but I find this "feature" of Windows 11 analyzing file types and adjusting the view type accordingly extremely annoying. I want my explorer to show me all folders in exactly the same way, I don't care what kind of files are stored there. I don't want Windows to do any type of analysis there (which to me is just a waste of resources), I want it to respect my settings. It's my computer and I want it to look the way I want it to look. That includes specific properties columns in "details" view. I don't see why should that stop working in folders with a couple of images or for removable drives.

Is there any way to force the explorer to keep the same settings for all folders?

unifex said:

Sorry to revive the old thread, but I find this "feature" of Windows 11 analyzing file types and adjusting the view type accordingly extremely annoying. I want my explorer to show me all folders in exactly the same way, I don't care what kind of files are stored there. I don't want Windows to do any type of analysis there (which to me is just a waste of resources), I want it to respect my settings. It's my computer and I want it to look the way I want it to look. That includes specific properties columns in "details" view. I don't see why should that stop working in folders with a couple of images or for removable drives.

Is there any way to force the explorer to keep the same settings for all folders?

Click to expand...

Yes.

You can set the defaults for all folder types to be the same view.

You can also apply a setting to make all folders type Generic (aka NotSpecified) so that they all get the "General Items" view settings. Note that this may have an undesirable effect on special folders such as Fonts, Recycle Bin, Programs and Features, Zip folders (via Explorer), etc. The effect can range from getting the same base view (e.g. List, Details, Icons) as your General Items view, to losing their special columns (e.g. Date deleted, Compressed size, etc.).

Switching from the Windows 11 Explorer to the Windows 10 Explorer will restore the functionality of the option "Apply this template to all subfolders". Otherwise, the Windows 11 Explorer aggressively applies automatic folder type discovery to drives that are "Local disk" and "NTFS" and completely ignores folder type for USB drives (i.e. they're always stuck at General items).

All of these options can be set using WinSetView and everything is explained in detail in the documentation.

Please note that WinSetView just sets the correct registry entries for you. It does not install anything. If you successfully make the same changes manually, you'll just spend many hours researching and experimenting to end up clearing and applying the same registry settings. Some of the settings are simple. Some are not.