Windows 10: Change Folder Template in Windows 10

How to: Change Folder Template in Windows 10

How to Change the Template of a Drive, Folder, or Library in Windows 10

Windows 10 includes five built-in templates that you can select to optimize the view of your drives, folders, and libraries for General Items, Documents, Pictures, Music, or Videos.

When you use a template, you will still be able to further customize the view to how you like.

This tutorial will show you how to optimize a drive, folder, or library template for General Items, Documents, Pictures, Music, or Videos for your account in Windows 10.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: To Change Template of a Drive or Folder
• Option Two: To Change Template of a Library
• Option Three: To Change Template of All Folders using a BAT file

EXAMPLE: Templates in Details view





















OPTION ONE [/i] To Change Template of a Drive or Folder
1. Open File Explorer, and do step 2 or step 3 below for how you would like to open the properties page of the drive or folder.

2. Right click or press and hold on a drive (except Windows drive) or folder that you want to change the template for, click/tap on Properties, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)



3. Open a drive (except Windows drive) or folder that you want to change the template for, right click or press and hold on an empty area of it's main window, click/tap on Customize this folder, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)



4. Click/tap on the Customize tab, select a template in the Optimize this folder for drop down menu, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshots below)

*note You can also check the Also apply this template to all subfolders box if you wanted to quickly apply the selected template to all subfolders as well.








OPTION TWO [/i] To Change Template of a Library

*note All added folders in a library share the same view settings, so when you change the template of a library, it is applied to all the folders in the library.

1. Open File Explorer, and do step 2 or step 3 below for how you would like to change the template of a library.


2. To Change Library Template in Ribbon
A) Select or open a library (ex: Pictures) that you want to change the template for, click/tap on the Library Tools Manage tab, and select a template in the Optimize library for drop down menu on the ribbon. (see screenshot below)





3. To Change Library Template in Library Properties
A) Right click or press and hold on a library (ex: Pictures) that you want to change the template for, and click/tap on Properties. (see screenshot below)



B) Select a template in the Optimize this library for drop down menu, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)








OPTION THREE [/i] To Change Template of All Folders using a BAT file

*note Setting a folder template for all folders will also disable Automatic Folder Type Discovery. You will still always be able to manually change the template and view of any folder to what you like though.

Automatic Folder Type Discovery is when Windows will automatically change the template of a folder to match the file type of the last file added or saved in the folder. For example, if your folder contains music files and you add a picture file, then Windows may change the folder template and view to the "Picture" template to match the new picture file.

1. Do step 2 (default), step 3 (General items), step 4 (Documents), step 5 (Pictures), step 6 (Music), or step 7 (Videos) below for what you would like to do.


2. To Restore Default Templates for All Folders
*note This is the default setting.

This will reset the template and views of all folders back to default, and enable Automatic Folder Type Discovery.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the BAT file below, and go to step 8 below.

Reset_Folder_View_Settings_of_All_Folders_to_Default.bat

Download

3. To Set General items Template as Default for All Folders
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the BAT file below, and go to step 8 below.

All_Folders_Use_General_Items_Folder_Template.bat

Download

4. To Set Documents Template as Default for All Folders
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the BAT file below, and go to step 8 below.

All_Folders_Use_Documents_Folder_Template.bat

Download

5. Set Pictures Template as Default for All Folders
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the BAT file below, and go to step 8 below.

All_Folders_Use_Pictures_Folder_Template.bat

Download

6. Set Music Template as Default for All Folders
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the BAT file below, and go to step 8 below.

All_Folders_Use_Music_Folder_Template.bat

Download

7. Set Videos Template as Default for All Folders
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the BAT file below, and go to step 8 below.

All_Folders_Use_Videos_Folder_Template.bat

Download
8. Save the .bat file to your desktop, and run the .bat file.

9. Unblock the .bat file, and run the .bat file.

10. You will now notice your screen flicker and a command prompt quickly open and close as explorer is restarted to apply the registry changes.

11. When finished, you can delete the downloaded .bat file if you like.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Enable or Disable Auto Arrange in Folders in Windows 10
• How to Reset Folder View Settings to Default in Windows 10
• How to Apply a Folder's View to All Folders of Same Template Type in Windows 10
• How to Set a Default Folder View for All Folders in Windows 10
• How to Backup and Restore Folder View Settings in Windows 10
• How to Change a Folder View Layout in Windows 10
• How to Change the Sort by View of a Folder in Windows 10
• How to Change the Group by View of a Folder in Windows 10
• How to Size Width of All Columns to Fit in Folder in Windows 10
• How to Add Optimize library for to Context Menu of Libraries in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Customize tab in Folder Properties in Windows

:)

 

Unique views for individual folders

I'm Greg, a volunteer installation specialist and 8 year WIndows MVP here to help you.

The changes in File Templates in Windows 10 are best explained in this illustrated tutorial:

https://winaero.com/blog/change-folder-view-tem...

It shows how you can customize individual folders or across several types of folders.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

 

Windows 10 keeps forgetting my default view

Marcos,

When you apply to all folders you will see the explanation right above that button - "all folders of this type".

There is some guidance on setting up folder views for each folder type in
Customization Change Folder Template - TenForums

To preserve your settings in case a Windows update changes them, see
Backup and restore Default folder views - Forum article

Denis

 

Hello Michael, *Smile

Yes, it will still work in Windows 10 as well.

I had originally planned for this to be a per folder, but I'll get it added as an option to this tutorial today.

 

@Michael,

Tutorial has been updated to add that as OPTION THREE now. *Smile

 

Thanks Shawn. It was irritating that Downloads folder and few other folders were taking so much time to open even though I have a decent config laptop. Option 3 worked like a charm. *Biggrin

 

You're most welcome vignesh. I'm glad it could help. *Smile

 

Excluding the bat files, since I don't want to do all my folders, any idea how to do this when browsing an Android device via USB??

 

Hello sflesch, and welcome to Ten Forums.

I don't think you can set a folder view on an Android device with this, or at least they won't be saved since it's a removable device.

 

Thanks. It's the DCIM camera folder and comes up like a music folder (the details columns are music related). At least it did on my phone and then I changed the items showing under detail view, plugged in my wife's, which came up the same. I plugged mine back in and it stayed. Weird. Will check hers later.

 

It'll be interesting to hear your results.

 

I have the same problem, every time I open the phone's DCIM folder, it takes a long time to list all files, due to either working out thumbnails, or column data I don't need (track, artist, album!?). Is there a quick way to apply my standard General Items view (Details, 4 columns sequenced/sized as I need them). I seem to forever be individually unticking 5 columns and ticking 1 in the DCIM folder Details view settings. All the Registry patches I've found work for fixed, Sata and USB drives, none of them work for removable smartphone connections - which always default to some Microsoft-hard-wired settings for Large Thumbnails or Details with (for me) bad columns. All my other folders are great, always Details with the columns I need. Maybe a batch file I can run when I've opened a phone's DCIM folder? Or a keyboard macro that starts with Ctrl-Shift-6, Tab, Shift-F10, M, Shift-F10, T, T, Enter, etc? Any help would be appreciated thanks.

 

Helpful Hint For Changing a Template (and sub-folders*Smile
Copy a file into the folder before doing the template and sub-folder work.
(I write copy just to emphasize not moving a file.)
(It's probably a good idea to use a file that is like the template and folders you want to modify.)
The issue:
Say you are sitting in a folder (let's call it "Mu") with nothing but folders, like you have your music arranged in there by artist-folders but there is no actual music in the folder. You modify it and then apply something like adding the bit-rate and change it to be the first column, and you properly apply it to both the Music Folders template, and to All Sub-folders. The change appears in front of you just like you planned. Then you go to any sub-folder and there was no change.
Try this:
Simply copy any music file to the "Mu" folder. It will probably look like you intended it to because you basically know what you are doing. NOW do the template and sub-folder effort that didn't work earlier and go into any subfolder to find they are now like you had intended. Plus, if you go to any Music type folder it will be in your new desired and applied format.

Now if I could find a way to make the standard English grammar practice of putting a colon inside of a closing parenthesis without having it automatically turn into an emoji! (like this*Smile

 

Sorry about the trouble, mate. Is the phone a Windows phone? Android?

 

For me, previously on Windows 7 Pro and now on Windows 10 Pro, it happens on all external devices: Android Samsung Note 3, S6 and S7, Sony RX100-2 camera, GoPro Hero 3 Black, Ricoh Theta S camera, Sony PJ260 video camera and more. There's no issue with internal or USB-connected drives, flash drives or SD/MicroSD cards - all those folders consistently display with my global or individual folder view settings. But external devices ignore those and always display with some other (I assume) Windows default, which in my case slows listing down and displays (for me) useless data. I'm wondering if anyone knows where those defaults are stored and if they can be modified?