Windows 10: Libraries No Longer Displays Folder's View Setting

Since the latest update, viewing a folder from within a library shows the view setting (list, details, tiles etc.) that the library has set rather than the view set for that actual folder.

Before the update, it would show the way the folder itself was set up therefore I could use the "Apply view to all folders" function and set every folder to list. Now, each folder does remember its view setting from within the library but I can't find a way to set it for them all, I'd have to go in to each folder individually and set the view to list.

Is there a new way around this or is it a bug from the new update?

Edit: It doesn't even remember each folder's settings so I can't find any way at all of using the library with list view other than changing it each time I look in the folder.

:)

 

Library Folder View Options

Hello,

I recently started using Windows 10. I have multiple library folders that I use to access them quickly from file explorer. I prefer to have all folders I'm using, display in Details view. I have all other folders set to default to details view, but my
library folders always default to large icon view.

I changed the options to Details in the main libraries folder, but it did not work. When I open a folder in a library and go to the options>view, the Apply to Folders button is greyed out so I can't seem to get it to work. I had no problem in Windows 7
making all folders Details view.

How can I make all folders in my libraries default to Details view?

Thank you.

 

View settings not applied to Library sub-folders

I understand the need to reset some customizations after an upgrade, but that's not really addressing the question. I've gone through and updated my folder views as desired for my local disk. However, the view settings are not applied to libraries.

For example, there is a Documents library by default which includes C:\Users\<user>\Documents. If I go to that specific address, the view settings are customized as I'd like. However, if I view Libraries\Documents it's using some default view setting for
General Items which I've already overwritten (yet it is not applied). If I take the time to change the view for Libraries\Documents, I cannot use "Apply to All" from the Folder Options | View settings, and I have to go through every individual sub-folder to
get everything displayed as I like. This cannot be a purposeful decision on Microsoft's part since the behavior didn't happen when upgrading from W8.1 to W10. It was only after the 1607 upgrade that this presented itself.

Surely there is a way to set folder view settings for Libraries in a manner that they can be applied globally.

 

Hi thegummy!

Check this tutorials by Brink: folder-template-change-windows-10

 

Thanks for the reply but that only shows how to set one of the pre-configured folder types; none of which have list view, they're only details or tiles.

 

It works for me (if I understand you correctly).

I opened pictures folder and set a view to "list". Applied to all folder of this type and every folder in Pictures is presented in list view.
In tutorials is detailed view just an example, because this view differs the most for different types.

 

It works when viewing an individual folder but it doesn't work for libraries.

 

Sorry, just didn't believe it at first. You are right. View in libraries is set just for first level of folders. When you go deeper inside, picture (example) are shown in typical view - large icon.

Same folders, browsed from Pictures folder, remain list view...

You could post feedback to MS. Send me a link and I will upvote ...

Edit: workaround (if it suits you) could be to pin relevant folders to Quick Access and starts from there.
We could bring attention for this to @Brink, if he can come with better solution. *Smile

 

Thanks AndreTen, appreciate your efforts to help.

It's frustrating when something that's worked fine for 6 years suddenly no longer works. Weird thing is, it did work as normal in Windows 10 until the latest update.

Unfortunately the quick access pinning wouldn't help; my situation is that I have a hard disk full of videos and another hard disk half full and want them all to be displayed together as if they were in one folder. One way I could do it would be to create a multi-disk spanned volume but it would mean that if one of the hard disks fails, it would take the other down with it.

Can only hope the next update goes back to the old way!

 

Have you considered using symbolic links?

You can make (i.e.) new folder called allvideos, and put two symbolic link in there - pointing at both video folders.
Use is simple, start command prompt as administrator and type mklink /D "C:\location\newname for videos1" "X:\path to 1st drive\videos"
Note quotes for names that contain spaces.

It is kind of making your libraries.

 

Can 2 folders be symbolic linked to the same destination folder so that new folder would display the contents of both?

 

Or you can just link one of them to another...

This is link to how-to-geek article, but there are many others. I used to organize my music library like this before (no need any more).
Admit, I didn't check if folders view is kept, but it should be.

 

As far as I can understand this, the target can't be an existing folder, it will be created when the link is made. Am I wrong about that?

 

Correct. Forgot that you want all files listed in one dir.