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Sort by 'Date Modified' but keep folders at the top BY DEFAULT?

Michael D. Carrozza 0 Reputation points
2025-10-24T13:17:39.1333333+00:00

In file explorer after an update in the last year or so, the keep folders on top feature of file explorer was removed it seems.

It's insanely annoying having to hit shift and select the name column every single time you sort by newest first over and over and over or have to scroll down bast hundreds of files just to get to the folders is beyond annoying. Especially when sorting by oldest first still puts the folders on top, but it's one of the most useless sorting options. What genius decided to go out of their way to remove it?

There has to be some way to restore folders always on top. A registry edit or something?

I really don't want to have to deploy some sketchy 3rd party hacky program to my entire firms workstations just to fix something that is absolutely essential to using file explorer.

Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | User experience | Accessibility
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  1. Domic Vo 7,830 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-10-24T13:58:09.63+00:00

    Hello,

    This behavior change was introduced in recent versions of Windows 11, particularly around the 23H2 and 24H2 updates, and affects how items are sorted when using the "Date Modified" column.

    Currently, there is no built-in setting or registry key to restore the previous "folders always on top" behavior when sorting by date. However, we recommend the following workarounds:

    1. Use the Name column with ascending sort to keep folders on top.
    2. Apply a custom sort via Group by > Type, which separates folders from files.
    3. Provide feedback directly via Feedback Hub, as this helps prioritize feature restoration based on user demand.

    If my answer is useful for you, please vote for it.

    Best regards,

    Domic Vo.

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