Windows 7 doesn’t include an option wherein you can disable auto arrange in folders (icons view). Sometime back I created a magical registry hack (FFlags DWORD 43000001) that disabled the "Full Row Select" functionality in folders in Windows 7. I also posted some interesting observations in article How to Disable Full Row Select in Explorer in Windows 7 about the registry hack, which demonstrates that applying the hack also brings back the missing "Auto arrange" menu option in the View menu of folders when in Icons view.
We hereby bring you a slightly tweaked version (sets FFlags to 43000000) of the same registry hack and provide some screenshots in this article. After applying this edit you can enable or disable auto arrange feature on a per-folder basis. Of course, an "Undo" REG file is provided in case you want to revert back to the factory default setting.
Disable Auto Arrange (Icons view) in Folders in Windows 7
1. Reset the saved folder views (Ref: Reset the Folder Views in Windows 7/Vista) and restart the shell as specified in the linked article.
2. Download disable-auto-arrange.zip, unzip and extract the two REG files to your desktop.
3. Open My Computer and then close it.
4. Logoff and login back. (Alternately, you could terminate the shell cleanly and restart it. REF: Terminate and Restart Explorer.exe Process Cleanly in Windows 7 & Windows Vista).
This should disable auto-arrange and "full row select" features in Explorer.
For a background info about this registry edit, see our detailed article How to Disable Full Row Select Feature in Explorer in Windows 7?
Screenshots
The following is the default setting, no "Auto arrange" option in the View menu. Icons are auto-arranged always, by default.
After apply the registry edit (and user logoff/logon cycle), Auto-arrange option is disabled as you can obviously see in the screenshot where the files are arranged in random fashion, and the "Auto arrange" and "Align to grid" menu options magically appear. Alas! You can disable or enable Auto-arrange setting per-folder.
Related Posts
- How to Disable Full Row Select in Explorer in Windows 7?
- Turn on or Off Thumbnail Display on Network Folders in Vista
- Add CCleaner Button to Internet Explorer Toolbar
- How to Enable and Disable Aero Snap (Docking) Feature in Windows 7
- Internet Explorer History Entries and Windows Search Integration
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Thank you Thank you Thank you…..i don’t know how to thank you for this…..This has made my life so simple!!
Thnx a lot “Ramesh Srinivasan” for making such an easy fix ( coz i don’t know how to use Reg ) and to @THX2008 for commenting on how to Fix the Blue Bar issue ( Well, I don’t use libraries to access my files)……You Guys Rock!!!
*update/ fair warning*
It appears my “blue bar” fix has inadvertently eliminated the ability to turn off auto arrange in all the “Library” folders. Not sure if it was even there before anyway, as I don’t access my files via libraries, but it remains if I access the very same folders thru “My Computer”. Weird.
Restored blue bars!
So i accidentally found a way to restore the blue bars (Tile view) to My Computer drive icons after successfully making the above suggested registry edits to allow disabling of auto arrange.
Here’s what I did: So I have a folder on my “e” drive full of folders with pics in them. For some reason the “view” in the individual picture folders kept changing from the large icon I’d previously set it to, to list view when I’d re-open it later, so I opened one of the picture folders and set the view to large icons, sort by date, etc., and then went to the “organize” tab at the top left of the page, “folder options”, “view”, “apply to folders”. I then repeated this same procedure for another picture folder on yet another drive.
As expected, this changed all my picture views to the expected large icons I was trying to preserve, but also somehow changed my “My Computer” drive icons back to the blue bar icons! I can still disable auto arrange elsewhere as before. Life is good again. Of course ymmv.
I have been trying to get your tutorial to work for the past eight hours doing it 16 times. I am on Windows 7 starter with a Samsung netbook.
On one occasion I did manage to move files manually but then that just stopped. The last time I tried I noticed, by looking at the properties of the two zipped files, that they had been blocked but despite unblocking them it still doesn’t work.
I downloaded the zip file to my desktop and extracted the folder holding the two files to the desk top and double clicked them both snd got the the two messages you show on your site so I presume thst is what you mean by “extract the two files to your desk top”?
Any advice or help ?
Everyone who wants this issue fixed in Windows 8, please voice your support at: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsdeveloperpreviewgeneral/thread/27314d0a-9c70-4b79-93e7-23fe60e7e374 so Microsoft will listen our feedback.
I have the same problem as CineWeekly. I can easily disable the auto arrange in explorer following your tutorial. But when it’s disabled literally EVERY folder even the folder computer, where the drives are located behave like the rest. And therefore the blue bar which is displayed next to the drives are not anymore there. When auto arrange is disabled when right clicking in the folder and going to View the option “Extended Tiles” is there and not just “Tiles” anymore.
This is some really annoying stuff. Hope you can find a fix.
My biggest problem now is that the icons in Computer seem to behave like any other folder and won’t display the blue bar showing the amount of space left on the drives. It’s annoying when dealing with multiple USB Keys and Hard drives. Any solution?
thanks a million. it worked like a charm and I have never gone into the registry before. I followed the instructions to a T. Thanks again.
THANKS , that’s all i have to say man!
i was about to reinstall XP loll
you’re my savior!
i can’t thank you enough, i was searching everywhere for this!
also the explanations were great.
only one thing:
after all the “surgery” for my Windows 7 64bit,
when i go to “Computer” i don’t get to see the old look,
that the hard drives have their turquoise “used space” bar..
anyway of solving it?
and million thanx again! :)