![](\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/w10\/ie-history-desktop-ini-1.png\")
<\/p>\n
This problem can happen in these cases:<\/p>\n
- \n
- The History folder is missing the Desktop.ini file.<\/li>\n
- The History folder has lost its “System” Attribute.<\/li>\n
- The History User Shell Folder registry value is incorrect.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
If you use a 3rd party cache maintenance program, it may have wiped out the entire History folder, which could have caused the problem in the first place.<\/p>\n
Solution<\/h2>\n
1. Fix the Desktop.ini File Contents<\/b><\/p>\n
Press WinKey + R to bring up the Run dialog.<\/p>\n
Type the following and press ENTER:<\/p>\n
notepad %localappdata%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\History\\desktop.ini<\/pre>\n
Note:<\/b> If the file doesn’t exist, Notepad offers to create a new file. Click Yes when prompted.<\/p>\n
If the file already exists, erase the contents, add the following lines and save the file.<\/p>\n
[.ShellClassInfo]\r\nConfirmFileOp=0\r\nDefaultToFS=0\r\nCLSID={FF393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}\r\nUICLSID={7BD29E00-76C1-11CF-9DD0-00A0C9034933}<\/b><\/pre>\n2. Reset the System Attributes for the History folder<\/b><\/p>\n
If the above step doesn’t solve the problem, follow these instructions:<\/p>\n
Open a Command Prompt window (cmd.exe) and type:<\/p>\n
attrib +s +h +i \"%localappdata%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\History\"<\/pre>\n
Press {ENTER}<\/p>\n
This resets the “System” (along with “Hidden” and “No Content Index”) Attribute for History folder.<\/p>\n
3. Fix the History User Shell Folder registry value<\/b><\/p>\n
Press WinKey + R, type Regedit.exe<\/b> and press ENTER.<\/p>\n
Go to the following branch:<\/p>\n
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\User Shell Folders<\/pre>\n
In the right-pane, double-click History and set its value data as follows:<\/p>\n
%USERPROFILE%\\AppData\\Local\\Microsoft\\Windows\\History<\/pre>\n
Note:<\/b> Make sure that the value type is REG_EXPAND_SZ. If it’s REG_SZ, delete the value and create a new value of type REG_EXPAND_SZ, and set the above value data.<\/p>\n
Exit the Registry Editor.<\/p>\n
Close all instances of Internet Explorer, reopen it. The “View By…” options should be back in the History Bar.<\/p>\n
This post was originally written for Internet Explorer 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you open the History Bar (CTRL + SHIFT + H) in Internet Explorer, the following “View By” options may be missing, listing only the “Search History” entry in the drop down box.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[264],"class_list":["post-2547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-internet-explorer","tag-internet-explorer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":494,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/dragging-folder-to-favorite-links-moves-the-folder-instead-of-creating-shortcut\/","url_meta":{"origin":2547,"position":0},"title":"Dragging a folder to Favorite Links moves the folder instead of creating Shortcut","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"When you drag a folder to the Favorite Links area in Windows Explorer, the shortcut to the folder is placed in the Links folder. 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