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Q: I don’t recall when the change happened, but the “new” File Explorer in Windows 11 is driving me crazy. It sorts my files chronologically with these headings: “A long time ago;” “Earlier this year;” “Last month;” “Earlier this month;” “Yesterday.” It’s driving me crazy. I just want the “old” File Explorer back that listed folders first and then files which could all be easily sorted using various criteria. Is there any way to disable this “new and improved” file sorting method and go back to the “good old days?”

– Ed R.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida

A: You are definitely not alone in your frustration, Ed.  This drive me a little crazy too, until I figured out how to restore the functionality to want I wanted.  I can help you too.

What you are experiencing is a feature that Microsoft calls “File Grouping.” It has actually been around in various iterations of Windows for a while, but Microsoft loves to automatically enable it for certain system folders—especially the “Downloads” folder—during major updates. When Windows 11 updates itself, it frequently resets your custom view preferences to what Microsoft thinks is a “modern and helpful” layout (thanks, Bill!).  However, for many users it feels less like an improvement and more like a visual obstacle course. Instead of a clean, predictable list where alphabetical order reigns supreme and folders sit neatly at the top, you are forced to hunt through arbitrary time blocks like “Earlier this month” or “A long time ago.” Who in their right mind ever thought this was a good idea?

The good news is that you can restore the old behavior, and you don’t need to install any third-party software or hack the Windows Registry to do it. Microsoft actually left the controls exactly where they belong, even though they hid them behind the updated user interface. You can turn this off in just a few clicks.

To collapse those annoying chronological categories and return to a seamless, continuous list of your files and folders, follow these steps:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the specific folder that is giving you trouble (such as your Downloads or Documents folder, or even the Desktop).

2. In the toolbar at the top find the button labeled “Sort” and click it.

3. In the drop-down menu that appears, hover your mouse pointer over the option labeled “Group by.”

4. A secondary slide-out menu will appear to the right. Look closely at this list, and click on “(None)” at the very top.

The moment you click “(None),” those massive text headings like “Yesterday” and “Last month” will vanish instantly. Your files will snap back into a single, unified list.

Once the grouping is disabled, you might find that your files and folders are still mixed together or sorted strangely. To ensure that your folders stay neatly stacked at the very top of the list, followed by your files, you need to apply standard sort criteria.  This function is done through the same “Sort” button you used before.  Select “Name” or “Date modified” depending on your preference, and be sure that “Ascending” is selected if you want alphabetical order and folders first.  By default, Windows naturally prioritizes folders over files when sorting in ascending order by name. If you ever notice files mixing with folders again, double-check that the “Group by” setting hasn’t accidentally been turned back on.

You might notice that fixing the one folder doesn’t automatically fix all your other folders. Windows treats different types of folders uniquely (Documents vs. Music, etc.). If you want to make sure this traditional, clean view is applied everywhere across your system, you can enforce it globally:

1. With your newly corrected, perfectly sorted folder still open, click on the three dots button in the toolbar and select “Options.” This opens the classic Folder Options dialog.

2. Click on the “View” tab at the top of the window.

3. Look for the section called “Folder views” and click the button that says “Apply to Folders.”

4. Windows will ask you to confirm if you want all folders of this type to match the current view. Click “Yes,” then “OK” to close the window.

You can now bid farewell to Microsoft’s aggressive (and somewhat weird) chronological groupings and enjoy the predictable efficiency of the classic layout you’ve known and loved.

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