How to set *one* standard view for all existing AND new folders inWindows Explorer?

[Christian Münscher]

Hi folks!

Using the Windows XP Explorer, I was able to set one view for all
folders, that remained intact forever for the user who set it.
In Vista I tried to achieve the same result by arranging one folder the
way I wanted all folders to look like (using the detail-view), and then
clicking "To take over for all folders".
But that does not work, folders containing *mainly* (not only...) music
or images get a certain view for images or music, and folders newly
created or copied use the croppy "extra large symbols" view.
Is there a way to teach Windows Vista to use just the one view I define
for *ALL* folders I open or create?

Thanks!

With kind regards,
Chriss

 

[Keith Miller \(MVP\)]

In Vista, separate view information is retained for each folder type -- 'All
Items', 'Documents', etc. So you need to use:

'Organize' - 'Folder & Search Options' -> 'View' tab -> 'Apply to Folders'

once for each folder type.

If you want to go one step further and override content-sniffing (where
Explorer makes its best guess at which template to use), here are my
instructions to force the 'All Items' template on all folders.


Copy the text between the lines below into notepad & save as a .reg file.
Watch out for line wrap -- [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\...\Shell] is all one line,
there is a space between 'Local' and 'Settings'.


--------------------------------------------------
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00


[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local
Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell]
"FolderType"="NotSpecified"


--------------------------------------------------


Merging the .reg file will set the 'All Items' template for any folders that
don't currently have a view saved with a different template. You can clear
all saved views by deleting the


"HKCU\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags"


key BEFORE merging the .reg file. If any folders open with a different
template after clearing the 'Bags' key & merging the .reg file, they most
likely have a template specified via their desktop.ini file (a rare
situation).

 

[Ray]

Using the Windows XP Explorer, I was able to set one view for all
folders, that remained intact forever for the user who set it.
In Vista I tried to achieve the same result by arranging one
folder the way I wanted all folders to look like (using the
detail-view), and then clicking "To take over for all folders".
But that does not work, folders containing *mainly* (not only...)
music or images get a certain view for images or music, and
folders newly created or copied use the croppy "extra large
symbols" view. Is there a way to teach Windows Vista to use just
the one view I define for *ALL* folders I open or create?

This page explains how to disable the automatic folder type
discovery:
http://www.windows-now.com/blogs/km...-disable-automatic-folder-type-discovery.aspx

 

[MikeM]

Keith,

Thanks for the info. It seems to work for all but a couple of the top level
folders such as 'Desktop', 'Computer' and my user account.

Ray,

I tried the link and it doesn't seem to connect to anything. Please check it
and repost if it was incorrect.

Thanks all,

Mike

 

[Ray]

Ray,

I tried the link and it doesn't seem to connect to anything.
Please check it and repost if it was incorrect.

Sorry, that server has been down a lot recently. The link
that brink posted tells how to do the same thing.

 

[Keith Miller \(MVP\)]

Mike,

You're welcome. The templates discussed that appear on the customize tab do
only affect file system folders. There are several others that can be
stored via 'Apply to Folders' for namespace folders such as Desktop,
Computer, Control Panel, etc. See my post here:

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windows.vista.file_management/msg/c6a9d7d6193fc8f4