Why doesn't XP automatically/alphabetically sort files/folders?

[Pheasant Plucker®]

Have I missed something fundamental here?

On W2K and below if I copy a bunch of files into a directory they initially
appear at the bottom of the directory listing.

However on subsequent viewing they have all been sorted alphabetically in
order with no user intervention.

On the installations of XP that I have seen the files/folders never seem to
get sorted automatically - I know I can right-click/Arrange Icons by name
but having to do this every time I copy files is so time consuming and
unnecessary IMHO.

Even hitting F5 does not seem to work on the XP installations I have here...

Is there a setting (registry entry maybe) that forces XP to automatically
sort & display files & folders alphabetically?

When looking for files and folders it is easy to run down an alphabetically
sorted list to find the item you want...in XP I have missed them because
they could be scattered anywhere.

 

[Pennywise]

Have I missed something fundamental here?

On W2K and below if I copy a bunch of files into a directory they initially
appear at the bottom of the directory listing.

However on subsequent viewing they have all been sorted alphabetically in
order with no user intervention.

On the installations of XP that I have seen the files/folders never seem to
get sorted automatically - I know I can right-click/Arrange Icons by name
but having to do this every time I copy files is so time consuming and
unnecessary IMHO.

Even hitting F5 does not seem to work on the XP installations I have here...

Is there a setting (registry entry maybe) that forces XP to automatically
sort & display files & folders alphabetically?

When looking for files and folders it is easy to run down an alphabetically
sorted list to find the item you want...in XP I have missed them because
they could be scattered anywhere.

Set up your explorer window the way you want it to be (sort'd by
name,date whatever)

Go to the menu > Tools > folder options > View - and select Apply to
all folders. (just like W2K)

 

[Guest]

My guess is that the file sort sequence is a parameter of the containing
folder. The files themselves are accessed by the o/s using an assigned
number. When a folder is opened, the sequence parameter is read and the
files names are presented in the desired sequence. When new files are added
to a folder, they are assigned a file id number, which is probably greater
than any other file id in the folder. Thus while the folder is open, the new
files will show up at the bottom. If the folder is closed and reopened, the
sort sequence parameter of the folder is read and all files, even the new
ones are in the proper order.

Of course, I could be right.

Paul, MCDST