Do you mean that you have the files in your folders arranged in some layout
other that sorted by name? And Windows rearranges them so that they are
sorted alphabetically by name?
Open a folder | Click View | Arrange Icons By
You can UNCheck AutoArrange if using Thumbnails, Tiles or Icon views.
AutoArrange arranges the icons in rows and columns. This may be what your
looking for. But here's some more info anyway.
Here's the choices and meanings.
Name
[[Arrange icons in alphabetical order by the icon name. ]]
Size
[[Arrange icons in order of file size. If the icon is a shortcut to a
program, the size refers to the size of the shortcut file. ]]
Type
[[Arrange icons in order of type. For example, if you have shortcuts to
several PowerPoint presentations on your desktop, these will be arranged
next to each other. ]]
Modified
[[Arrange icons in the order that the shortcut was last modified. ]]
There are more choices, depending on what kind of folder it is.
Show in groups
[[Show in Groups allows you to group your files by any detail of the file,
such as name, size, type, or date modified. ]]
AutoArrange
[[Arranges the icons in rows and columns.]]
Align to Grid
[[Snap icons into place as designated by an invisible grid on
your screen. The grid keeps the icons aligned with each other. ]]
To change the sort options available under Arrange Icons by, on the View
menu, click Choose Details. In the Choose Details dialog box, select the
check boxes next to the items you want to include in the Arrange Icons by
list. Clear the check boxes next to the items you want to remove from the
list.
TweakUI tip
From the View Menu, select "Choose Details" to select which file properties
should be shown in the Explorer window. To sort by a file property, check
its name in the "Choose Details" in order to make that property available in
the "Arrange Icons by" menu.
See if this helps...
How To Arrange Files Using Folder Views in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306554
To change the details displayed, on the View menu, click Choose Details. In
the Choose Details dialog box, click to select or clear the items you want
to view.
To change the order of the columns, in the Choose Details dialog box, click
Move Up or Move Down.
You can also left click and drag columns to any order you want.
You can also right click the column header and select and unselect Details.
You can also right click the column header, scroll down and select More...
TweakUI tip
From the View Menu, select "Choose Details" to select which file properties
should be shown in the Explorer window. To sort by a file property, check
its name in the "Choose Details" in order to make that property available in
the "Arrange Icons by" menu.
[[Available Column Settings
Owner, Name, Size, Type, Date Modified, Status, Attributes, Author, Title,
Subject, Category, Pages, Comments, Copyright, Date Created, Date Accessed,
Attributes, Artist, Album Title, Year, Track Number, Genre, Duration, Bit
Rate, Protected, Camera Model, Date Picture Taken, Dimensions, Company,
Description, File Version, Product Name and Product Version
Note: Name, Size, Type and Modified settings are enabled by default.
Not all file formats will support these additional column settings. For
example, a Microsoft Word document can contain Author information, but a
Notepad document cannot.]]
from...
How to Change Column Settings in Windows Explorer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310297
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Hope this helps. Let us know.
Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
In
