Where in the Registry is the "Tile" default stored for all folders not already possessing a saved fo

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erasmus
  • Start date Start date
E

Erasmus

Since I have read over 40+ items with similar phraseology, looking for
ways to change the default folder view, and all have blanket repeated
answers, let me start by saying that I *do not* want an answer that
includes setting the folder settings in one folder and then applying to
all, as I do not want to change any of the folders that I already have
preferences on, nor do I want to mess with the folders such as picture
folders that are set to default to thumbnail. Here is my question:
(Please read carefully)

If a folder is created, or has no associated Folder View saved to it,
it's view setting defaults to "Tile."
Where is this default (Tile) setting stored in the Registry?

Please limit the discussion to answering this question.

Thank you for understanding!!!

My hope is that those who are as frustrated by not finding answers as I
am will be able to get their answer here.
 
It is not a setting in the registry, it's apparently hard-coded in Explorer. My testing shows that
for miscellaneous content (not perceived as media), the default view is tiles for folders containing
0-49 items, with 50 or more items, the view defaults to icons.

If you want to set defaults for new folders & those that haven't been opened without affecting
existing saved views, you can use my script, FolderViewMasterIII. Right-click the link below & save
to your computer. The zip file contains a readme file & the script itself.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res18hr7/FVM3.zip

You can select a folder & configure its view settings, then those are set to be inherited by all
subfolders that do not have a view already saved. You can set a default for My Pics, another for My
Music, and then a more generic default for My Computer. The inheritance settings are separate from
the folder view itself, so you can return My Computer to its standard 'group by type' layout after
running the script without affecting the default view you have set.
 
Thanks Keith. Actually, while reading your post, I remembered that the
post I saw to change this default setting was in fact a hex editing of
the explorer.exe file. Doing this will save the system from having to
remember all of those folder settings, and I can just leave it alone,
and if I have to reset folder views for any reason, I won't have to
redo all of this in the futuer. If anyone knows where to find that hex
edit hack, or knows where in the exe that the data for this (and for
the desktop font color, for that matter), is stored, I would love to
delve into the exe to change these settings permanently.

Thanks for anyone who responds!
 
You're welcome. If you find the instructions for that hex edit, please post them. In the meantime,
you can create a key that doesn't exist by default that will give you control over folder defaults.
It is:

"HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell"

It can contain all the same values as a regular saved folder view found under:

"HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\Bags\<Bag Number>\Shell"

But you can be selective about what values you actually put there. To control just the icon style,
you would need:

WFlags REG_DWORD 0
Vid REG_SZ {8EEFA624-D1E9-445B-94B7-74FBCE2EA11A}

The above Vid value sets the view to filmstrip (not practical, but a great way to test). Possible
values are:

Name: Mode: VID:
Icons 1 {0057D0E0-3573-11CF-AE69-08002B2E1262}
List 3 {0E1FA5E0-3573-11CF-AE69-08002B2E1262}
Details 4 {137E7700-3573-11CF-AE69-08002B2E1262}
Thumbnail 5 {8BEBB290-52D0-11D0-B7F4-00C04FD706EC}
Tiles 6 {65F125E5-7BE1-4810-BA9D-D271C8432CE3}
Filmstrip 7 {8EEFA624-D1E9-445B-94B7-74FBCE2EA11A}

It will override the automatic thumbnail view for picture folders; but without the 'ColInfo' value,
you will still get the picture-specific columns in detail view, which I think is an improvement over
the 'Apply to All Folders' option, which locks in column choices. It is also unaffected by 'Apply
to All Folders' and 'Reset all Folders'.
 
Here is the win95/98 posting I saw (Not a hex edit, but an edit of
binary data in 95/98):
http://groups.google.com/group/micr...bc0?tvc=2#c58460e49cef3bc0%23c58460e49cef3bc0

This sounds similar to what you posted above. So, if I were to do what
you mentioned above, would all folders in the entire OS follow this
setting? Is there no way to set this to only occur in case there is
not an already existing "bag" for the folder? (ie set it up like a
"filter", and set it to filter all folders not "filtered" by the other
bag information?)

* Sigh* Anyone know if they fixed this problem in Vista?

--
Erasmus

Hacker: Anyone who, immediately after installing a program, clicks on
Tools > Options.
Hacker: An individual that endeavors to push hardware and software to
do what it was never intended to do.
 
If you create the AllFolders key, its settings will only be used for those folders that don't
already have a saved view (Bag) -- so that sounds like what you want.

The same thing can also be accomplished by exporting the HKCU\...\BagMRU & HKCU\...\Bags keys, using
the 'Apply to All Folders' option to set a default, and then merging your exported files to restore
previously saved views.
 
Back
Top