In Windows File Explorer, you might have noticed the different folder layout settings for different folders. Some of the folders have smaller icons while some puts on a large icons view layout. There are several folder layouts available in Windows 11/10/8/7 which you can choose from, for any folder.
Windows OS uses Automatic Folder Type Discovery to detect the contents of a folder and then automatically sets the follder view to its template – Eg. Pictures, Video, etc. But if a folder contains a mix of file types, it will use the General items template
While Windows has set these defaults based on the nature of the files in the folder, if you wish, you can set a default Folder View for all folders. In this post, we will how to set & apply the same view settings of the current folder, as the default, for all other folders on your PC.
What are Folder Templates
Before rolling on to change the folder’s view settings, let’s take a look at how folder templates work. You might have noticed that folders that contain pictures have a different view layout than those that contain videos or documents. This is the folder optimization technique in play which chooses one of the five templates for any folder based on the content that is stored in it. These templates are:
- General Items – Applies to any folder that contains a mixed combination of files and other sub-folders.
- Documents – Applies to the folders that contain documents (Word files, text files, etc.)
- Pictures – Applies to the folders that contain image files (.jpg, .png files, etc.)
- Music – Applies to all such folders which contain music files (.mp3, .wav, etc.)
- Videos – Applies to any folder that contains just video items (.mp4, .avi, etc.)
In short, a Folder Template is nothing but a folder layout or view.
Whenever you create a new folder and put some files in it, Windows does its best to decide the folder template based on the content. If you’re storing mixed type of files in any folder, Windows automatically assigns General Items as the folder template. If you want to view any folder’s template, right-click the folder icon and open its Properties window. In here, navigate to the Customize tab where you can see the correct template optimized for the folder in question.
Read: How to change Library folder template on Windows.
Set a default Folder View for all folders in Windows
Now that we are clear on the basics, let’s roll over to the task at hand. You can apply a folder’s view settings to only those folders which are optimized for the same folder template type. Once the view layout is generalized for a folder template type (say, Music), every time you change the layout of file icons (from tile icons to large icons), the same will be reflected in other folders as well that are optimized for Music template. Now, you can follow the below steps to apply the folder view settings across a folder template type:
Open File Explorer by using key combination Windows Key + E and navigate to the folder you want to use as a source for view layout settings.
As Windows 11 comes with a new UI in File Explorer, you won’t find the View tab. Instead, you can click on the View button in File Explorer and choose a setting as per your requirements.
Next, Windows 11 users need to click on the three-dotted icon and select the Options from the list.
However, if you are using Windows 10, navigate to the View tab in ribbon baron the top and change the settings per your wish. You can change the layout and choose the folder details to display, add extra panes, adjust column width, etc.
Once done with the changes, click Options to open the File Explorer Options, earlier called Folder Options. window.
Finally, navigate to View tab in Folder Options window.
Click/Tap on Apply to Folders button.
Click/Tap Yes on the confirmation window that pops up.
Click/Tap OK on the Folder Options window to save the settings.
That is it. You have just generalized the view settings for a particular folder template type across the OS. Hope this works for you.
How do I change the default view for all folders?
To change the default view for all folders, you need to follow the aforementioned guide. There are mainly two methods. First, you can right-click after opening a folder and select the Properties option. Switch to the Customize tab and choose a template from the drop-down list. Check the Also apply this template to all subfolder boxes and click the OK button. Alternatively, you can do the same using the View option.
TIP: WinSetView will help you tweak File Explorer,
How do I get folder view to all subfolders in Windows 11/10?
To get folder view to all subfolders in Windows 11/10, you need to open a folder and right-click in an empty space to select the Properties option from the context menu. Then, switch to the Customize tab and choose Pictures from the drop-down list. Tick the Also apply this template to all subfolder checkboxes. At last, click the OK button.
See this post if Windows forgets the Folder View settings.
