The Windows File Explorer is the near-perfect example of how a File Management software should be. I know many people are demanding for a UWP or Universal Windows Platform version of the same, but actually, the Windows Classic app for File Explorer is great. It has everything that one would wish for. One of the minor features of this software is the fact that it automatically sorts out files by their numerical nomenclature. This feature has been on Windows operating systems since Windows 2000 and even earlier. This comes in handy for many, but in some particular scenarios, this might not be feasible. In this post, we will learn more about enabling or disabling Numerical Sorting in File Explorer.
How to enable or Disable Numerical Sorting in Explorer in Windows 11/10
We will be covering two methods to Enable or Disable Numerical Sorting in File Explorer on Windows 11/10. They are:
- Using the Registry Editor.
- Using the Group Policy Editor.
1] Using the Registry Editor
Hit the WINKEY + R button combination to launch the Run utility, type in regedit and hit Enter. Once Registry Editor opens, navigate to the following key-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Now, right-click on Explorer and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name this newly created DWORD as NoStrCmpLogical. Make sure that the base is selected as Hexadecimal.
Double-click on it and change its Value to 0 to enable it and, change its Value to 1 to disable numerical sorting.
Finally, Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.
Read: How to add Group Policy Editor to Windows Home Edition
2] Using the Group Policy Editor
It is worth noting that this method will not work at all if you are using Windows 10 Home edition. This is so because the Group Policy Editor does not come with Windows 10 Home.
Start by hitting the WINKEY + R button combination to start the Run box and type in gpedit.msc and then finally hit Enter.
Now, navigate to the following path inside the Group Policy Editor-
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer
Double-click on the configuration listing named as Turn off numerical sorting in File Explorer to open the configuration page.
The description of this entry reads,
This policy setting allows you to have file names sorted literally (as in Windows 2000 and earlier) rather than in numerical order. If you enable this policy setting, File Explorer will sort file names by each digit in a file name (for example, 111 < 22 < 3). If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, File Explorer will sort file names by increasing number value (for example, 3 < 22 < 111).
You can either select Enabled to Disable Numerical Sorting in File Explorer or Disabled or Not Configured to Enable Numerical Sorting in File Explorer depending on your preferences.
Click on OK and exit the Group Policy Editor.
Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.
That’s it!
How do I turn off file grouping in Windows Explorer 11?
To turn off grouping or sorting in Explorer, you can disable the Turn off numerical sorting in File Explorer GEPDIT setting or change the value of the NoStrCmpLogical Registry key as described in this post. For that, open the Local Group Policy Editor and find the Turn off numerical sorting in File Explorer setting. Double-click on it and choose the Enabled option.
How do I turn off auto arrange in folders in Windows 11?
To turn off auto arrange in folders in Windows 11, you can open the Registry Editor and navigate to this path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags. You need to delete the Bags key. For that, right-click on it and select the Delete option. Then, choose the Yes button to get the job done.
