You are allowed to group the files by Date, File size, Type, Size, or None in the File Explorer, however, we have noticed that the Downloads folder is grouped by Date modified and they are unable to restore it. In this post, we will see how to remove Grouping & Shorting by Date in the Downloads folder.
Windows Downloads folder – Remove Grouping & Sorting by Date
This view allows all the files to be grouped by date and appear in descending order.
Files in Downloads folder are grouped by date? Remove it
When grouped by date, all the files and folders are separated into user-friendly dates. For example, if you downloaded a file today, it will be grouped under the Today section. Files downloaded last week will be grouped under Last Week, and so on. Simply put, your most recent files will always appear on top.
In theory, this makes it easy to find the recently downloaded files. However, the Date Modified grouping makes the files appear more cluttered. Moreover, finding files can be a bit harder if they are not recently downloaded. For example, when files are grouped by date, even though the files are sorted by types, they are still grouped by dates.
So, if the new default, Date Modified grouping, is more inconvenient for you, follow the steps below to fix files in the downloads folder grouped by date in File Explorer.
Restore Display view for files grouped by Date Modified in the Downloads folder
Launch File Explorer and go to the Downloads folder. To do this, click on the Downloads option under Quick Access.
Windows 11
In the File Explorer > Download, click on Sort > Group by > None.
Windows 10
Click the View tab, then click on the Group by drop-down menu and select None from the list.
The files will be restored to whatever view the Downloads folder is set to.
Now, you might also notice the Save As dialogue window still keeps displaying the items grouped by date. Simply right-click any empty area within the dialog box and select Group by None.
Once you have applied the changes, all files are not sorted and become as before. But the files and folders will be categorized by dates modified again minutes later or on restart of PC. So to set it permanently, proceed as outlined below.
Next, switch to Group (None) as described above.
Click on View in Explorer ribbon > Options > Change folder and search options to bring up the Folder Options properties.
Switch to the View tab.
Click Apply to Folders button, followed by Yes.
Click Apply > OK.
Please note that you should make the Group Sort by changes via the Explorer Ribbon only, not via the Context Menu.
That’s it, folks. This should help.
Related read: Windows forgets Folder View settings.
How do I remove grouping from Windows 11 Download folder?
If you don’t want any grouping in the Download folder of Windows 11, you can set the it to (None). To do so, open File Explorer, go to the Download folder, and then click Sort > Group by > None.
Read: Downloads folder disappeared in Windows
How do I remove grouping by date in Windows 11?
To configure the Group by date in Windows 11 File Explorer, open the folder where you need to make the changes, then click on Sort > Group by. You can now change the Group by from Date Modified to some other option or None.
Also Read: How to open File Explorer Options in Windows 11.
