[Windows Tip] Disable Full Row Select and Auto-Arrange Features in Windows Explorer
NOTE: This tutorial works in Windows 7 and all later Windows versions such as Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Windows 7 and later Windows versions come with lots of improvements and new features but also come with some annoyances. The biggest annoyance is the redesigned Windows Explorer (also known as My Computer or This PC).
Microsoft removed some classic and useful functionality from Windows Explorer in newer Windows versions such as:
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- When you hover mouse cursor over any item in Windows Explorer, it highlights or selects the full row instead of the particular item
- You can’t change order of icons in Windows Explorer using simple drag-n-drop (auto arrange is always enabled)
There are many people who don’t like the new Full row select and auto arrange functionality in Windows Explorer.
In past we have shared a registry trick to disable full row select feature in Windows Vista but that trick no longer works in newer Windows versions:
How to Disable Full Row Select Functionality in Windows Vista Explorer
Today in this tutorial, we are going to share a new registry tweak which will help you in disabling full row select functionality and auto-arrange feature in Windows Explorer of newer Windows versions.
Following are some screenshots showing the before and after effects:
Default Windows Explorer with full row select functionality enabled:
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You can see in above screenshot, when we select an item in Windows Explorer, it selects the entire row instead of that particular item.
Windows Explorer with full row select functionality disabled (after applying tweak):
You can see in the above screenshot, full row select feature has been disabled and now only the main item is selected instead of the full row.
Windows Explorer with auto arrange functionality disabled (after applying tweak):
As you can see in the above screenshot, now you can reorder icons in Windows Explorer just like the Desktop.
New options “Auto arrange” and “Align to grid” added to context menu in Windows Explorer (after applying tweak):
If you set folder view type to icons, you’ll get 2 new options “Auto arrange” and “Align to grid” in the right-click context menu similar to previous Windows versions which help you in arranging icons according to your requirements anywhere you want.
If you also want to disable full row select functionality and auto arrange feature in Windows Explorer, download following ZIP file, extract it and run the extracted REG file. It’ll ask for confirmation, accept it:
You may need to restart your computer or restart Explorer to take effects.
The ZIP file also contains a restore registry script to restore full row select functionality and auto-arrange feature in Windows Explorer.
PS: The registry script utilizes 3 DWORDs: FFlags, LogicalViewMode and Mode. We have set FFlags DWORD to 43000000 to disable auto-arrange and align to grid features. LogicalViewMode and Mode DWORDs are used to define folder view type. We can set LogicalViewMode to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to set the folder view type to Details, Tiles, Icons, List or Content respectively. Similarly we can set Mode to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 to set the folder view type to Medium icons, Small icons, List, Details, Thumbnails, Tiles, Thumbstrip (filmstrip) or Content respectively.
Also check out following tutorials:
Tested and working in Windows 7 and Windows 10 🙂
Dude, you’re a lifesaver! Thanks a billion!!
Hello,
Does it work with Win 10 1703 (Creators Update)?
^^ Yes. It works.
after the creators update this no longer works for me, i also have the latest version of QTTabBar installed which always took care of this in the past but not now, i hope quizzo or you can come up with a new fix for this soon, Auto-Arrange is one of the most annoying things i have ever come across and i hate microsoft for not allowing us to change it.
thank you
jim
scrap my previous comment, windows has now updated to version 1709 and the fix is working again, yippee!, note: i didn’t do anything, i did not try the fix above it just started working again, probably because i still have QTTabBar installed and ‘compatible folder view’ ticked to over-ride Auto-Arrange, many thanks to askvg for the many tips and tweaks and thanks to quizzo for the TabBar, Jim.
I’ve just installed win 10 fall update 1709..and it still doesnt work with the Reg Script….how did u get it working?…is it by having QTTabBar installed?
This work around is great but it does not disable auto arrange in the %userprofile% folder.
How do you disable it there as well?
Cheers.
Hi,
I’m looking for the same solution as “Avenger” above. I found this post via google search…
Is this possible for the %userprofile% folder?
Thank you.
^^ Did you try to reset folder view of all folders?
https://www.askvg.com/how-to-fix-annoying-folder-view-type-problem-in-windows-vista/
Hello,
After I arrange Icons (which is now possible at least) then close and open the folder again the icons have gone back the default placement. This occurs with new and old folders alike with Win. 10 -1909 . Thanks for any help you suggest.
^^ Check following:
https://www.askvg.com/how-to-fix-annoying-folder-view-type-problem-in-windows-vista/
this mostly worked for me along with another reg file on latest windows 11 🙂 however i also use dark theme & the entire list view shows with a light blue color!