Select traditional date and time sorting method

Thank you friends Jhon and Orizonbbk, for your collaboration.

I think the query would have been more descriptive if it had been titled "First week of the year", instead of "Sort method".

The problem appeared due to a time-location chart software that I developed in visual, and when I updated the Windows version quite some time ago, it stopped working, as far as the calculation of the first week of the year is concerned.

Previously, apparently, in my Windows (Spain) the Traditional sorting method (default) was applied = the first week of the year is the one that includes January 1, and I had no problems with my software.

Over time, new versions of Windows have included as the default sorting method, the International (ISO 8601) = the first week with the majority (four or more) of its days in the year that begins, that is, the one that includes the first Thursday in the new year, and this is where my problem appeared.

Recently, and after many unsuccessful regional configuration tests (language, date formats, etc.), I have found, fortunately, that in both Windows 10 and Windows 11 you can choose the "Sort Method: Traditional or International" , an option that I don't know since when it is included, but it only appears for certain language formats (not English) such as Spanish from Spain, German, Chinese, Japanese,..., so many users from other countries, perhaps like you, You don't see this Windows option.

It is precisely in: Control Panel > Region > Formats

By the way, also in certain Excel functions such as Microsoft Project, when displaying results by weeks counted from the first of the year, in some cases, they return different values depending on the "Sort Method" of the operating system.

Thank you again for your time, and I am sorry for the annoyance and dizziness of the query that this issue may have caused you, which apparently only affects certain countries.

Ignacio

In Windows 10, the sorting method for files and directories in the File Explorer is influenced by the system's regional settings, but there isn't a direct, built-in option to explicitly choose between the International ISO 8601 standard and traditional sorting methods solely for file management purposes.

However, the ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD) for dates is supported in terms of how dates are displayed and can be influenced by changing your system's locale and date format settings. Here’s how you might adjust settings related to date formats, which indirectly affects how files might be sorted especially if their names contain dates:

1. Change Date Format:

   • Open the Windows Settings app.
   • Navigate to Time & Language > Region.
   • Under the Regional format section, you can select a format that aligns more closely with the ISO 8601 date format, if not exactly. This changes how dates are displayed across Windows, including in File Explorer.

2. Customize Date Format:

   • In the Control Panel, go to Clock and Region > Region.
   • In the window that opens, click on the Formats tab, then click Additional settings....
   • Here, you can customize the date formats. For ISO 8601, you would set the short date format to yyyy-MM-dd.

These settings will influence how dates are displayed, which could affect sorting if you are viewing files in a list that includes date information. However, the actual sorting algorithm used by Windows for managing files and folders isn't something users can switch between through a simple setting. Windows file system sorting is based on a set of complex rules that take into account character values and other metadata, not just date formats.

Ignacio_Martin 

I see this was posted to the Windows 10 part of the techcommunity forum but apparently no one has responded.

I'm not exactly sure what part of the control panel/region you are referring to, a screen shot would help. This is what I see on Windows 10:

John