Select traditional date and time sorting method

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.