Forum Discussion
Completely get rid of "Group By" anywhere in File Explorer
As my title says I wish to Completely get rid of "Group By" anywhere in File Explorer. I've tried many things but to no avail. At the moment I am noticing one folder inparticular that constantly resets to a group by date, even though it displays (None) as selected. This folder is my download folder whose path was changed to a folder on an alternate drive. Is there a way to DISABLE Group by for any file/folder on the computer? I have Windows 11 Pro (24H2) updated to present.
To disable Group By globally in File Explorer on Windows 11, use this method:
- Press Win+R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Right-click in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it UseAutoGrouping.
- Set the value of UseAutoGrouping to 0.
- Close the Registry Editor and restart File Explorer (or reboot your PC).
This will disable Group By globally for all folders.
17 Replies
Holaway My research indicates that the "UseAutoGrouping" registry value does nothing at all. Presumably you marked that reply as the "solution". If so, how did you conclude that it was a correct answer? My issue is that incorrect answers get propagated by other users and AI bots. Assuming you cannot prove this setting does anything, I'm kindly requesting that you unmark that reply as a solution.
At the link below, I have documented all known methods to disable grouping for all possible views of Downloads folder, be it within Explorer or an app's file open/save dialog. These are fully tested solutions:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3840386/completely-disable-file-grouping-always-everywhere
IT DOESN-T WORK ANYMORE!
Just to display how stupid this grouping is. I sorted a bunch of files by name and I get this result
Use WinSetView. This is the only solution that works. The registry key won't do anything on its own
It is not working after update.
Reset Folder Views
- Open File Explorer.
- Click on the "View" menu at the top.
- Select "Show", then choose "Options."
- In the Folder Options window, go to the “View” tab.
- Click on “Reset Folders.” This action will reset the view settings for all folders of the same type to their default settings.
Oh, this guide helped me! Thanks!
Doesn't work in Windows 11 24H2 - that just made all my folders have Group By (which must be Microsoft's new default).
To disable Group By globally in File Explorer on Windows 11, use this method:
- Press Win+R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Right-click in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it UseAutoGrouping.
- Set the value of UseAutoGrouping to 0.
- Close the Registry Editor and restart File Explorer (or reboot your PC).
This will disable Group By globally for all folders.
LukaBaylor Where did you find this setting? Your post above from Jan 2025 seems to be its first appearance on the Internet.
I monitored this registry value using SysInternals Process Explorer and found no access whatsoever. It's not read when Explorer starts up, not read when a new folder is created, and not read when any view changes, including grouping, are made to a folder. Practical testing also indicates that it does nothing.
Unless you can provide some verification steps that show a difference between having this setting and not having it, I have to conclude that it is not a valid.
DOES NOT WORK for Winblows 11 24H2 - and NO IT DOESN'T.
I have applied this to my registry, rebooted, then selected a folder with NO groupings and Applied to All.
Reboot - yep - there you are - grouped by date.Your solution does NOT work, i restarted my File Explorer but the groups are still there.
This solution DOES in fact work. Creating the registry key does not turn off the group items feature completely. You still need to go to Sort >> Group By >> (choose your preferred setting, presumably {None}).
Having the registry key will prevent Windows from dictating this setting in the future. Meaning you won't log in one day and your folder(s) are all of a sudden sort-grouped in whatever way, when you never touched the setting to begin with.
