Windows 10: How do I sort by "Date" instead of "Date Modified" in my File Explorer on Windows 11?

Sorting by "Date Modified" doesn't keep my folders at the top. How do I fix this?

:)

 

Sort files AND folders by "Date Modified" in File Explorer

Hello,

Is there a way to sort folders and individual files by "Date Modified" together? Right now, when I sort by "Date Modified," folders are automatically put at the bottom below files, even if they have been modified more recently than a file. When I'm quickly
scanning a list, this is very distracting. How can I fix this?

 

Sort by 'Date Modified' but keep folders at the top?

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that after recent update when you sort the files by Date Modified, the folders are listed at the bottom. We would like to know which update was installed on the computer, to check go to
Start >> Settings >> Update & Security >> Windows Update >> View update history.



However, you can go ahead and try the following steps and see if that helps in listing the folders at top:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the location where your files are stored.
   
2. Sort files by Date Modified (Recent files first).
   
3. Hold Shift key and click on the
   Name column. This will bring folders at the top with files sorted with Date Modified.
   

Let us know the results.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

Windows Explorer is slow to update "date modified" and hampers searching for most recently updated files

Windows Explorer doesn't seem to be keeping up with "date modified". E.g. I modify a file in Word then save it to my local drive. Then I open Windows Explorer and sort by Date Modified. The file I just saved should be displayed at the top of the file
list, but it doesn't. I have to also add that it "sometimes" works, but most of the time, it doesn't. It seems like it takes several minutes for the file system to update to sort by Date Modified. Any suggestions?