How to Reset File Explorer Folder View Settings in Windows 11

A File Explorer folder in Windows 11 suddenly shows giant thumbnails instead of a list, or forgets your Details view every time you reopen it. You can reset File Explorer folder views with built-in tools, and none of the fixes below delete, move, or change your files.

Before You Begin

Why Folders Show the Wrong View

Windows doesn’t save one view for every folder. It saves views per folder template. The templates are General items, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos.

Windows assigns each folder a template, and that assignment doesn’t always match what you’d expect. A work folder with a few screenshots can end up tagged as Pictures, and then it opens with large thumbnails. This is also why resetting one folder doesn’t fix the rest, since a reset only affects folders that share the same template.

Windows also stores per-folder view data in the registry under two keys, Bags and BagMRU. If that data gets corrupted or fills up, views can stop sticking for some folders even after you change them (Microsoft Q&A).

Will this delete my files? No. Every step here changes only how File Explorer displays folders. Your documents, photos, and other files stay exactly where they are.

Prerequisites

A PC running Windows 11 (exact menu labels can vary slightly between builds)
Nothing to download; File Explorer is built in (Microsoft Support)
An administrator account, or the ability to approve a User Account Control prompt, only if you reach the registry fix
A few minutes to set your preferred view again after a reset

Step-by-Step Guide: Reset Folder Views in Windows 11

Work through these fixes in order. Stop as soon as your folders look right.

Fix #1: Reset Folders in Folder Options

This is the one-click fix. It restores the default view for every folder that uses the current folder’s template.

Press Windows + E to open File Explorer.
Open a folder that shows the wrong view.
Click the See more button (…) at the right end of the command bar.
Click Options. The Folder Options window opens.
Click the View tab.
Under Folder views, click Reset Folders.

Folder Options dialog open to the View tab, with the Folder views section at the top showing the Apply to Folders and Reset Folders buttons, Reset Folders highlighted

Click Yes when Windows asks you to confirm.
Click OK to close Folder Options.

Expected result: The folder you started in, and other folders of the same type, return to their default layout and sort order. Your files don’t change.

If some folders still look wrong, they probably use a different template. Open one of them and repeat this fix.

Fix #2: Turn Off Grouping

Sometimes the layout is fine, but files look jumbled even after you sort by name. Hidden grouping is usually the cause. Windows can organize files into categories, such as date or type, which can make a sorted list look out of order.

Open the folder in File Explorer.
Click Sort in the command bar.
Point to Group by.
Click None (shown as (None) on some builds).

File Explorer command bar with the Sort menu open and the Group by submenu expanded, showing grouping options with None highlighted

You can also right-click an empty area inside the folder and choose Group by > None.

Expected result: The group headers (like “Today” or “Last month”) disappear, and files appear in one continuous sorted list.

Fix #3: Change the Folder’s Template

Use this fix when one folder keeps opening with the wrong layout, such as photo thumbnails in a spreadsheet folder. You tell Windows what the folder really holds.

In File Explorer, right-click the problem folder. Don’t open it.
Click Properties.
Click the Customize tab.
Open the Optimize this folder for drop-down.
Pick the type that best matches the folder’s contents, such as General items, Documents, Pictures, Music, or Videos; the exact options shown can vary slightly by Windows 11 build. For mixed work files, General items or Documents is usually the right choice.

Folder Properties dialog open to the Customize tab, showing the Optimize this folder for drop-down expanded with General items, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos listed

Optional: if the Also apply this template to all subfolders checkbox appears, tick it when the subfolders hold the same kind of content.
Click Apply, then OK.
Open the folder again.

Expected result: The folder opens with the default view for the template you picked. If it’s still off, run Fix #1 from inside this folder.

Fix #4: Use Apply to Folders to Copy Your Preferred View

Once a folder looks the way you want, you can push that view to every folder with the same template. “Same template” means the setting in Fix #3. A Documents view copies to Documents folders only, not to Pictures folders.

Open a folder that uses the template you want to set up.
Click View in the command bar and choose a layout, such as Details or List.
Click Sort and pick your sort order, such as Name and Ascending.
Set Group by to None, or to the grouping you prefer.
In Details view, right-click any column header to add or remove columns.
Click See more (…) > Options.
Click the View tab.
Click Apply to Folders.
Click Yes to confirm, then click OK.

Expected result: Other folders with the same template typically pick up your layout and sort order.

Column choices and grouping may also carry over, though this can vary by Windows 11 build. Repeat these steps once for each template you use.

Fix #5: Clear the Bags and BagMRU Registry Keys (Advanced)

Warning: This fix is optional and advanced. Only use it if Fixes #1–#4 didn’t work and views keep reverting. It clears the saved folder-view cache (often called ShellBags) for your user account, so you’ll set your views up again afterward. It doesn’t touch your files. Back up the registry first. Don’t skip that step.

The Bags and BagMRU keys hold Windows’ saved view memory for individual folders. Deleting them makes Windows build that memory again from scratch.

On Windows 11, most of this cache lives under the Local Settings branch shown below, as described in a Microsoft Q&A answer. A second, smaller set of Bags and BagMRU keys can also exist under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell, which another Microsoft Q&A answer targets.

These locations come from community answers, not formal Microsoft documentation. If the keys aren’t where this fix says, stop and don’t delete anything else.

Back up the keys

Save any open work and close all File Explorer windows.
Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
Click Yes at the User Account Control prompt.
Paste this path into the Registry Editor address bar and press Enter:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

In the left pane, confirm that Bags and BagMRU appear under Shell.

Registry Editor expanded to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell, showing the Bags and BagMRU subkeys beneath Shell

Right-click Shell and choose Export.
Make sure Export range is set to Selected branch.
Save the file somewhere easy to find, such as your Desktop, with a name like shell-views-backup.reg.

For extra safety, copy that .reg file to a USB flash drive or external SSD.

Delete the keys

Right-click BagMRU and choose Delete. Click Yes to confirm.
Right-click Bags and choose Delete. Click Yes to confirm.
Optional: paste HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell into the address bar. If Bags and BagMRU also appear there, export that Shell key as a second backup (for example, shell-views-backup-2.reg), then delete those two keys the same way.
Close Registry Editor.
Restart your PC.

Expected result: After the restart, folders open with default views. Set up your preferred view again with Fix #4. If a corrupted view cache was the problem, Windows should now remember it.

This reset won’t help when the cause is something else, such as a damaged user profile, folder permissions, redirected folders, or a policy setting.

To undo: Double-click your shell-views-backup.reg file (and the second backup, if you made one), click Yes to merge it, then restart.

Configuration: Settings Worth Knowing

Setting	Where to find it	What it does
Reset Folders	See more > Options > View	Restores default views for folders of the current template
Apply to Folders	See more > Options > View	Copies the current folder’s view to all folders of the same template
Optimize this folder for	Right-click folder > Properties > Customize	Sets the folder’s template
Group by	Sort > Group by	Clusters files into categories, or removes clustering with None
Bags / BagMRU	`HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell` (some keys also under `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell`)	Stores saved per-folder views for your account

A practical setup pattern: set your general work folders to General items with Details view, run Apply to Folders, then do the same once for Pictures. That covers most folders on a typical PC.

Tips and Troubleshooting

Resetting one folder didn’t fix the others

Why it happens: Views are saved per template. A Documents reset doesn’t affect Pictures folders.

Fix: Run Fix #1 or Fix #4 once in a folder of each template you use.

Views revert on a USB drive or network folder

Why it happens: Some removable drives and network folders may not keep your view settings between connections, depending on the drive, the share, and its permissions.

Fix: Set the sort (for example, Name, Ascending) and Group by > None while the drive is connected. Disconnect and reconnect to check it held. If it reverts on a USB drive or NAS share every time, try Fix #5.

Some view options seem to do nothing

Other Windows 11 users have reported view options that don’t respond (Microsoft Q&A). Restart your PC first. If the problem continues, work through Fixes #1–#5 in order.

The folder looks different but you expected hidden files or extensions

Reset Folders doesn’t control hidden items or file extensions. Those are separate settings on the View tab of Folder Options (Microsoft Support).

File Explorer crashes while you change views

That’s a different problem than a lost view. Troubleshoot the crashes first, and don’t edit the registry until File Explorer is stable.

Wrapping Up

Reset Folders (Fix #1) plus a correct template (Fix #3) clears up most wrong-view problems. Apply to Folders is the part most people skip, and it’s what keeps your setup consistent. Save the Bags/BagMRU reset for views that won’t stick at all.

If views still revert after a clean registry reset, or File Explorer acts strangely in other ways, it’s worth checking for a damaged user profile or running a malware scan. At that point, the issue may extend beyond folder view settings.

Resources

Sources retrieved October 28, 2026: