How to Fix Vista's Explorer Folder Template Forgetfulness

Vista was the first version of Windows to introduce the concept of folder templates. The noble notion involved was that an Explorer folder could automatically change itself to the most logical presentation for the type of files in the folder. For example, if the folder contained music files, the view should include items like Name, Artist, Album, Genre, and Rating. A folder for videos or photos should include Name, Date Taken, Tags, Size, and Rating.

Five folder templates are in Vista: All Folders, Documents, Contacts, Pictures and Video, and Music.

There are also many problems with folder templates in Vista. One is that the wrong template is often selected, for no apparent reason, and attempts to correct it don’t “stick.” Other than incorrectly guessing which folder template to use, Vista can change the template from one folder opening to the next. Even worse, the settings provided in “Customize this folder” and “Also apply this template to all subfolders” often don’t have an effect at all on newly created down-stream folders.

I found this very annoying and tried several different techniques being discussed online. What I settled on was a two pronged approach.

1. Set all folder settings back to the first run condition by editing the Windows Registry and optionally turning off automatic folder content detection completely.

2. Set initial folder settings in the Control Panel applet and then check and or set the top-level views for each type of folder manually.

Does this sound like something that interests you? If so, are you ready to dive in? Let’s go.

Create a Restore Point

In Vista, it’s a good idea to set a restore point, or go-back-to point, before doing maintenance that may affect the stability of your PC. Here’s the fastest way to create a restore point in Vista.

1. Press the Windows button and type in “systempropertiesprotection”

2. If User Access Control is active, click “Continue.”

3. Click “Create.”

4. Enter a meaningful name for your restore point.

5. Click “Create” again and watch as it creates the restore point.

6. Click OK to close the System Properties dialog.

Edit the Registry

1. Start the Registry editor by clicking the Windows button and entering “regedit”

2. If User Access Control is active, click “Continue.”

3. Navigate to

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

In the left pane, click on “Shell” to expand the list if necessary, and then click on “Bags” Then press Delete on your keyboard and confirm the deletion.

In the left-hand pane, click on “BagMRU.” Then press Delete on your keyboard and confirm the deletion.

4. Navigate to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell

In the left-hand pane, click on “BagMRU.” Then press Delete on your keyboard and confirm the deletion.

Then do the same for “Bags.”

5. Navigate to

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam

which should be right below “Shell.”

Expand the list if necessary. If “BagMRU” or “Bags” are listed here, click them, press Delete, and confirm the deletion.

Decision Time – Turn Off Automatic Folder Detection?

Do you want to completely turn off Vista’s automatic detection of contents and selection of folder templates? If you do this, whatever setting you give a folder will stick and will not change. For example, if you decide to do this and you have a folder full of documents and place one image file in the folder that you intend to include in a document, Vista will not automatically change the view to a multimedia view. In fact, all new folders will start with “All files” selected (Name, Date Modified, Type, Size) by default.

I have tried it both ways. Sometimes it’s nice to have Vista guess which template to use, and sometimes the selection is simply irrational. I don’t have a recommendation either way about this, but I have elected to set up my own PC this way. Here’s what’s involved.

1. In Regedit, navigate to

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

In the left-hand pane, right-click on “Shell” and click “New,” then “Key.”

Type in “Bags” and press Enter.

2. Right-click “Bags,” click “New,” then “Key.”

Type in “AllFolders” (one word) and press Enter.

3. Right-click “AllForders,” click “New,” then “Key.”

Type in “Shell” and press Enter.

4. With “Shell” highlighted in the left-hand pane, click an empty area in the right-hand pane.

Select “New,” then “String Value.”

Type “FolderType” (one word) and press Enter.

5. In the right-hand pane, right-click “FolderType” and click “Modify.”

Type in "NotSpecified" (one word) and click OK.

A reboot is needed at this point. Please exit Regedit and restart your PC to save your changes. Continue to the second page next.