Managing Columns in File Explorer

The Details view in File Explorer displays columns for each folder and file with key information. By default, the columns display the name of the file, the date it was last modified, the file type, and the size. But you can add more columns with further details on specific folders and files. You can also remove columns that you do not need, and you can reorder the columns that appear, sort your folders and files alphabetically by column, and even filter your folders and files by column. This task explains how to work with columns in File Explorer.

1 Launch File Explorer: Open the desktop and launch File Explorer full screen.

2 Open a folder: Open a specific folder with content, such as the Documents folder. Select the Details view from the Ribbon if not already selected.

3 Add or remove columns: Click the View menu from the Ribbon. Click the Add Columns button. A list appears of all possible columns with check marks in front of the ones currently displayed. Select any columns you want to add. Deselect any columns you want to remove. After you add or remove a column, the Add Columns drop-down menu disappears, so you will have to reopen it to continue.

4 Add other columns: Click the Add Columns button. In the drop-down menu, click Choose columns. A long list appears with a range of details, some specific to certain types of files, such as E-mail address for Contacts, F-stop for photos, and Album artist for music. Select the columns that you want to display for your current folder. Click OK.

5 Change the order of columns: You can sort the order of the columns by dragging and dropping a column to a different spot. For example, you can drag the Name column to the right so that it appears after the Date modified column.

6 Sort by columns: Click the column heading that you want to sort by. For example, you can click the Name column to sort A–Z by filename. Clicking it again sorts the files Z–A by filename. You can click the Date modified column to sort by date, from earliest to most recent. Clicking the column again sorts by date, from most recent to earliest.

7 Filter columns: You can filter a column to see only certain folders or files. For example, click the drop-down arrow next to the Date modified column. Select a specific date or date range to narrow the results.

8 Group by columns: You can group your folders and files by certain columns, such as Date modified. Click the Group by button and then click Date modified. The folders and files are grouped by date, such as Yesterday, Earlier this year, and A long time ago.