The Chronological Chaos
Windows 11 File Explorer includes a feature called “Group By,” which categorizes files within a folder based on shared attributes. One of the most common and aggressive groupings is by Date Modified (e.g., “Today,” “Earlier this week,” “Last month”). While helpful in your Downloads folder for finding recent files, this grouping behavior can be incredibly disruptive if it is automatically applied to a project folder where you expect files to be strictly sorted alphabetically by name. When grouped by date, finding a specific file requires you to remember exactly when you last edited it, completely destroying standard alphabetical navigation.
Restoring Standard Alphabetical Sorting
To restore a traditional, clean view and stop Windows 11 from automatically sorting and grouping your files by date, you must disable the Group By feature within File Explorer.
Open File Explorer and navigate to the folder that is currently grouped by date. At the very top of the window, click on the Sort menu (it has an icon with two small arrows pointing up and down). From the dropdown menu, hover your mouse over the Group by option near the bottom. A secondary menu will slide out to the right. Click on (None) at the very top of this list. The date categories will instantly vanish, and your files will collapse into a single, unified list. To ensure they are in the correct order, click the Sort menu again and select Name, ensuring it is set to “Ascending.” If you want this clean view applied to all similar folders across your entire PC, click the three dots (…) on the top menu bar, select Options, go to the View tab, and click the Apply to Folders button.