Windows Explorer Search - Default to "Details" instead of Icon view

[B00kWyrm]

Windows XP Home SP3...

There may be an easy answer, but I have not found it yet,
and I am getting aggravated by continually needing to click the View drop-down and then select Details.

Is it possible to set the search results default to details, instead of having the result come up as icons?

 

[kimsland]

Lots of info here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-36520_35_0.html
Old thread but I think its related

I just saw this Topic and replied quickly, so I'll check later on if it doesn't help, I'm sure I have already fixed a similar issue to this before, but couldn't find it (5min search) in my own documents. I usually save info like this. Its probably a kellys-korner fix or something

 

[B00kWyrm]

Just to be clear...
My Folders are displaying with Details, as desired.
It is the Search results that chronically come up as icons.

I have even reset folders to default and then set them again to show details,
but Search continues to show icons.

 

[kimsland]

"Search" also has view > details

But you must have done this...

Anyway, we need to find a "Search" reset, that will fix it. But I must go, will be back later if you reply (and i then get an email )

 

[B00kWyrm]

Hi Kimsland
I have tried several things... including "restoring defaults"
Control Panel -> Folder Options -> Restore Defaults or
Explorer -> Tools -> Folder Options -> Restore Defaults.

and also a reg tweak which I think is supposed to relieve the limits on custom folders.

By the way... even after "restoring defaults", my default view of folders in Explorer remains "Details".

The issue remains with Search however...

Restated it is this.

When I use Explorer's "Search Companion" the results come up as TILES.
(not icons, my earlier description was slightly inaccurate: To me one is about as useless as the other).
Questions:
Is this the normal default behavior? (In other words, does everyone get Tiles when they do a search?)
Can this default behavior be modified?

Yes, I can select View -> Details.
I would like for it to bring up the results as Details by default, instead of defaulting to the Tile view.
I select details, and leave explorer.
When I later reopen explorer and do another search, the default view is Tiles again.

I did some looking at Tom's Hardware and at Kelly's Korner, as well as googling, but I have not been able to find anything that seemed related.

+++++
Added Note:
When the results come back "There were ### files found. Did you find what you wanted?"
At the bottom there is an option to "View Results Differently".
I have used this also, and it still reverts to "Tile" view as its default.

 

[mailpup]

Is this the normal default behavior? (In other words, does everyone get Tiles when they do a search?)

No, I don't think so. My folders are set to details (except certain folders which I set individually to icons) and my search results show as details.

Edit: Just to be sure, are you setting your personal default by: Tools > Folder Options > View tab > "Apply to All Folders"?

 

[B00kWyrm]

Thanks Mailpup.

Yes, I have tried that too.
Tried it both from a normal folder and from the search results.
It still returns to tiles as default.

I have seen (via google) that others have asked this same question but have not yet found an answer.

 

[kimsland]

"Apply to All Folders"?

Just to be certain, did you "Apply to All Folders"?

 

[B00kWyrm]

Just to be certain, did you "Apply to All Folders"

Gosh... what I am experiencing must be really weird.
Because the answer is still "Yes".
The next time I open Explorer and do a Search, it always reverts to Tile view.

OTOH... If I do this first thing after opening explorer,
the search will then come up in detail view,
until I close Explorer.

Windows just does not retain the "preference" for the next time Explorer is reopened,
(unlike its behavior for the files and directories generally... that does get retained.)

+++++
Note: What I mean when I say "If I do this first thing" is...
If the first thing I do after opening explorer is "apply to all folders"...

++++
New Information on Nov 30...

Today, I cannot replicate yesterday's results for "*.doc".
Today they are always coming up Tiles, regardless of location, (Desktop, MyDocuments, or a USB Drive)
and regardless of whether I have previously changed a search to show details.
This is also true for all tested MSOffice file types... PPT, DOC, XLS.

I have not checked MSAccess files as I use it so infrequently, but it seems reasonable to infer that
ALL MSOffice file types will come up this way, given the testing I have done.

I have also found that searches for graphics (JPG, BMP, GIF, and PNG) will always come up THUMBNAIL view.
AND I have found that soundfiles (MID, WAV) have mixed results. MID is Tiles, while WAV is details.
Even after changing the file association to Musicmatch Jukebox, the MID file icon remains the same and it still comes up as Tiles.

Even after changing file association for MID from Windows Media Player, to Musicmatch Jukebox (which cannot play it anyway), and then closing windows and doing a cold reboot, the search for MID files showed the same icon (Windows Media File type of icon, not Musicmatch) and displayed the results in Tiles not Details (other Musicmatch associated files will show in Detail view).

Interestingly... PDF files come up as detail views, as do Omnipage files, as do RTF and TXT.
I was expecting PDF to come up as Tiles, but my test threw my theory out the window.
Searches for other types of files (DLL, EXE, etc) also come up as Detail view.

The Icon (for file association) for RTF files is for MSWord. Even so, it still comes up as Details, not tiles.

My version of MSOffice is 2003. C drive is NTFS. Other drives are Fat32.

 

[B00kWyrm]

Bumping my thread, (2 days later) because...
1. I don't know if my edits were seen.
2. Looks like I may be s.o.l. - One of windows "features" that I cannot get around.:suspiciou