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920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

https://freecommander.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14031

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920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 27.01.2025, 20:55
by Forez
I have just tried out the x64 920 Donor version- and it seems to be unable to stick to alphabetical sort order when I navigate through folders i.e. every time I enter another one it is somehow messed up

I had no such problem with the so far used Build 912 64-bit Donor Portable & Build 901 32-bit Public Installed on my Windows 10 Enterprise 20H2 x64 [10.0.19042]

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 28.01.2025, 19:33
by Marek
every time I enter another one it is somehow messed up
More info/screenshot would be helpful.
Have you the same with default settings?

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 06.04.2025, 19:05
by Forez
I have just tested this in the latest FC donor version I have access to which is 926 - and it is the same. Also if I change my current setup from

Tools > Settings > View > File / folder list > Sorting > Alphabetical - string sort

to either

Tools > Settings > View > File / folder list > Sorting > Alphabetical - word sort

or

Tools > Settings > View > File / folder list > Sorting > Natural sorting (as Explorer)

the same ill behavior occurs. But when I run FC with default settings then the sort order seems to stay alphabetical no matter how much I navigate. And also when I overwrite 926 files with those of 912 [i.e. go back to running on good working version but by using less secure method of overwriting instead of more soundly method of using a copy of my entire portable FC unspoiled with never files] then the behavior goes back to being normal. So it seems that there is something in my configuration that triggers this behavior in newer versions - but it is not the aforementioned Sorting option, as I have tried out switching to all 3 available ones

The below screenshot shows two explanatory well known folders affected by this unwanted switch of sort order

FC non-alphabetical sort order.png

I see no pattern in the above order - and I can assure you that it is not an order that uses data from any of these three Columns [which I sometimes use]:
● Size Auto
● Modified
● Type
[because when turned on then they are also all over the place]

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 18.03.2026, 21:47
by Forez
Despite installing new system from strach (Windows 10 IOT Enterprise LTSC 21H2 x64), waiting out 15 months for fixes, then first cleaning my >>FreeCommander.ini<< file (viewtopic.php?t=14226) and removing some old files accumulated over the years, and only then using the newest Build 946 64-bit Donor Portable, I still have the same major problem. And the same happens in Build 941 32-bit Public Installed

This makes FreeCommander unusable for me - or alternatively forces me to roll back to 912 and 901

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 19.03.2026, 02:02
by Forez
It seems that I have found the culprit: it was the FreeCommander.views.ini config file, which had such content

Code: Select all

[FcAutoSelectableViews]
1=asv_7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653
2=asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3
3=asv_300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C
ActivateAutoSelection=1

[asv_7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653]
Id=7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653
Name=<Default view>
ViewStyle=0
DetailedViewName=
DetailedViewAutoSelect=1
SortColumnContentType=0
SortColumnContent=32
SortAsc=1
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

[asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3]
Id=D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3
Name=This PC ASV
ViewStyle=2
DetailedViewName=This PC
DetailedViewAutoSelect=0
SortColumnContentType=0
SortColumnContent=0
SortAsc=1
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=<csidl>17
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

[asv_300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C]
Id=300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C
Name=Recycle Bin ASV2
ViewStyle=2
DetailedViewName=Recycle Bin
DetailedViewAutoSelect=0
SortColumnContentType=1
SortColumnContent=2
SortAsc=0
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=<pidl>::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

After deleting of this file, the problem went away - but so did my very useful settings for the This PC and Recycle Bin folders. So I restored that INI file, but removed in it the the first definition - thus ended up using 2/3 of it i.e.

Code: Select all

[FcAutoSelectableViews]
1=asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3
2=asv_300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C
ActivateAutoSelection=1

[asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3]
Id=D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3
Name=This PC ASV
ViewStyle=2
DetailedViewName=This PC
DetailedViewAutoSelect=0
SortColumnContentType=0
SortColumnContent=0
SortAsc=1
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=<csidl>17
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

[asv_300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C]
Id=300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C
Name=Recycle Bin ASV2
ViewStyle=2
DetailedViewName=Recycle Bin
DetailedViewAutoSelect=0
SortColumnContentType=1
SortColumnContent=2
SortAsc=0
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=<pidl>::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

And so the question arises: what is so inherently wrong in that first section with these

Code: Select all

[asv_7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653]
Id=7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653
Name=<Default view>
ViewStyle=0
DetailedViewName=
DetailedViewAutoSelect=1
SortColumnContentType=0
SortColumnContent=32
SortAsc=1
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=
definitions, that was breaking sorting of every folder I was navigating to in never Builds of FC, but was indifferent when I was using older ones?

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 19.03.2026, 19:27
by Marek
So you have solved it now, right?
Without knowing all your settings, it's impossible to say anything.
If you like, you can send me all your settings and I can try check it.

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 20.03.2026, 15:07
by Forez
Yes I have solved it; but as it turns out, only to some extent


Initially I thought I fixed things by getting rid of the whole

Code: Select all

Name=<Default view>
block. Then, after having dig deeper, I thought I managed to pin point the exact setting in that block - apparently it was the

Code: Select all

SortColumnContent=32
which >>32<< value does reset and (somewhat) randomizes the sort order at every folder change, because if I will set it alike in others blocks to

Code: Select all

SortColumnContent=0
then the sort order will still switch, but to alphabetically ascending (A-Z) one. And that is the current issue: the sort still resets at every folder change (but at least to a one that makes FC usable)


Nevertheless if fire up my old Build 912 even with that original

Code: Select all

SortColumnContent=32
setting, then the sort order does not reset after navigating to another folder - while if in Build 946 aside from

Code: Select all

SortColumnContent=0
I will also use

Code: Select all

SortAsc=
instead of that old

Code: Select all

SortColumnContent=32

Code: Select all

SortAsc=1
then it still reverts to the A-Z order at folder change


So how can I make force 946 to re-use the same sort order when navigating through ordinary folders, like it did in 912?


And a side question: what is the

Code: Select all

DetailedViewName=
option needed for? From description it sounds like it should use its value as the names of folder shown to user after switching to Details mode of viewing - and yet it does not seem to work like so. It also do not see this option to be present in GUI at either of the 2 tabs of

Tools > Settings > View > Column profiles/Automatic views >

And these observations are for both the 946 and 912 Build. Is it then some old setting that never got implemented and / or was removed? Or am I experiencing another bug?


My current settings FreeCommander.views.ini config file are as follows:

Code: Select all

[FcAutoSelectableViews]
1=asv_7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653
2=asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3
3=asv_300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C
ActivateAutoSelection=1

[asv_7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653]
Id=7D2049A9-9507-4693-BE47-6A7965418653
Name=<Default view>
ViewStyle=0
DetailedViewName=
DetailedViewAutoSelect=1
SortColumnContentType=0
SortColumnContent=0
SortAsc=
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

[asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3]
Id=D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3
Name=This PC (an Auto Selectable View)
ViewStyle=2
DetailedViewName=This PC TEST-OF-DETAILED-VIEW-1
DetailedViewAutoSelect=0
SortColumnContentType=0
SortColumnContent=0
SortAsc=1
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=<csidl>17
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

[asv_300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C]
Id=300B4EAA-5116-43F6-AEC2-C580E032636C
Name=Recycle Bin (an Auto Selectable View)
ViewStyle=2
DetailedViewName=Recycle Bin TEST-OF-DETAILED-VIEW-2
DetailedViewAutoSelect=0
SortColumnContentType=1
SortColumnContent=2
SortAsc=0
SizeOfFolders=0
Condition=<pidl>::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
ContentConditionType=0
ContentCondition=

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 20.03.2026, 17:56
by Marek

Code: Select all

DetailedViewName=
Column profile

The user should configure the settings via the user interface and not directly in the configuration file. This is possible in most cases.

Re: 920 does not sustain alphabetical sort order

Posted: 21.03.2026, 11:33
by Forez
The icon that holds the option of

Tools > Settings > View > Column profiles/Automatic views > Column profiles > Rename

(i.e. from the 1st of the 2 tabs) sets the name of the section that is placed below the

Code: Select all

[FcDetailedViews]
section in the

FreeCommander.ini

main config file - i.e. it adjusts the line of e.g.

Code: Select all

[FcDetailedViews_TEST-NAME-FROM-OPTION-1]


The icon that holds the option of

Tools > Settings > View > Column profiles/Automatic views > Auto selectable views > Rename

(i.e. from the 2nd of the 2 tabs) sets the value of the

Code: Select all

Name=
entry of e.g.

Code: Select all

[asv_D5445B38-D197-43FD-A4A7-A92ED2FAABF3]
section that is placed among other alike sections below the

Code: Select all

[FcAutoSelectableViews]
section in the

FreeCommander.fav.ini

sub-config file


Therefore the side question remains valid: what is the

Code: Select all

DetailedViewName=
for in that

FreeCommander.fav.ini

and is it controllable via GUI settings? So
Forez wrote: 20.03.2026, 15:07 [...]
Is it then some old setting that never got implemented and / or was removed? Or am I experiencing another bug?
[...]
(The https://freecommander.com/fchelpxe/en/A ... tml#Rename does not provide any in-deep info about this)


And also: an answer to the above riddle will surely not resolve the main problem - of how to
Forez wrote: 20.03.2026, 15:07 [...]
force 946 to re-use the same sort order when navigating through ordinary folders, like it did in 912?
[...]
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