PSA: How to Speed up Sorting of Your Downloads Folder in Windows 10

peterpeterpumpkin on 12/08/2018 - 10:31
Last edited 12/08/2018 - 11:43 by 1 other user

I'm the type of person that accumulates 100s of files in their Downloads folder. And I'm also the type of person that likes to sort this folder by Date so I can quickly see the last file I downloaded. For years I just accepted that Windows 8 and 10 were buggy and I had to live with slow file sorting. Well, that (hopefully) ends today my friends.

I finally found a spare 42 seconds to Google the problem and it turns out that, by default, the Downloads folder is optimised for "Pictures", and whatever it was doing wasn't optimised for saving my time.

The solution was simple and might honestly improve my working-from-home efficiency by 13% or more. Here are the instructions:
1. In Windows Explorer, right click the Downloads folder (or any folder you are having issues with), then select Properties.
2. Select the Customize tab
3. From the drop-down menu, Optimize this folder for: "General Items"

Here's another link with pictures:
https://www.intowindows.com/fix-downloads-folder-opens-slowl…

If you'd like to hear more life-improving tips, just check out this pretty cool website.

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Comments

  • Savas on 12/08/2018 - 11:04
    +18

    Never had this problem

    • anonymous01 on 13/08/2018 - 12:03
      +8

      Never had windows 8 or 10.

      Edit: After breaking up with XP, I've been with Win 7 for a while. I don't think I want to let her go… Though I do miss my ex-P dearly.

      Edit 2: I just remembered I was with Vista for a short time.. that B*tch was just crazy and unstable.. didn't take long for me to tell her 'Hasta la Vista'..

    • matt_will_fix_it on 13/08/2018 - 18:29
      +5

      Delete everything in your downloads folder. Problem fixed.

  • Diji1 on 12/08/2018 - 11:18
    +4

    Google is a pretty cool website.

    • Savas on 12/08/2018 - 11:47
      -3

      nah bing is much better

      • Diji1 on 12/08/2018 - 15:31
        +1

        I stand corrected.

        • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2018 - 18:09
          +4

          I'm still using the library reference cards.

    • CodeXD on 13/08/2018 - 10:38

      +1 for google

  • [Deactivated] on 12/08/2018 - 11:27
    +1

    What is this google thing you speak of?

    • Cletus vandamme on 13/08/2018 - 13:26
      +1

      Not sure. You should google it and see.

    • Hawky jnr1 on 13/08/2018 - 19:49
      +3

      I heard from reliable sources that if you type "google" into google, you can break the internet.

  • Godric on 12/08/2018 - 11:55

    Waaow!

  • Yummy on 12/08/2018 - 11:55
    +11

    Laggy pr0n folder sorted. Erm… thx?

  • CyberMurning on 12/08/2018 - 12:00
    +1

    Download porn is so old style.

  • myusername on 12/08/2018 - 12:21

    what are the specs of your pc?

  • MrHyde on 12/08/2018 - 12:33
    +17

    My Downloads folder is currently at 25 GB and contains nearly 6000 files. It takes forever to change the sorting to Date or details or extension. Had a look and it is currently set to Optimize for Documents. Changed it to General Items and now sorting happens instantaneously.

    Thank you for this post.

    • macrocephalic on 14/08/2018 - 10:44

      You know you can delete things - right? If you never bothered to move them out of your downloads folder, then you probably don't need them.

      • MrHyde on 14/08/2018 - 11:22

        I should and when I get time, I do go and clear them out - but they then pile up again.

        Everytime you download a exe, doc, pdf, etc - browsers put them in the Downloads folder. If it is important, I move it to another location immediately. If it is not, I read it at the time and just leave it there - hence the clutter.

  • ihbh on 12/08/2018 - 15:07
    +3

    Cheers mate. I have been bothered by how long my Downloads folder refreshes - I should have been proactive to google it.

  • OverburdenedWarrior on 12/08/2018 - 16:25
    +1

    Cheers. Anybody else been getting delayed Windows notifications lately? It started with Slack, but it's slowly spread to emails and other notifications. It's worse when before it'll show you the new notification, it'll display the old one again first. :/

    Found some stuff on Google about it, but nothing has worked permanently.

    • That Guy on 13/08/2018 - 12:37

      Yeah I get this happen occasionally

    • bonezAU on 13/08/2018 - 16:37

      Yes, I've noticed it as well, only a recent thing - maybe the last month. Happens for me with Slack & Signal.

  • tebbybabes on 12/08/2018 - 17:41

    Thanks for the sharing.

  • ash5g on 12/08/2018 - 17:49

    Thanks

  • PJC on 12/08/2018 - 18:16
    +1

    Thanks for the link to Google OP.

  • Daabido on 12/08/2018 - 20:22

    I like my Public Service Announcements with guitars.

  • stirlo on 13/08/2018 - 08:12

    Thanks, That is actually going to save me a bunch of time in the future.

  • MadazTheSkitzo on 13/08/2018 - 09:05

    mine was already on general items

    Build 17733.rs5_release.180803-1525

  • rompastompa on 13/08/2018 - 09:17
    +2

    🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 PSA: Use Google to solve problems 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

    This post needed more flags.

  • rogerm22 on 13/08/2018 - 09:41
    -5

    The main cause of slowness, is CPU use from antivirus software scanning any .exe files when you open a folder. This can fixed by switching to an antivirus which won't scan every file when you open a folder, such as Panda, ESET or Tencent PC Manager to give a few examples

    • rogerm22 on 13/08/2018 - 12:43
      +1

      I don't see why people are negging me. What I posted is true and you can see this yourself, by opening Task Manager and then opening a folder with a lot of installers in it and you can see the CPU use from Windows Defender, or whatever antivirus you are using.

  • Emphasise on 13/08/2018 - 10:20
    +1

    I make it so my downloads get saved on my desktop so I'm forced to clean it up before it gets too messy.

    • freakatronic on 13/08/2018 - 18:02
      +1

      I feel threatened by the idea of this.

  • taurenpally on 13/08/2018 - 10:56

    gonna try this tonight but if this fixes it for me THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

  • Ihhdle on 13/08/2018 - 11:05

    . It’s been bugging me for years, but not enough to fix. Thank you so much!

  • gaynamedpaul on 13/08/2018 - 11:08

    Legend thank you <3

  • ThirdRonnie on 13/08/2018 - 12:09

    This behaviour seems to have started on my system only after one of the major updates to Windows 10.

    Thanks for the fix. Very much appreciated.

  • photonbuddy on 13/08/2018 - 12:11

    This issue was also in Win7.

    Using anything other than general items, I think Windows inspects each file during the sort, even if the sort doesn't require it.

    When you have 20,000 images in a folder, it takes forever to sort if you have it set for Pictures!

  • techpoida on 13/08/2018 - 13:01

    Thanks for the post/solution.
    I never took much notice on other PCs/Laptops and various Windows OS's until I got a Surface recently and it's really noticeable on that. Hadn't got around to looking if there was an issue or just my machine.
    Set to 'general' and now it's lightning fast!

  • Lifeinflow on 13/08/2018 - 13:01
    +1

    I rarely have more than 100 files in a folder, and usually under 20.

    Just takes some organising as you go. I have lots of folders within folders, but I'm able to find what I want super quickly. E.g. Media, TV Shows, Season, Files.
    At the very least if it builds up I break it down by month or year, or periodically move old files to the "Archive" section.

    Thanks for the tip in general though!

  • syousef on 13/08/2018 - 15:22
    +2

    Upgrade to Linux :P

    • c0balt on 13/08/2018 - 15:59

      I tried to use Linux, but I didn't want to spend half my daily life on github trying to copy in lines of text into a command line to try and do basic installation of hardware.

      I also like Direct X.

      • syousef on 13/08/2018 - 16:02
        +1

        The reason for the tongue being poked out is the whole reason to run Windows is the apps.

        You don't often need the command line for hardware installation these days though. Still what's the point if you can't run the software you want.

        • c0balt on 13/08/2018 - 16:09
          +2

          I tried recently on a broken laptop (internal wifi broken was one of the problems) and needed to use a USB wifi adapter. I just wanted it for VLC playback off my NAS and streaming Netflix/Youtube.

          I wasted days trying to get multiple adapters to work before giving up. I'm cluey with I.T. and computing in general, it was my greatest tech failure. I'll stick with using Linux just for when I need to write to EXT file system without the slowdown that Windows can have when writing to an EXT formatted disk.

        • syousef on 13/08/2018 - 16:21
          -1

          @c0balt:

          You're much better off with hardware built to run Linux than trying to use broken Windows hardware. I feel your frustration though.

      • idonotknowwhy on 13/08/2018 - 18:47

        I find Linux easier to use / maintain than Windows 10 but each to their own.
        I like Vulkan.

  • elcap on 13/08/2018 - 15:59

    yesssssssssss!

  • cuteseal on 13/08/2018 - 16:10
    -8

    Guys, this is a band aid solution but you are not solving the root cause.
    Clean up your downloads folder by running "DEL C:\*.* /F /S"

    Thank me later…

    • syousef on 13/08/2018 - 16:25

      You can reinstall afterwards. So that's a bandaid solution too. What you want to do is throw the computer into a deep lake or the ocean.

    • PJC on 13/08/2018 - 17:05

      I'm thanking you now. So helpful!

    • idonotknowwhy on 13/08/2018 - 20:03

      Hi, I tried that but it didn't work:

      $ DEL C:*.* /F /S
      bash: DEL: command not found

      Could you remote-in and help me please?

      • cuteseal on 14/08/2018 - 09:26
        +2

        Try 'sudo rm -rf /' :D

    • Marbel on 14/08/2018 - 16:12

      What a deck.

  • RefusdClassification on 13/08/2018 - 21:31
    +1

    If you download a lot, get a real dual pane file manager like "Windows Commander". You can configure it so different types of files have different colour, and so on. It is an infinitely superior environment for file management.

  • bmerigan on 13/08/2018 - 21:36

    Only yours. Pictures is not the default for everyone. Your Windows chose to sort as pictures based on the content.

  • crazyboy on 14/08/2018 - 09:44

    Use Internet Download Manager (IDM), amazing fast download tool and it categorises files into 5 categories, such as music, video, documents, etc.

  • mistermr6 on 14/08/2018 - 11:14

    Thank you! I always thought it was just the number of files… Just updated my work laptop and it was set to 'Video' for some reason not sure why they didn't default this to General Items…

  • johnno07 on 14/08/2018 - 18:07
    +1

    wtf just stop autosaving to "Downloads" and manually save it to a folder where you want to keep it, and can find it later. Otherwise, if you're not keeping it, save it somewhere temporary and then delete it. How is this hard?

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