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Here Explorer sort by Name separates folder and folder shortcuts.

How can I remedy this i.e. get it to sort them together?

EDIT: Clarification: I want the sorting to remain otherwise unchanged, i.e. not to change the sorting of folders with respect to non-folder-shortcut files.

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  • What is wrong with the sorting in your example? – DavidPostill♦ Apr 11 '16 at 11:08
  • Sorry - faulty example, now corrected. – ChrisJJ Apr 12 '16 at 0:57
  • "This question already has an answer here: Windows Explorer sorts files and folders separately" That's incorrect. That question is about folders and files generally and none of the answers there answer this question, which is specifically about folders and folder shortcuts. "This question has been asked before" That too is incorrect, as far as I can see. If you have a link to a previous instance of this question about folders and folder shortcuts, please post it. – ChrisJJ Apr 13 '16 at 12:51
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How can I get Explorer "Sort by Name" to sort folder and folder shortcuts together?

This is not possible with explorer.

You can get close as long as you don't mind other kinds of files in the sorted list as well (a folder shortcut is a file not a folder).

Explorer solution

Right click "Group by" > "Name"

enter image description here

Before:

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After:

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XYplorer Solution

Right click "Sort by" > Untick "Sort Folders Apart"

Before:

enter image description here

After:

enter image description here

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Source xyplorer

There is a freeware version.

Disclaimer

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  • "This is not possible with explorer." OK, thanks. "You can get close as long as you don't mind other kinds of files in the sorted list as well " I do mind - hence that my question was specifically about folders and folder shortcuts. – ChrisJJ Apr 13 '16 at 12:53
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    The reason you can't is that folder shortcuts are just files, like any other file. – DavidPostill♦ Apr 13 '16 at 12:54
  • "folder shortcuts are just files, like any other file" Not quite. They have a specific extension -- .lnk. – ChrisJJ Apr 14 '16 at 13:45
  • That pedantic distinction doesn't help solve your issue. You can't make files sort as if they were directories regardless of what extension they may or may not have. – DavidPostill♦ Apr 14 '16 at 13:50
  • @ChrisJJ There are many ways to distinguish different files (not just the extension). None of those ways turn a file into a directory. – DavidPostill♦ Apr 14 '16 at 13:51

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