I prefer all folders to open by default in the compact List view; some other people prefer the Detailed view by default. Either way, only morons need a folder to automatically switch to the Large icons view as soon as File Explorer detects videos or images inside!

Normally, Apply to all folders should have set the current folder’s view as the default view for all folders, but for some reason this just didn’t happen in my case! At least, not while I was checking my external backups with the File Explorer of the most retarded version of Microsoft Windows ever!

So I just asked Gemini:

Ludditus: How to make the file explorer in Win11 default to the compact list view for ALL folders, even those with videos or images?

Gemini: To force Windows 11 File Explorer to use the same view everywhere, you have to defeat a built-in feature called “Automatic Folder Type Discovery.” By default, Windows scans the contents of a folder and automatically switches the template to “Pictures” or “Videos” (which defaults to Large Icons), ignoring your global preferences.

You can stop this behavior permanently by clearing your saved folder views and forcing a single “General Items” template across the registry.

① Disable automatic folder sniffing:
Run in PowerShell.

Open PowerShell and paste the following block of code. This wipes the existing folder view memory (which is likely cluttered anyway) and creates a registry key that forces all folders to use the generic template, preventing them from automatically switching when they detect media.

# 1. Delete existing saved folder views
Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags" -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

# 2. Force the 'NotSpecified' (General Items) template globally
New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell" -Force | Out-Null
New-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell" -Name "FolderType" -Value "NotSpecified" -PropertyType String -Force | Out-Null

# 3. Restart Explorer to apply changes
Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force

② Set the master view in File Explorer:

When your taskbar reappears, open File Explorer. Because of the script, Explorer now treats every folder identically, meaning we only have to set the view once.

  1. Navigate to your C:\ drive (or any standard folder).
  2. Click View > List (or Details, depending on your preference).
  3. Click View > Compact view (to tighten the padding between items).

③ Apply to all folders:

Now push this configuration to the rest of the system:

  1. Click the three dots (…) at the top of the File Explorer window and select Options.
  2. Go to the View tab.
  3. Click the Apply to Folders button.
  4. Click Yes on the confirmation prompt, then OK.

From now on, regardless of how many MP4s or JPEGs are dumped into a new directory, File Explorer will strictly adhere to the compact list layout. If you ever need to see thumbnails in a specific folder, you can still manually switch it to Large Icons from the View menu, and Windows will remember that specific exception.

It worked.

Fucking stupid Microsoft, with its automatic shit.