Apply Folder Styles to All Subfolders [Video]

Shawn Keene

IT Systems Engineer

🏷️ , , ,

Have you ever wondered why different folders have different layouts in Windows, or how to apply your preferred layout to all folders?  Windows actually allows you to push a folder view down to all subfolders using Folder Types (templates), but it’s not very discoverable.

This video shows the 2 steps needed to accomplish the task in Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, Windows 10, or Windows 11.  Here’s how:

  1. First, you’ll apply the same template to all subfolders:
    1. Go to the top folder (music in my example), right-click and choose Properties.  On the Customize tab, choose a folder type, and apply it to all subfolders.
  2. Now that all subfolders have the same type (template), you’ll apply a style to that template.
    1. To do this, customize any folder that has that template (I used Music again).  Set your preferred icon size, style, sort order, group settings, and more.
    2. Open Folder Options on tools menu (tap alt to see it if it’s not visible), or on the View tab in Windows 8, then click Apply to Folders on the View tab.  This applies the current style to the folder template, which means all folders you applied that template to in step 1 now have the same style.

While this applies to folders, please remember that Libraries are not actually folders (they’re actually more like live search results) and will always use a consistent style as you navigate within them.

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

Post by:

Shawn Keene

Shawn is an IT Systems Engineer and UX enthusiast. He creates apps and sites, writes (mostly) about technology, and empowers others to excel with digital tools.

5 responses to “Apply Folder Styles to All Subfolders [Video]”

  1. joe blaugh Avatar
    joe blaugh

    Thanks for the pointers, but this is a kludge to work around poor initial design. Basically, this is arrogant design by M$ that attempts to decree one approach to using a device with their OS. (Sadly Apple is worse and Google is doing it’s level best to get there, as well… apparently they all “know better” than the actual user.)

    The default folder setup is cumbersome and obnoxious for those of us who work with a computer rather than playing. A single, consistent view is far more conducive to productive work, but M$ has made it difficult to achieve a consistent view, and in some cases (Windows folder or Program Files (x86)) almost impossible.

    Reply
  2. Howard Walker Avatar
    Howard Walker

    Works partly, but only to ” folders of this type”. So image folders and other types of folders all have to be “done” separately. A bodge if ever I saw one, but at least I can set them now.

    Reply
    1. Shawn Keene Avatar
      Shawn Keene

      You don’t necessarily have to do them completely separately. You can cascade your template decision (set your Pictures folder to use the Pictures template, and apply that template to all subfolders automatically using the checkbox). Then any change you make to the template, such as adjusting the thumbnail size for pictures, can be instantly accomplished across all folders that use that template — without destroying your styles used for any other template. This is certainly a feature that leans more towards powerful and away from intuitive.

      Reply
  3. nnf Avatar
    nnf

    I appreciate the advice, but it does not work.

    I have Windows 8.1. When I click a folder in the list on the left-had side, the details view shows up. I then click View in the toolbar at the top, I click the List view and the view of the folder that I working on changes to the List view.

    Next, I right-click the folder that I just changed and click on Properties in the box that appears. I get that folder’s Property box, usually showing the General heading. I click on the Customize heading in the Properties box and a series of questions and choices appear. The first question is, “What kind of folder do you want ?” There is a drop-down box beside it and when I click it, listed choices are General, Documents, Pictures, Music and Videos. I have experimented by clicking General and Documents for different folders. After clicking my choice, I then click the box immediately below it that says, “Also apply this template to all subfolders.”

    Then, the Apply button at the bottom darkens and can be clicked. I do this and then I click OK. The box disappears and I am returned to the folder on which I was working.

    The problem is that none of the subfolders changes to the List view. They all remain in the Details view. I have to go through each and every subfolder and change them using the above-mentioned process again and again and again and . . . .

    Either I have missed a step or more, your description of the process to change all subfolders automatically has missed a step or more, or one simply cannot change subfolders automatically like one could in “the old days.” I shall appreciate your response and further advice.

    Reply
    1. Shawn Keene Avatar
      Shawn Keene

      You’ve missed just one last step. You’ve set all those folders to use that template (the “Documents” template type), but you never actually set that template to any specific view. Open up the Folder Options dialog (from the far right-hand side of the View tab on the Toolbar at the top), then go to the View tab inside the Folder Options. You’ll see a “Apply to Folders” button, which will apply your current view (list icons) to all folders that are that type of folder (which you applied when you set them all to use the same template).

      Reply

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