# A computer question: setting my settings **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497 "2007-11-15T05:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/1 "2007-11-15T05:01:55Z")
After years of quietly sorting my files by alphabetical order as I prefer, my computer has recently decided that it would be more amusing to sort them by size. I have no idea why this change occurred. But, as with all my computer related problems, I blame Bill Gates. I have tried changing the setting back and have been able to do so: I change the view setting from “list” to “details” and click on the “name” bar - the files realign themselves in alphabetical order. But the next time I try to save or browse for a file, they’re back in size order. Any advice in how I can reset it back permanently? It’s a basic Windows XP set-up. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/2 "2007-11-15T05:10:05Z")
Open My Computer and set up the files as you want them. Then with the same window open, select [Tools | Folder Options] and go through the various tabs setting them up as you wish. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/3 "2007-11-15T06:59:30Z")
Thank you for the help. That seems to have worked, albeit at a cost. My files are back in alphabetical order. But I had to reset all of my various files on one standard setting. Now I’ll have to go around and reset them back to their original individual settings. Oh well. And as long as I’ve started this thread, here’s another computer question. If I set a file on thumbnails, some graphics files will automatically create a thumbnail image. But others do not and just use a generic filetype logo. Is there some way I can create an individual image and assign it to the file as a thumbnail image? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/4 "2007-11-15T08:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] And as long as I’ve started this thread, here’s another computer question. If I set a file on thumbnails, some graphics files will automatically create a thumbnail image. But others do not and just use a generic filetype logo. Is there some way I can create an individual image and assign it to the file as a thumbnail image? [/QUOTE] Graphics files will make thumbnails with images, otherwise it depends on the application. For instance, Acrobat Reader will let PDFs create thumbnails with images but Foxit Reader won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/5 "2007-11-15T18:48:41Z")
These are standard graphics files like mpg and avi. And it’s whatever the standard application is that’s built into Windows XP. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/6 "2007-11-19T21:30:39Z")
It appears downloading new codec software has addressed the thumbnail problem. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-computer-question-setting-my-settings/426497/7 "2007-11-20T03:44:55Z")
This seems as good a place as any to mention something I only noticed the other day after using Windows XP/2000/NT for more than a decade. When viewing directories in Windows Explorer, there is a very light gray background shading to the the column of attributes that is currently being used to sort the files. Sort on a different attribute, and the shading moves to that column. I had never caught that before. :smack: (Of course, I don’t know if 2000 or NT did it, so maybe I’ve only been oblivious for five or six years, not ten.)