How can I disable automatic sorting in File Explorer? In Windows 10, numerical sorting is enabled by default and file explorer will sort files by by increasing number value (for example, 3 < 22 < 111).

This tutorial will show you how to turn off numerical sorting in Windows 10 so the file names are sorted by each digit in file name (for example, 1111 < 222 < 3).

Method 1: Disable Numerical Sorting in File Explorer Using GPO

1.  Open the Local Group Policy Editor and expand to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\File Explorer. Double-click on the policy named as Turn off numerical sorting in File Explorer to edit it.

   

2. Select Enabled and click OK.

   

3. The changes should be applied immediately. If not, restart the PC or File Explorer.

Method 2: Disable Numerical Sorting in File Explorer Using Registry Editor

1. Open Registry Editor and navigate to the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Right-click any blank area in the right pane and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.

   

2. Rename the newly created DWORD to NoStrCmpLogical.

   

3. Double-click on it and change its value data to 1 to disable numerical sorting.

   

   If you want to enable numerical sorting later, just set the value to 0.

4. Close Registry Editor. After restarting your PC or logging out, File Explorer should sort your files by digit and not by numbers.