Specify the default view, sort order, and zoom levels for the file manager.
Tiffany Antopolski
tiffany.antopolski@gmail.com
Shaun McCance
shaunm@gnome.org
Michael Hill
mdhillca@gmail.com

# File manager views preferences

You can control the default view for new folders, how files and folders are sorted by default, the zoom level for the icon and compact views, and whether files are displayed in the tree sidebar. In any file manager window, click Files in the top bar, select Preferences and select the Views tab.

# Default view

## View new folders using

By default, new folders are shown in icon view. You can select a view for each folder as you browse by clicking the list button or the icons button in the toolbar. If you often use the list view, you can set it here as the default.

## Arrange items

You can change how files are sorted in an individual folder by clicking the down button in the toolbar and choosing By Name, By Size, By Type or By Modification Date, or by clicking the list column headers in list view. See for details. This menu only affects the current folder.

To change the default order used in new folders, use the Arrange items drop-down list in the preferences to sort by name, file size, file type, when they were last modified, when they were last accessed, or when they were trashed.

## Sort folders before files

By default, the file manager will show all folders before files. Folders and files will each be arranged according to the selected sort order. If you would rather not treat folders specially and have them mixed with files according to the sort order, deselect this option.

## Show hidden and backup files

The file manager does not display hidden files or folders by default. See for information on hidden files. You can show hidden files in an individual window by selecting Show Hidden Files, from the down menu in the toolbar. If you prefer to always show hidden files, or want to see hidden files in every open file manager window, select this option.

# Icon view defaults

## Default zoom level

You can make the icons and text larger or smaller in icon view. You can do this in an individual folder by clicking the down button in the toolbar and selecting Zoom In, Zoom Out, or Normal Size. If you frequently use a larger or smaller zoom level, you can set the default with this option.

In icon view, more or fewer captions are shown based on your zoom level. See for more information.

# List view defaults

## Default zoom level

You can make the icons and text larger or smaller in list view. You can do this in an individual folder by clicking the down button in the toolbar and selecting Zoom In, Zoom Out, or Normal Size. If you frequently use a larger or smaller zoom level, you can set the default with this option.