You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Opening a folder sorts by name descending by default - how to fix

I have a MacBook Pro with Big Sur version 11.5. My finder view options is set to sort by name. Every time I open a folder, it sorts by name descending A-Z. How do I get it to sort by name A-Z? I have tried reordering the sort with the arrow symbol at the top and it will always resort to A-Z. But the next folder I open is back to sorting Z-A. It's driving me nuts because I have to stop my work with every folder opened to reorder the sort.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Jul 24, 2021 8:27 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 24, 2021 8:49 AM

masqthephlsphr wrote:

I have a MacBook Pro with Big Sur version 11.5. My finder view options is set to sort by name. Every time I open a folder, it sorts by name descending A-Z. How do I get it to sort by name A-Z? I have tried reordering the sort with the arrow symbol at the top and it will always resort to A-Z. But the next folder I open is back to sorting Z-A. It's driving me nuts because I have to stop my work with every folder opened to reorder the sort.


These types of details don't necessarily always stick...


You can try delete the com.apple.finder.plist


Found here Finder>Go>Go to Folder, copy and paste:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist


Relaunch your Finder from the >Force Quit>Finder>Relaunch



if no resolve you can submit your Apple Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback

or

Call Customer Support (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753)


Similar questions

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 24, 2021 8:49 AM in response to masqthephlsphr

masqthephlsphr wrote:

I have a MacBook Pro with Big Sur version 11.5. My finder view options is set to sort by name. Every time I open a folder, it sorts by name descending A-Z. How do I get it to sort by name A-Z? I have tried reordering the sort with the arrow symbol at the top and it will always resort to A-Z. But the next folder I open is back to sorting Z-A. It's driving me nuts because I have to stop my work with every folder opened to reorder the sort.


These types of details don't necessarily always stick...


You can try delete the com.apple.finder.plist


Found here Finder>Go>Go to Folder, copy and paste:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist


Relaunch your Finder from the >Force Quit>Finder>Relaunch



if no resolve you can submit your Apple Feedback http://www.apple.com/feedback

or

Call Customer Support (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753)


Jul 24, 2021 11:57 AM in response to masqthephlsphr

masqthephlsphr wrote:

Just a note to anyone who is going to try this-this will also removed some finder defaults you have, such as what you want to hide/show in the finder window, and what columns you want to see as a default, so you may need to put those back.


Yes, deleting the preference list (plist) is just that, deletes all associated Preference and yes you need to re-establish your preferences as you see fit. Nothing new here.

Opening a folder sorts by name descending by default - how to fix

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.