I have a process that I run a lot that requires a very specific window size in Windows Explorer (aka "My Computer) in Windows Vista.

There is a rumor floating around on the internet that if I set the window up the way I want it and then hold the Ctrl key down when I click on the "X" to close it that Windows will remember that setting the next time I open Windows Explorer.

This actually worked a while back, and for a long time my Explorer windows were the right size. Now they are not, and nothing I have been able to do will set their default size to what I want.

Do I have to hold my mouth just right and wait for the proper phase of the moon while intoning some mystic chant or something? How do I do this apparently simple process?

tanstaafl.

OK, I'm beginning to see why nobody wants to take this on.
17 pages

tanstaafl.

But did it solve your problem?

I think I'm confused. I thought the default behavior in all versions of Windows was that all new explorer windows open to the size of the last closed window.

So I could have 4 folders open, all of different sizes, but if I resize one of them and close it, the next window I open will be the size of that closed window.

I just tried it and it seems to work for me, but then again I never had a Vista machine.

Windows 7, however, has one huge annoyance that they've changed as far as new windows go. Basically, Microsoft decided that they wanted the OS to forget Window positions. In previous versions, if I opened a folder on my desktop, moved it to the top-right, and closed it, then opened another folder, moved it to the bottom-left, and closed it, the next time I opened the first window, it would open again on the top-right where I left it. Now what it does is open each folder in a cascading fashion right in front of the last opened window.

It's one of a few little things I've noticed they changed that just don't make sense. I believe this one has a registry hack that can fix it, but the other change they made, which I find even more annoying, is that now if you highlight a certain number of files in a window (I believe it's more than 15), it removes the information on the bottom of the window as to how much space the files take up in total.

Ugh, you got me started. Sorry for going off like that. I love Windows 7, but there are a couple little things that are killing me...

Don't know -- haven't tried it yet. I will keep you posted.

tanstaafl.

You're absolutely correct. That is the default behavior. Except that it doesn't always work.

A little Googling will show that this is a common complaint, and very difficult to fix. My windows worked just fine for a couple of years, then changed to a different "default" size, and nothing I have been able to do has made them go back to the size I want. Some people have had luck with closing the window with the Ctrl key pressed, but that didn't work for me. Lots of people have this problem, which is why there is a 17 page instruction on the internet on how to fix it.

The good news is that part way down page 3 there is a link to a download that gives you a *.reg file that is supposed to do all 17 pages for you. I haven't run it yet because my computer is in the middle of a very long process (10 hours and counting) that I don't want to interrupt and I think a registry edit during that might be pushing it a little bit.

It has three and a half minutes to go as I type this so, soon now, soon...

tanstaafl.

Ahhh, I understand. I know all too well the annoying little things that change for no apparent reason that nobody seems to know how to fix without significant work that makes you just want to wipe out and start fresh!

My mom's XP box has a very annoying habit of simply not showing all the taskbar options. There's no arrow, it just simply doesn't show them all. I've done quite a bit of research, and there's all sorts of weird fixes like disabling plug and play or installing software that will delay application launches at startup. None of them worked, so she pretty much just has to live with it until she gets a Mac

I'm sure there is a well defined set of rules that govern the sizes of Windows Explorer windows and when and how they're saved but I've no idea what they are. They generally stay the same size for me until something will happen that changes them and I've never been bugged enough about it to try and work out what it was. I doubt it's going to be an easy answer either which is another reason!

The problem is, the rules are simple and well defined, they just don't always get followed.

Basically, the last-closed window defines the next-opened window. Except when it doesn't.

The Regedit trick didn't solve the problem, but just stumbling around I found a sort-of workaround. I always use folder view (two-pane, folders on left, files on right), and found that by moving the pane divider, shrinking the folder pane and thus expanding the file pane, I could get the window to display the information I needed in the file pane despite the overall window being the wrong size. I'll live with that until it changes again, I guess, and then try to figure out something else.

You'd think it shouldn't be all that hard for Windows to remember its window sizes...

tanstaafl.

You'd think that an operating system named "WINDOWS" would be able to get its namesake feature right.

Rewrite it in PowerShell, so that you're not dependent on the vagaries of Windows UI, and so that you don't actually have to be there.

Sorry I'm coming into this a bit late.
The only 'window controls' for Explorer that I know of are under Tools/Folder Options/View.

If you set up an explorer window to the size and style you like, you can then click 'Like Current Folder' to set *all* Explorer windows to that as default. I understand that may not be what you want for every Explorer window you use, but it's a start. I don't have a Vista machine to check out your problem with, so maybe I'm completely off base, anyway.

Another option is to use a different file manager entirely. I have excellent results with problematic mapped drives using xlplorer2 Lite.

The last thing I have to say about Windows Explorer is a fun keyboard shortcut that I use to get it to pop up. [Windows key]+[E] will get it.
([Windows key]+[F] is search!)

Hope some of that helps-

Unfortunately there is a difference between what Windows is supposed to do and what it actually does. Yes, most of the time the "Tools-->Folder Options-->View-->Apply to Folders" thing works as advertised, except when it doesn't. And when it doesn't, nothing seems to work. That is why there are nearly 18 million Google hits for "Set default Window size."

tanstaafl.