Windows 7 – Explorer folder slow to sort by date

Problem

When changing the order of a folder (for example, from ‘Name’ to ‘Date’) Windows Explorer takes an excessive amount of time (up to a minute) to update the folder list.

Whilst waiting the address bar has a green progress bar slowly loading.

Solution

To resolve, change the folder type to ‘General Items’ this can be done by:

1. Right-click in a blank area of the folder
2. Select ‘Properties’
3. 
4. Select the ‘Customize’ tab
5. Under ‘Optimize this folder for:’ select ‘General Items’
6. 
7. Click ‘OK’ to save the changes.