setting universal file view details

[larryonline]

I have a new Dell XPS with Vista Home Edition. Can someone tell me how to set the view details of, say music files, so that whenever any folder with music files is opened it will show the same details. So far I can't even get the sub-folders to keep the view details I have chosen for the main folder. I've used the "customize this folder" in the drop down menu under view and checked "also apply this template to all sub-folders" but it does no good. The main folder will keep the view details I have selected but the sub-folders insist on showing some kind of pre-set view details that the operating system thinks should be shown.

[Monty007]

Hi Larry. Well I cant try it on my PC as my server hold all my music but try this go to>control panel>folder options>view>and tick "always show icons never thumb nails".
Get back to me I would like to know if it worked.

[larryonline]

That was an interesting experiment. After changing to icons, for the first time I could now slide the field title bar at the top of each column so I can see as much or as little of that column as I want. Before that field was of fixed width, fixed by the pixel setting chosen for each field in "chose details".
However it didn't change the ability to set details for a folder that apply to the subfolders. I also seem to have lost the abilty to even chose details now. I went back to Control panel/Folder options and undid the change but I still can't access the detail views options. I didn't change anything else in Folder options so I don't know how to get the ability to chose details in detail view back.
You don't have to experiment on a music folder. Try it on any old folder in Vista. They should all work the same. Since it's a brand new computer I may have to go to Dell now to see how I can get back where I was before. This is really a stupid design change from XP. It makes me wonder "what were they thinking"?