Finder won't sort files by name or date, shows random order

Finder won't sort my files and folders by Name, Date created, etc. When I choose any of those options, it groups everything in a totally random manner.


Funnily, when I save a file to a folder it does show them in the order I choose.


Please advice? This has been happening through all IOS updates (currently Sequoia 15.5)



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Sorting files in Finder

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jul 3, 2025 9:20 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 4, 2025 3:08 AM

As noted by den.thed, you are Grouping not Sorting.

The button on the Toolbar primarily sets the Group By category. If you hold down the Option key when clicking on the button, it changes to Sort By.

3 replies

Jul 3, 2025 9:46 AM in response to iyufera68

Are you using List, Icon or Column View?


In List View, it is immediate to sort by any given column: just click on the column header (and click a second time to order in reverse).


Please tell us exactly how you are trying to sort.

Do you have "Use Groups" checked?


If so, then you will see, as in the image, "Group By".

You can then sort within groups: if you hold down the Option key, "Group By" switches to "Sort Groups By".





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Finder won't sort files by name or date, shows random order

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