How to make saved sort work?

I have read other posts here on this topic and I want to join those who find it impossible to maintain the sort order of a folder. Whatever options I have set, when I close and re-open the program, or open the same folder in another tab, the sort sequence reverts to 'name' and is never reset to the sequence in which I left it.

I simply need the sequence I select, by clicking the column header, to be saved and restored. I do not want to have to select obscure menu options (if I could find them) to specifically do a "manual save". I just want to see it the same order when I next visit the folder. All the folders are NTFS (though I fail to see why the program cannot keep its own record for any folder type), and I have "Automatically save" enabled in properties, although this checkmark appears to do nothing at all. I have tried with and without Manual sorting checked. I despair to see all the complicated suggestions made to others who report this problem. Why is is so hard to do something so simple?

Folder > Folder Options > Save, then Save format for a folder.

That should be all you need to do, unless you're opening the folder in an unusual way or have overridden things somewhere.

If it isn't working how you want, hover the mouse pointer over the format lock icon on the status bar, and it will tell you where the current folder view is coming from. Tell us what it says there if you are still stuck.

It says, 'the current folder format comes from Default Format'.

Thanks, now working as I wanted, but only by finding a setting mentioned nowhere in your post or in any of the linked FAQs. I already had my own custom format as default, and the override of the lister defaults, but I was missing one checkbox set in the dialog accessed from the main toolbar: in the Folder / FolderOptions / Display tab the 'Manual Sorting' checkbox was not checked.

Manual Sorting is quite an advanced/esoteric thing, and not covered by the FAQ. I didn't realise that was what you were aiming for as I thought you just wanted to sort by a particular column as your default (which the FAQ covers).

(Manual Sorting lets you drag the files into a completely arbitrary order of your choosing, and then optionally save that order for next time you go in to the folder. It's not something many people use, or use often.)

I cannot imagine ever wanting to drag or re-arrange files 'manually'! It was not what I was aiming for. I only want to save the sort sequence so that the next time I visit the folder, I will find it in the same sequence that I last viewed it. Nevertheless this does not work for me unless I check the manual sort box.

I have taken the term 'manual sorting' to mean left clicking the column heading to sort ascending then descending on that column. I do now find that if I have (for the first time) dragged a row out of sequence, subsequently clicking the column heading only changes the marker triangle, not the sequence of the files below! This looks like a bug: why would you change the triangle if you have not sorted the column? For now I will just try to avoid ever dragging a file, though the needed sorting behaviour can be restored by unchecking and checking the manual sort checkbox.

So I will withdraw the statement that it is fully working as I wanted, because there is still the danger of accidentally manually dragging a file and thereby destroying the ability to sort at all.

You've turned manual sorting on; it's not on by default, and if you turn it off again there'll be no chance of accidentally repositioning a file.

That is what I have now done. And with no other changes, it is now working as I wish. I have concluded that setting 'manual sorting' as above, saving as a new default, and closing, then unsetting, saving and closing, is the solution to making the sort sequence of each folder properly persist. Recommended!