Windows 7: Stop Windows Explorer from Jumping Around

While setting up a new Windows machine, I noticed an annoying problem with Windows explorer. When I clicked on a shortcut in my favorites list, Explorer jumps down to the Desktop folder and opens the folder I clicked on. Favorites gets pushed down in the left pane and I have to scroll up to see the list again. Not the behavior I want.

So how do you fix this? If you right click on the left pane in Windows Explorer, you get two pop up menu options. Show All Folders and Expand to Current Folder, both are checked. Unchecking the second option prevents the left pane from jumping around. Now when clicking on a Favorite, only the right pane will change. Unchecking the first option, reduces the number of folders displayed in the left pane. Unchecking both gives me the kind of behavior I want with Windows Explorer.