What kind of sorting does the Windows 7 login screen use for usernames?

3

I’ve set up ten Windows 7 user accounts, so that I can test different versions of Google Chrome*. I’ve named the accounts “Chrome 01”, “Chrome 02”, and so on.

Ideally, I’d like the accounts sorted on the login screen by Chrome version, which is why I added the leading zero to the version number (assuming it was an alphabetic sort). However, when I created the “Chrome 10” account, it ended up sorted between “Chrome 01” and “Chrome 02”.

What is going on?

*(Chrome installs are user-account-specific)

Paul D. Waite

Posted 2011-03-16T10:05:15.700

Reputation: 4 864

What ther smeg. – Paul D. Waite – 2011-03-16T12:28:04.197

Answers

1

Names on the logon screen are sorted alphabetically by the account's name when the account was created. So, if you rename Chrome 01 to Chrome 10, it will stay in 01's position on the login screen, because internally, it is still Chrome 01; only the display name has changed.

I just tested on a Windows 7 VM and when I created accounts SU Test 01, 02, 04, 03, and 10 (in that order), it listed them in proper alphabetic order, as 01, 02, 03, 04, 10. The most likely explanation is that you tried renaming an account that was previously between 1 and 2, and so it is staying in that position.

nhinkle

Posted 2011-03-16T10:05:15.700

Reputation: 35 057

Doh! Yes, that’s exactly what I did (because, like an idiot, I created Chrome 1 — Chrome 9 before realising I’d need a Chrome 10). Oh dear. The less-than-ideal ordering might be something I learn to live with. – Paul D. Waite – 2011-03-16T22:23:10.507

Why not add a Chrome 0 instead and solve both problems? – Félix Saparelli – 2011-03-16T22:31:25.070

@passcod: I think I’d still have the same problems regarding the “incorrect” positioning of my existing 1—9 user accounts relative to the forthcoming Chrome 11, 12 etc. accounts. – Paul D. Waite – 2011-03-17T01:20:59.850

Asked: 2011-03-16T10:05:15.700

Viewed: 648 times

Active: 2011-03-16T22:22:49.747