Moving Icons.

[Barrett T. Newman]

I have several icons for spreadsheets in Excel 2013 - Windows Office 365. Whenever I open any of these, use then close them, the icon(s) move on the desktop to a location in the upper left corner and align vertically. How can I lock my icons on the desktop (without the grid pattern if possible)?

 

[Trouble]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
I'm pretty sure it still works the same as in all previous versions of Windows.
right click any blank area of the desktop
from the view option uncheck
auto arrange
and
align icons to grid
You may also want to examine the
Sort by
option and make sure nothing is check there.

 

[Barrett T. Newman]

Specific icons move when the items, spreadsheets, are opened and used, it's not on the grid, they are not disarranged in general, they are not computer sorted. Excel "workbook" icons only, are moved from where they
have been placed to a specific area of the screen and aligned.

 

[Trouble]

I don't think, I'm getting it.
Perhaps a screen shot might help.
Look at Sort by and make sure "type" is not checked??

 

[Barrett T. Newman]

I simply want to know if I can lock my icons. Obviously if I wanted to use Auto Arrange Icons or Align Icons To Grid or Sort By, I would not be resorting to a forum, I would have just done one of those. My icons move to the open default spots sequentially in the upper left corner when I use the items they represent then close and save them or sometimes a browser icon when it is closed and the computer goes into sleep. This problem was present with 7, according to other references I have read. In spite of the fact that tens of thousands of people had the same problem, and reported it, with Windows 7, Microsoft did not return the "Lock Icons In Place" option to the right click drop down. I thought perhaps someone more familiar with computers and Windows in particular might know of a way to do it through a prompt code or registry or something. I find it utterly ludicrous that in earlier "less sophisticated" Widows versions, when one had arranged their icons the way they wanted them, they simply right clicked and chose "Lock Icons...". An example of perfect user friendly, brilliant design, intentionally removed.
Does anyone know of a way to lock icons in the positions I have chosen for them. Don't bother mentioning anything about right clicking on an open area. Obviously nothing there has any relevance to what I have described. In the absence of a Lock Icons In Place option in the drop down is there any place in this platform as it exists at the moment (pre-October-Update) that can correct or compensate for this design mistake.

 

[Trouble]

Jeeeez.
I have evidently offended you somehow, which was not my intention.
I simply attempted to engage you with a couple simple questions in hope that we and or others might arrive at a viable solution.
I have four (4) desktop icons, they are exactly where they were on my Windows 8.1 machine, prior to the upgrade and they continue to remain where I place them, seemingly immune to whatever is causing your particular problem.
The only way they move is if me and my mouse relocate them to another area of the desktop, and then they stay there.

 

[John Nellis]

Hey Barrett, since Trouble here ignored your question I'll try to help you.

There is no way to lock your icons in place. If you have a crash, CPU OC fails and reboots, GPU dies, Rez changes, or even if you try and save a file, there is a high chance in certain instances that your icons will change position.

There are free plug-ins like desklock that can do what you are looking for, but as for windows, there is no way to lock desktop icons permanently until you unlock them. Not anymore anyway...

Why they ever removed that beautiful yet simple function from windows is beyond me. Sadly, even with hundreds of thousands of people asking for it to be put back into windows, Microsoft has not done so. Infact they ignore the question and requests, just like Trouble here has done.

Unfortunately, I don't see it ever coming back, because it's not like we are going to switch to a MAC because we have no lock icon function. So, they do what they want and get away with it because no one who knows how to use windows will change to a MAC unless they are retarded.

Hope that helps you...

 

[VigilanteLass]

Wow John, nice of you to help Barrett, but it really didn't look like Trouble was ignoring his question. It looked like he was trying to help him with his problem but just didn't fully understand the predicament since he hadn't experienced the same. Way to jump down his throat.

 

[Craftmaster]

I was playing with my Windows 10 desktop trying to move icons and customize it to my liking. None of the desktop icons would move even with Auto-arrange and Align to Grid unchecked. Then as a last resort I right clicked the desktop, selected View and then unchecked Show Desktop Icons. Appropriately, all icons vanished. I again right clicked the desktop, selected View and re-checked the Show Desktop Icons, and they re-appeared. Then, and ONLY then, was I able to move the desktop icons where I wanted them. After I finished my adjustments I used the Desklock desktop program to keep them in place.