# Windows 10 desktop icons not in order



## hat (Dec 5, 2015)

Image speaks for itself. Always had this problem since I installed W10...


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## MIRTAZAPINE (Dec 5, 2015)

As in its not in alphabethical order? 

I face other issues in windows 10 about order. Like when I try to sort my images by date and I tried to open with windows image viewer. I navigate the pics by arrow keys but the photos just does not change to order of date but by name. I don't know how to solve that. I got to resort to open pictures one by one rather than just using arrow keys easily in Windows Image viewer.

It looks like windows explorer on win10 have gone through massive changes that I don't like and a huge hassle to me.


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## 95Viper (Dec 5, 2015)

What order do want... Name, Size, Item Type, or Date Modified?
Do you want them automatically to arrange or do you want to do it manually?

The options are there in the right desktop popup menu.
Auto arrange is under the "View" tab and the others are under the "Sort By" tab.

Right click on desktop to get the menu.





The desktop (overview)

Or, are you having some other problems?


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## hat (Dec 5, 2015)

I want it to order by name, automatically. It does, to a point, but if look closely it seems to restart at bills.txt.

I've already tried moving it and re-arranging again, then it just fucks up at the next thing (CCleaner). It's been this way since I installed w10.


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## 95Viper (Dec 5, 2015)

In ccleaner, did you uncheck cleaning the icon cache... have not used in a while; however, I think that is what the option is called.

Now, if you are setting the icons and they move after you have set the settings and not changed them... you may have the "Random Windows 10 Icon movement problem".
Some people have this and some don't.

Here is a thread on the problem at Windows10 forums:  Windows 10: Folder View Settings and Desktop Icon Positions Not Saving


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## hat (Dec 6, 2015)

They're not randomly moving, they're always in the same place. Everything works as expected, *except it's not in alphabetical order*.

I thought I'd try that fix anyway, so I scoured the registry and found that my values are already set to what they said to change it to... so it ain't that.


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## 95Viper (Dec 6, 2015)

Try this... open file manager/explorer, or whatever it is named this week.
Click on the "desktop" in the left pane.
In the desktop right pane, right click in an empty spot.
In that menu go to "Sort By" and make sure you have "Name" clicked and whether you want ascending or descending on.
If it already checked/dotted then change it to something else and change it back, again.


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## hat (Dec 6, 2015)

Already done all that... One of the first things I tried


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## truth teller (Dec 6, 2015)

some icons are in %userprofile%\Desktop (your user account desktop) and some are in %public%\Desktop (similar-to/same-as the old %allusersprofile%\Desktop) and they are probably getting arranged based on that: by location and then by name
simplest fix: move (cut) all the icons from %public%\Desktop onto your desktop, auto-arrange them again and get some beer from the fridge onto your tummy


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## sneekypeet (Dec 6, 2015)

There is something about Windows 10 where they removed the automatic refresh function that takes care of this on the desktop as well as in folders.

I do a lot with images, and I found that I am always made to refresh the set of images after renaming them numerically out of order. I have noticed this on Fresh W10 installs as well as with my Updated version. I obviously saw it on the desktop level as well adding in new folders after I had arranged them.


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## rtwjunkie (Dec 6, 2015)

You could always get Fences from Stardock. You can the group the icons by category, and they stay in order within each fence.


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## NdMk2o1o (Dec 6, 2015)

hat said:


> I want it to order by name, automatically. It does, to a point, but if look closely it seems to restart at bills.txt.
> 
> I've already tried moving it and re-arranging again, then it just fucks up at the next thing (CCleaner). It's been this way since I installed w10.



I have the same problem, more of an annoyance than anything else, surely we need folders like you can get on Android homescreen to group similar apps with a preview when you hover over it or click once etc  

Here's my current desktop setup, would be nice to have a folder with a preview of my games and larger than a standard folder icon, also messed up the alphabetical status of some of my apps so I have arranged these manually.


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## hat (Dec 7, 2015)

truth teller said:


> some icons are in %userprofile%\Desktop (your user account desktop) and some are in %public%\Desktop (similar-to/same-as the old %allusersprofile%\Desktop) and they are probably getting arranged based on that: by location and then by name
> simplest fix: move (cut) all the icons from %public%\Desktop onto your desktop, auto-arrange them again and get some beer from the fridge onto your tummy



We have a winner! Doing this made them appear in actual orderly order.

Now, why did this happen in the first place... and how to prevent it happening again?


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## 95Viper (Dec 7, 2015)

Do you use ESET... they had a problem with it causing the problem.
The malware scanner thought it found a Trojan or something and screwed up one or two reg entries.

Just from what I have gathered nosing around. Might be some other malware scanner doing it, too, but ain't seen to much on that line of thought.


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## truth teller (Dec 7, 2015)

hat said:


> how to prevent it happening again?


when installing software, if you are presented with the choice of "install just for me" and "install for everyone" choose the former, this will make any shortcut icons created to be placed on your profiles desktop, instead of putting them on the public/allusers profile. this is the only way i can think of to "prevent" this, that or you can manually move any shortcuts after software installation to your desktop, like you just did.


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