File on desktop moves after renaming

If I rename a file with "Auto arrange" and "Align icons" unchecked and restart Explorer the file moves to the left side and turns "Align icons" back on.

This is pure speculation, but there are a lot of "operations" that are not saved to disk unless specific function calls are made. If you're force restarting explorer the rename is really treated as a new item and it is moved to the next logical location on the screen.

TL DR - It is probably expected behavior built into explorer.

neemobeer said:

This is pure speculation, but there are a lot of "operations" that are not saved to disk unless specific function calls are made. If you're force restarting explorer the rename is really treated as a new item and it is moved to the next logical location on the screen.

TL DR - It is probably expected behavior built into explorer.

Click to expand...

Windows turning "Align icons" back on is defeating turning it off.

Mine doesn't turn back on, so that isn't normal

neemobeer said:

Mine doesn't turn back on, so that isn't normal

Click to expand...

It shouldn't be doing either one...

Not exactly your problem but this may help (worked for me).

Go to the Windows 11 Settings menu and navigate to Personalization.
Click on Start.
Switch off Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer.

No problem f you don't care about recent items.

Morph000 said:

Not exactly your problem but this may help (worked for me).

Go to the Windows 11 Settings menu and navigate to Personalization.
Click on Start.
Switch off Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer.

No problem f you don't care about recent items.

Click to expand...

Already turned off... It seems that there may be a registry setting that is affecting this.

It's related to this:

Almighty1 said:

It's related to this:

Placing an item on desktop (sometimes) displaces desktop icons

I have an odd issue that I cannot seem to determine a cause for. Wondering if anyone else has noticed this, and more importantly, identified a solution. Scenario: Windows 11 22H2 with the latest (Nov 2022) updates. I have no shell enhancements or programs installed that should alter the...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

Yep, sure is, if you rename a file on the left side the file will move down one space.

rdwray said:

Yep, sure is, if you rename a file on the left side the file will move down one space.

Click to expand...

Not always, on my system... the only way for that to happen is, I have 14 icons from the top to bottom and it only happens if I have 4 rows and it only happens after the 9th icon on the 4th row counting from the left is completely filled up to the 9th icon with no empty spaces before it. If I tried to rename or move a file/folder there, it does not matter if the next space is empty or not, it will always move the top left icon which is the Recycle Bin on the first row down even if the icon in question was all the way on the far right of the desktop.

Since this issue has reared its head with every version of windows I can remember, there's not much rhyme or reason to it.

I know it doesn't make much sense, but, for me, I have found it has something to do with 2 things...where my Recycle Bin icon is located on my desktop and whether I'm dealing with a folder as opposed to a shortcut or file.

As long as Recycle Bin is positioned in the first position in upper left corner of the desktop, everything seems to work as expected. If I send a shortcut to the desktop or save a file to the desktop, it will always go to first vacant spot reading top to bottom on left side of screen as expected. If I drag that shortcut or file to where I want it, it stays where I put it. Likewise, if I manually create a shortcut or file on the desktop, it will stay at the position clicked when I created it.

But if I move the recycle bin icon, all bets are off as to where my icons will end up if I rename or create a new one. Sometimes, my change will stick or It might jump one position to the left or all the way over to the first vacant position in the first column. Sometimes, only one icon/file moves, sometimes multiple ones.
This does NOT seem to affect folders, though. My folders seem to never move.

I gave up expecting that my desktop would be 100% stable without 3rd party assistance so DesktopOK is a winner for me. I use its portable version. . I don't mind moving one or two I've added if I restore positions from the last time I saved them, but I'll cuss a blue streak if I have to rearrange them all.