Windows 7 How do I manually move icons in Windows Explorer?

[Cyborg31]

My Folders and files are set on auto-sort (by name) and I can't figure out how to disable it. I want to arrange them in my own order.

Basically I folders A, B, and C and they're arranged in that order by name. I want to move folder A to the end like B, C, A. Of course I try to drag it over to the end but that cursor doesn't appear (the cursor that appears when you try to drag a file or folder inbetween another file/folder).

In Vista, I just need to move one file/folder out of the order and it disables auto-sort. But it doesn't work in Windows 7.

 

[gavin19]

My Folders and files are set on auto-sort (by name) and I can't figure out how to disable it. I want to arrange them in my own order.

Basically I folders A, B, and C and they're arranged in that order by name. I want to move folder A to the end like B, C, A. Of course I try to drag it over to the end but that cursor doesn't appear (the cursor that appears when you try to drag a file or folder inbetween another file/folder).

In Vista, I just need to move one file/folder out of the order and it disables auto-sort. But it doesn't work in Windows 7.

I don't get it? It takes the same effort to click on A as it does C, D, E etc? You mean when you open Explorer and it lists the drives in the side panel?

 

[Cyborg31]

Uhm no... I didn't say anything about the drives.

A, B, and C are examples of folders.

 

[john3347]

Uhm no... I didn't say anything about the drives.

A, B, and C are examples of folders.

Cyborg31, this ability to arrange folder icons is just one more of the many personalization options that have been removed in Windows 7.

 

[RAK]

It is a personal view, perhaps. The minimum on install is about fifteen. I find with my own additions I have 24. I am quite happy that they are arranged in logical alphabetical order.

What other personalisation options are you missing John, perhaps there is a way?

 

[Cyborg31]

I am quite happy that they are arranged in logical alphabetical order.

You could've done that anyways. Now they just took out an option.

Damn, this is annoying. What was the point of removing such a feature?

 

[john3347]

RAK, Here's a few items

It is a personal view, perhaps. The minimum on install is about fifteen. I find with my own additions I have 24. I am quite happy that they are arranged in logical alphabetical order.

What other personalisation options are you missing John, perhaps there is a way?

I read from left to right. I wish to find the icons (shortcuts) to my most frequently used programs from left to right. I don't wish to scan through 6 or 30 icons to find my "word" shortcut. I want the ability to arrange them in the order of frequency of use. Maybe place some on one row and some on a separate row. For instance: In my "primary OS", I have my Office 2003 icons on the top row and arranged as I describe here (in order of frequency of use). I also have Office 2010 beta installed and have those icons on their own row separated by a blank row. Windows 7 jumbles all these icons up with each other, mixing 2003 selections within 2010 selections, in alphabetical order and refuses to allow any other arrangement.

I cannot set icon size in Windows Explorer windows to default to medium/large icons. It always defaults to details which is not what I want to see to select from. I can set to my choice of view, but I cannot set that view to default and it has to be set every time I open a window.

I have now learned how to remove the presence of "homegroup" from the explorer menu, which is unneeded if a user has only one Windows 7 computer. (One problem solved.)

I am the sole user of my computer. (All 8 of them) I do not need a Public, and a Users, and a Guest saved document folder. I only need one folder. I want to name it "Saved Documents", or "All Documents" - - I know they are My Documents. When I delete "Public" folder and reboot the computer -- tada, "Public" reappears. It will not go away.

When I create a desktop shortcut, the icon consists of an image of a sheet of paper of a normal icon size, but the actual icon representing the shortcut is a tiny image set within this image of a sheet of paper which is so small as to be imperceptible. I want a traditional, visible icon.

There are several other annoyances and nuisances that don't come to mind right now, but this is a start. If I find a source of information to solve these annoyances, I will cling to that source for more information.

If you can help on these items, and others that arise, I will be so appreciative and will be thanking you for as long as I use Windows 7.

 

[Tepid]

I am the sole user of my computer. (All 8 of them) I do not need a Public, and a Users, and a Guest saved document folder. I only need one folder. I want to name it "Saved Documents", or "All Documents" - - I know they are My Documents. When I delete "Public" folder and reboot the computer -- tada, "Public" reappears. It will not go away.

This has been explained. This is by design, and can not be changed, it is this way for a reason.
However, you can redirect My Documents through the use of Group Policy and should be able to name the new folder anything, I think. I have not played with it much.

If you have a folder full of icons, it is actually easier to open that folder and start typing the name. It will take you right to the file/folder you are looking for. In my opinion, arranging icons in the way you are talking about for folders is very time consuming, and if something happens to reset the folder, then you have to rearrange them again. I personally don't think it is such a detrimental feature to loose that would be enough to keep me from using win 7 over all.

For desktop icon arrangement, I recommend Stardock Fences. It's a very nice tool.

 

[john3347]

This has been explained. This is by design, and can not be changed, it is this way for a reason.
However, you can redirect My Documents through the use of Group Policy and should be able to name the new folder anything, I think. I have not played with it much.

If you have a folder full of icons, it is actually easier to open that folder and start typing the name. It will take you right to the file/folder you are looking for. In my opinion, arranging icons in the way you are talking about for folders is very time consuming, and if something happens to reset the folder, then you have to rearrange them again. I personally don't think it is such a detrimental feature to loose that would be enough to keep me from using win 7 over all.

For desktop icon arrangement, I recommend Stardock Fences. It's a very nice tool.

I am going to say this, then I will respond no more. There is nothing to be gained by simple arguing.

I can open a folder (with a single stroke of the center scroll wheel which is programmed to perform a double click) then open a sub-folder within that folder before my arthritic fingers can even find the necessary keys on the keyboard, much less type out the name of a photograph whose file name has long ago left my mind. This is the reason that I want my most frequently used shortucts (Icons) at top-left. All that aside, I bought my computer; I bought the operating system for it; I, alone, use my computer; I don't need some spaced out airhead deciding for me how I wish to use MY computer. Windows 7 has taken away MUCH of the choice that I previously had and I don't like that. I don't go to the grocery store for a gallon of milk and allow the grocer to tell me that I have to accept Buttermilk - and like it - because he has decided that I prefer Buttermilk over Sweet Milk. No one item can be considered a deal breaker by itself, but so many personalization features have been removed from Windows 7 that I cannot pass high praise to it.

 

[gavin19]

When I create a desktop shortcut, the icon consists of an image of a sheet of paper of a normal icon size, but the actual icon representing the shortcut is a tiny image set within this image of a sheet of paper which is so small as to be imperceptible. I want a traditional, visible icon.

I have tried creating shortcuts from various different places and they all work like they used to, ie with a normal sized icon. You could try going into the 'Properties' of the shortcut and changing the icon from there to see if that helps. It sounds like something has been altered along the line. I have ran 4/5 different versions of W7 and they all created shortcuts with full icons, as you would expect.

 

[john3347]

I have tried creating shortcuts from various different places and they all work like they used to, ie with a normal sized icon. You could try going into the 'Properties' of the shortcut and changing the icon from there to see if that helps. It sounds like something has been altered along the line. I have ran 4/5 different versions of W7 and they all created shortcuts with full icons, as you would expect.

I am attaching a screen shot here to show how several icons appear as a tiny graphic within a sheet of paper. It is true that I can assign a custom icon to most, if not all. of these items. I have already assigned custom icons to many of the desktop shortcuts that appear in this screen shot. The problem is that many icons - Windows 7 Forums for example - are not readily available as a standalone, downloadable file. Often a picture that is representative of the website or document is available and can be converted to an icon file (.ico), but often even that is not possible. While this icon issue is not a major issue, it simply combines with a very large number of other similar issues to make Windows 7 quite frustrating to configure to individual tastes - much more so than any previous operating system from Microsoft.

 

[robdam1001]

Removing the ability to arrange music files for instance within a specific folder is a HUGE detriment to me and my workflow. from what I've been reading over the past hour or so, it's a huge detriment to others as well. I hope M$ will address this issue with a patch or someone who is thmarter than I am can come up with a registry edit to FIX this issue.

 

[john3347]

Removing the ability to arrange music files for instance within a specific folder is a HUGE detriment to me and my workflow. from what I've been reading over the past hour or so, it's a huge detriment to others as well. I hope M$ will address this issue with a patch or someone who is thmarter than I am can come up with a registry edit to FIX this issue.

This is just one more of MANY, MANY customization options that have been eliminated from Windows 7. The efficient classic start menu, this ability to arrange icons, the tiny desktop icons that appear in the center of a sheet of paper, and countless other eliminated features along with worthless and unneeded added features (?) that just confuse and waste time such as libraries makes Windows 7 a lesser OS to either of the two most recent OSs that it seeks to replace.

 

[JAYNO20]

This is insane... why would they take the ability to move YOUR folders to where YOU want them..? I was so pleased with this OS and this is a huge draw back for me now...

 

[JamesHouson]

My Folders and files are set on auto-sort (by name) and I can't figure out how to disable it. I want to arrange them in my own order.

Basically I folders A, B, and C and they're arranged in that order by name. I want to move folder A to the end like B, C, A. Of course I try to drag it over to the end but that cursor doesn't appear (the cursor that appears when you try to drag a file or folder inbetween another file/folder).

In Vista, I just need to move one file/folder out of the order and it disables auto-sort. But it doesn't work in Windows 7.

I have the same problem within the folders. I can't organize my photos. Can't move one ahead of the other. Can anybody help?

 

[Jetpump7]

This is an old thread that I found doing a search, but it's what I was looking for. Has anyone come up with a solution for the problem yet?

I agree completely with John 3347.

Example: I load 400 pictures from my camera and I wish to begin my personal editing process. In the main folder containing the pictures, I create 2 new folders and call them Landscape and Portrait. The new folder icons automatically go to the first 2 places in front of the pictures. This is fine. Now, I wish to drag one of the folders into a particular group of pictures, so that I can drag & drop chosen pictures into the folder. When I drag the folder to where I want it and try to drop it there, Win7 automatically puts it back in its own desired place at the front of the pictures. I also cannot group and overlap several pictures together and/or create gaps between pictures that I'm currently working on.

This may seem to be a trivial thing to some, but having skipped Vista, I'm considering going back to XP Pro for this functionality alone.

I may be missing it in my searches, but it seems to me that Microsoft really doesn't care. Nor have I found any 3rd party fixes. Does anyone know of anything?

 

[john3347]

Jetpump7, the good news here is that I am still looking for a solution to this and several other "Windows 7 Annoyances". The bad news is that instead of finding solutions, I continue to find yet more and more annoyances. When I raised this question in Tech Net forum, the answer was to forget it - it ain't gonna happen now nor ever. You MAY POSSIBLY in the future see the ability for Windows Explorer to count the times you open a file and automatically arrange them in that order, but forget about any manual arrangement to suit your individual needs. I know of no 3rd party solution to this issue either.

 

[Jetpump7]

Hi John3347,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have found a couple of workarounds for the problem, but haven't had a chance to try either yet.

The first, Link Removed seems to address this problem alone.

The second is from another Win 7 forum. Here is the quote, link & pic:

"Hey, guys

This just came to my attention: Link Removed - Invalid URL
It is a hack to disable the full-row selection in Explorer. As a side effect it also adds the option to disable the auto-arrange in "icon" mode. See the attached screenshot. Thanks to tuxplorer for sending me the link and pointing the auto-arrange side effect.

Basically this hack forces Explorer to use the old "SysListVew32" control instead of the new "DirectUIHWND" control, so most features start behaving like in Vista (my favorite - the blue sort header is back instead of the 7's white header, also the gap between the header and the first file is gone).

BTW, there is a typo in the instructions. They say to add a key to Shell\Bags\AllFolders, but it is actually Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell. Also this hack only affects the generic folders, not special folders like Music or Videos.

I'm guessing a different GUID is needed for each special folder type. I'm hoping somebody in this forum who is more familiar with the registry hacks can figure it out for all folders and prepare a better tutorial. Brink?

You know you want to

"

Attached Thumbnails Link Removed - Invalid URL

I'm going to give these a try as soon as I get time, but it may not be for a couple of days. They both seem promising, but if I can't get one to work, it's back to XP for me.

Win 7 seems great. These problems are not simply quirks though. Like you, I will not smile contentedly while being fed a s**t sandwich! Did someone at MS decide, "Well, I don't use this functionality, so nobody else needs it either."? That sort of thinking baffles me.

I hope this helps.

 

[pcs3657]

How to Disable Full Row Select in Explorer in Windows 7?
Link Removed - Invalid URL

(See the last screenshot)

 

[davenitz]

Removing the ability to place icons anywhere you want just as it is in XP was a MAJOR mistake by M$.

There are loads of people who have yet to leave XP and face this GUI disaster that is called Windows 7. When i left XP behind yesterday and installed 7, I was ready to go back to XP within the hour. Everything was foreign. All my experience counted for nothing. Countless new features that just seemed to be there to add more icons and nothing else. The masses that have yet to leave XP could make or break this company since the userbase of XP is still nearly %60 of total desktops as of yesterday the 3rd of jan 2011. If M$ alienates that many people they will never ever again buy another M$ version having shunned Vista in favor of a system that works like i did. I never used Vista. I did not work for me out of the box so i stayed with XP since i liked it and it worked. It continues to work to this day.

What gets me is the arrogance of a company that assumes that their userbase WILL use features and will not use features which have been present since the beginning. Dragging icons around has been present for as long as i can remember and that goes back a long way. Why would they all of a sudden remove this feature? Do they like shooting thenselves in teh foot? Wait till the masses start hopefully migrating and forcing this issue.

46 icons in the control panel? Is that really necessary? Could they not narrow that down a bit and group them? What got me is finding out that icons in the control panel are not enabled by default so you are forced to leave an icon system behind and start readign which takes 15 times longer to do. So much for being faster.