Can I arrange my desktop icons on the left side of the screen?

Spare a thought for all those switching from Mac to Windows, having to deal with new files popping up on the left - What a nightmare!

When you open finder, does it ever sort from right to left? No. Are the icons >stuck to the right side of the window? No. So why does the desktop behave that >way, without giving you the option to change it? Bad usability design.

Maybe, maybe not. Since the Apple menu is on the left, as are most program menus, it stands to reason you will be working on the left side of the screen rather frequently.

Ever tried to click a menu item and miss, do try to quickly click again, (but the menu has disappeared), so you end up clicking an icon right underneath the menu, and now that file/program is opening...(please wait while the CPU finishes opening so you can immediately quit the program you have accidentally opened )

so if desktop icons are on the right, the area under the menus is blank...a missed or spurious click in that area doesn't affect anything.

So yea, there is some logic behind trying to keep icons away from frequently used areas of the screen.

But thats just my subjective opinion. I could be wrong 🙂

For NINJOE:

Consistency and familiarity. When Apple introduced the Desktop paradigm (1983 w/Lisa), years before microsloth developed windows, Apple decided on putting disk icons of mounted volumes starting in the upper, right-hand corner with the boot volume and subsequent ones below in echelon order. Apple has consistently followed that human interface selection ever since. To preclude confusion, that's the default. Whether there should be a way to modify that, is open for discussion. Why did they choose that? I don't know, but AJ's explanation is as good as any other. For more details, see http://developer.apple.com/documentation/userexperience/Conceptual/AppleHIGuidel ines/XHIGIntro/chapter1_section_1.html#//appleref/doc/uid/TP30000894-TP6

BTW, the Desktop is a Finder window, complete with the menu bar, and it's not movable. Opening the Desktop folder in icon view doesn't display the mounted volumes nor does it mimic the placement that is displayed on the Desktop. That was a pre-OS X capability.

And I want to move the Finder sidebar to the right.

And getting back to Nerowolfe's analogy, I'd like the sharp edge of my knife on the other side of the blade.

Why have any icons on the desktop? The desktop can be completely free of any object. If the icon is not in the dock, use Fruitmenu (Unsanity) and everything is accessible from the Apple drop down menu.

Why not? A desktop (computer or otherwise) without stuff on it is a barren wasteland, IMO.

Hi Authur,
Here is the info I think you were looking for:

_**Aligning, labeling, and resizing icons**_
You can modify the size, labeling, and alignment of icons in Finder windows or on the desktop.
To modify icons:
1. For the desktop, click the background area of your screen.
2. Choose View > Show View Options and make your choices.
3. Each of the views—icon, list, column, or Cover Flow—has its own view options.
4. Try adjusting the sliders and clicking the options. The icons change as you make choices, so you can immediately see the effect of your changes.

I think you have it on “Arrange by NAME”, if you change it to none, you can place it where ever you want and it will stay there, even when you reboot.

To make your changes apply to every window you open, click “Use as Defaults.”
This option does not appear if you’re adjusting icons for the desktop.

Hope that helps!
Sunny