Random alphabetical organization of icons

Question

Level 1

4 points

Random alphabetical organization of icons

We're running into the issue on a mac os 10.6.6 machine that the icons periodically reorganize themselves in alphabetical organization. There appears to be no explanation for the sudden reorganization.

Generally speaking, icons in all areas (desktop, misc folders) are organized visually, placed intentionally. We can of course go to View Options and choose some method of organization, but we do NOT want that behavior. We want the icons to stay put, where they're placed.

As a tech-guy, I'm inclined to believe that icon placement is retained in some type of (hidden) system file, so I'm starting to wonder if it would be valuable to transition all of my documents to a separate user profile to see if it is profile specific.

Any ideas, hints, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. When there are countless icons that are organized "geographically" to suddenly have them reorganized (at random) as alphabetized, it really is a hassle to go back through the process of moving each icon to it's preferred resting space.

Please help.

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2), 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3, 500GB 7200RPM

Posted on Mar 19, 2011 5:34 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Mar 19, 2011 6:22 PM in response to codyjbennett

Could be a corrupt plist file. Move to the Desktop your com.apple.finder.plist

This is found in your user/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Relaunch your Finder. Control-Option click on Finder Dock icon-->Relaunch.

See if this helps. If so you can trash the plist.

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Answer 2

codyjbennett Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 19, 2011 6:56 PM in response to leroydouglas

I was hopeful with the action of the .plist file, however removing the com.apple.finder.plist did not change any of the behaviors.

Interestingly, neither did restarting the computer holding the "shift" key down (to start in safe mode.)

Not sure if it plays a part, but this is an OS 10.6.6 iMac.

Any other ideas?

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Answer 3

captfred

Level 7

26,422 points

Mar 19, 2011 7:04 PM in response to codyjbennett

If you accidentally hit CNTL-CMD-1 while on the desktop it will rearrange alphabetically on you.

I know it's a bit obscure but might be close to some other shortcut you use on a regular basis..

Regards,
Captfred

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Answer 4

codyjbennett Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 19, 2011 7:13 PM in response to captfred

That is:
1) Impressive that you know that!
2) Amazingly obscure.
3) Extremely unlikely that there is a key combination close to that which might have cause an accidental pressing of those keys. But, will keep a look out.

Any other possible causes?

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Answer 5

codyjbennett Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 19, 2011 7:15 PM in response to codyjbennett

Also, this seems to happen more often (though not only) when copying a folder.

So strange!

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Answer 6

captfred

Level 7

26,422 points

Mar 19, 2011 7:18 PM in response to codyjbennett

It was worth a shot. 😉

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Answer 7

Mar 19, 2011 7:54 PM in response to codyjbennett

It is not so clear if this is just your Desktop, if so....

A corrupt .DS_Store could cause your desktop icons to forget how you've arranged them.

.DS_Store files can become corrupted causing unusual behavior by the finder when you open certain folders such as the finder window blinking open and then closing, inability to see some icons, inability to sort icons, or inability to change the view options.

To fix it, type the following in the app/utilities/Terminal.app

*Copy and paste* in terminal window


rm ~/Desktop/.DS_Store

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