Ubuntu

Desktop icons overlap

Asked by Ruth

Hi,
I have just installed Ubuntu 7.10 (never used any OS but Windows until now) and have found that I cannot get the desktop icons to snap to a grid as they do in Windows etc. I can sort of 'place' them on the desktop, but they are not aligning themselves equally. I have ticked 'Keep aligned' after right-clicking the desktop, but the icons are still able to overlap.
I have looked up this problem on various websites (many people seem to have a problem with this) but can't see that anyone has come up with a solution. Is there one?
Any advice appreciated, but I'm totally new to Ubuntu, and Linux in general, and am not that computer savvy. So please bear in mind that any answers have to be able to be understood by a bit of a thicko!
Thanks
Ruth

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Revision history for this message
Jim Hutchinson (jphutch) said : 		#1

Right click - clean up by name has always worked fine for me. Does it not work for you?

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aznmhc (mhc7791) said : 		#2

Right click - delete your registry root called virus and you get a doctor from your money

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williamts99 (williamts99) said : 		#3

Please ignore aznmhc's comments, he has been trolling and I don't know why he hasn't been removed yet.

Also right clicking on the desktop, make sure 'keep aligned' is checked.

Best Regards,
Williamts99

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Ruth (jandrha) said : 		#4

Hi again, and thanks for trying to help me.
I have tried 'clean up by name' as suggested, but this just moves all my icons to the left of the desktop and alphabetizes them, which is not the layout I want. (I like to 'group' icons eg. web links together, folder links together etc. Probably a bit retentive of me,but there you go!)
I have already checked 'keep aligned', but still my icons can overlap each other, or not be aligned with each other. Does anyone know of any other solution?
williamts99 -I did ignore aznmhc, mainly because I didn't have a clue what he/she was on about!
Thanks again.
Ruth

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williamts99 (williamts99) said : 		#5

Ruth,

I can't seem to replicate the problem. I keep most everything linked up on the top panel and my desktop empty. Hopefully someone else can give you some insight on the problem and solution.

Best of luck, and welcome to Ubuntu.

Williamts99

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Jim Hutchinson (jphutch) said : 		#6

Ruth,

What you are describing is "normal" behavior. I guess it's a bug but I don't know if it's anything very high priority. If you select "clean up by name" that is as cleaned up as they will get. There isn't a group feature that I am aware of. I think the idea behind the Gnome desktop is that it doesn't have icons (at least by default) so maybe they have never put much effort into giving you lots of options. I also notice that when plugging in a flash drive or something the icon will often get placed on top of other icons. I think maybe it tends to remember the position of the previous time it was connected and puts in the same place even if something is now there. I haven't spent any time verifying that. It's just a guess. Anyway, you aren't doing anything wrong. It's just the options you want don't exist. Below is a link to a screenshot of my desktop (ignore the wild colors) that shows how they line up when you have selected "clean up by name". If you are seeing something different then please explain more or post a screenshot somewhere.

http://ubuntukids.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/27012008.png

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Ruth (jandrha) said : 		#7

Thank you all for your help.
I have tried for a week now to get my head around Linux - I've tried both Ubuntu and Freespire - having always used Windows previously, because my new PC came with Vista installed and I hated it.
However, I just cannot get to grips with Linux - I can't get most of my Windows-based programs to work and in general just find Linux so difficult on many levels. So with reluctance I have decided to go back to Vista, because as much as I hate it, at least I can use it.
Therefore, I no longer need assistance from this site.I will mark this and my other questions as solved, and once again, thank you for your help. For me it's simply a case of 'Better the devil you know...'
Regards,
Ruth

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williamts99 (williamts99) said : 		#8

Ruth,

Sorry to hear about your decision to not use Ubuntu. If you ever need any more help, please be sure to come on back and let us know how we can help you.

As a side note on getting your Windows based programs to work, it is usually better to find a native Linux alternative which usually work as well or better(imo). Here is a list of Linux alternatives to your Windows programs. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsApplicationsEquivalents

You may also want to have a look at the following site which is known to help. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromWindows

Other things that may make the transition smoother is using the open sourced programs on your windows system, for example Firefox, OpenOffice, Gimp, and others. Then if you ever have a want/need to switch, it makes it a lot easier.

Best of luck,
Williamts99