How can I stop desktop icons changing position?

Q I have a lot of icons on my desktop, but know roughly where everything is when I need to open a folder or launch a program. However, Windows keeps shuffling the icons around, which makes them harder to find. Is there any software that can ‘lock’ them in place?

A It’s likely that Windows keeps moving your desktop icons because you have its ‘Auto arrange’ feature turned on, and it’s sorting them by name, size, type or last modified. To disable this, right-click a blank area of your desktop, select View and untick ‘Auto arrange icons’. Alternatively, select ‘Sort by’ and choose your preferred method of arranging icons.

An even better option is to use a tiny free tool called Desktopok (www.snipca.com/40825), which was recently updated to add support for Windows 11.

Download and extract the program from its ZIP file, then run it (it doesn’t require installation) and click the Save button (see screenshot) to preserve your current layout of desktop icons. Desktopok will save details of your screen resolution, and the time and date the layout was saved.

If any of your icons are moved, simply click the Restore button to put them all back in place.

Click the software’s Options menu and you can choose whether to save your desktop layout automatically at specific intervals, always save it when you turn off your PC and restore it on startup. You can save as many layouts as you want, allow everyone who uses your computer to have their own icon arrangement, and rename layouts to make them easy to distinguish. Desktopok also lets you hide all your desktop icons with a swish of your mouse – go to Tools then Hide Desktop Icons to activate this feature.

Do you need our advice on what software to use? Just email us at letters@computeractive.co.uk