March 24th, 2009

Double secret auto-arrange probation

Raymond Chen
Raymond Chen

When you view a folder for the first time, Explorer arranges the items in a nice default pattern. And when items are added to the folder, they get added to the end. And when you delete an item from the folder… the other items auto-arrange to close the gap? But wait, if you look at the View options, the Auto-Arrange option is not set.

So are we auto-arranging or not auto-arranging?

Well, yes, but only until you touch it.

As long as you express no interest in the placement of icons in a folder (and the desktop counts as a folder), then Explorer will auto-arrange them. But once you move an icon around, Explorer will turn off its double secret auto-arrangement and leave the icon arrangement to you.

(Programmatically, this mode is known as LVS_EX_AUTOAUTOARRANGE.)

Category
Old New Thing
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Author

Raymond Chen

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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