Annoyance: file copied to folder on desktop moves!

tzdvl · 14 Dec 2013

Hi, all,

I recently got a new computer with Windows7, coming from a Windows XP system.

I would like to find a solution to an annoying Windows 7 behavior (after a thorough session of Googling)...

When I copy/paste a file on my desktop into a folder located elsewhere on my desktop, the copied file's icon moves so that it is located where the folder icon was, and the folder jumps down so that it ends up below the file icon.

To clarify - I often work with several files at a time, making modifications to each one. To keep track of the files I've modified, I arrange them in groups on my desktop. Often I will want to transfer the modified files to my other computer. I usually create a temporary folder on the desktop to hold copies of the modified files.

If I right-click a file (or group of files), select copy, then right-click the folder and select paste, the file is copied into the folder as expected, but the icons for the copied files physically move across the desktop to end up immediately above receiving folder, which drops down to the "grid" position below.

If the receiving folder is not isolated (that is, it's surrounded by other icons), the file and folder both move to a location that allows the copied file's icon to be located above (or sometimes below) the folder.

Is this normal behavior for Windows 7?

Is it possible to "fix" the system so that copied files "stay put"?

Thanks!

whs · 14 Dec 2013

In short - files don't really belong on the desktop.

tzdvl · 14 Dec 2013

Awwww, come ON!

Why have a desktop (you know, the top surface of your desk where you DO things...) if you can't temporarily locate files there to work on them? Is it just for pretty pictures?

My desktop is CLEAR unless I'm working with several files at once.

I just want to be able to place a TEMPORARY folder on the desktop (upper right corner, for example), TEMPORARILY arrange copies of my working files in a logical order somewhere on the desktop, and copy/paste modified files into the folder without the copied files' icons jumping clear across the desktop to surround the folder!

Rant over...

Lady Fitzgerald · 14 Dec 2013

whs said:

In short - files don't really belong on the desktop.

Maybe not permanently but the desktop is a convenient place to temporarily park them, especially if you need them to be highly visible.

To keep files, icons, etc. on the desktop from moving around after you move them where you want them, right click on a blank spot on the desktop and, on the menu that pops up, click on Refresh. That will nail the restless little buggers down.

tzdvl · 14 Dec 2013

Thanks, Jeannie, but refreshing the desktop doesn't prevent the behavior I'm asking about.

Some screenshots:

Is this normal behavior for Windows 7?

I've searched the web and consulted several Win7 reference books, and I can't even find ONE mention of this behavior, let alone a solution, setting or tweak to prevent it!

Computer0304 · 14 Dec 2013

Lady Fitzgerald said:

whs said:

In short - files don't really belong on the desktop.

Maybe not permanently but the desktop is a convenient place to temporarily park them, especially if you need them to be highly visible.

To keep files, icons, etc. on the desktop from moving around after you move them where you want them, right click on a blank spot on the desktop and, on the menu that pops up, click on Refresh. That will nail the restless little buggers down.

The desktop should be used only if you need files to be easily accessible. Also that is definitely not normal behavior. Try this:
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

derekimo · 14 Dec 2013

Computer0304 said:

Lady Fitzgerald said:

whs said:

In short - files don't really belong on the desktop.

Maybe not permanently but the desktop is a convenient place to temporarily park them, especially if you need them to be highly visible.

To keep files, icons, etc. on the desktop from moving around after you move them where you want them, right click on a blank spot on the desktop and, on the menu that pops up, click on Refresh. That will nail the restless little buggers down.

The desktop should be used only if you need files to be easily accessible. Also that is definitely not normal behavior. Try this:
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

It's his desktop, if he wants to put files there that's his choice. Putting files on the desktop is not the cause of the problem.

Lady Fitzgerald · 14 Dec 2013

Using the desktop to park files in the past could be risky when using some programs (I can't remember exactly why)—they would be subject to being accidentally deleted—but, apparently, it isn't nearly the issue it used to be anymore. I used to do it all the time until I switched to an SSD for my boot drive. Now I park the file in its final destination on a spinner and put a shortcut on the desktop to avoid excessive writes to the SSD (I know, I'm being paranoid).

I have two computers, one running Win 7 Home Premium and the other Ultimate, and the Refresh trick works every time so I suspect something else is going and your wandering files are an unexpected side effect of that something else. At this point, I'm stumped. Sorry!

tzdvl · 14 Dec 2013

Computer0304 said:

Also that is definitely not normal behavior. Try this:
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

A few observations:

First: scannow / System File Checker finds no problems.
System Diagnostics "Health Report" (Windows Resource and Performance Monitor) shows 100% passed, with no errors.
Dell System Diagnostics (run from utility partition) also shows no problems.

Second: this (two month old) computer has exhibited the same behavior since day one.

ALSO, my brother has a similar Dell Win7 Home Premium system, bought at about the same time, and it does the same thing! Files copied to a folder placed elsewhere on the desktop "jump" to a location above that folder at the same time the folder icon "changes" to reflect that it contains a file.

A request to those of you who have apparently NEVER worked with files/folders on the desktop...

Could you humor me, and TRY to reproduce what I'm writing about? Just create a new file (.txt, for instance) and place it in the upper left of your desktop. Then create a new empty folder at the lower right. (Then, just for the heck of it, go ahead and refresh the desktop

) Then right-click-copy the file and right-click-paste it into the empty folder. Does the copied file "jump" to a location just above the folder when you click paste?

Thanks for any further advice - I simply don't see any evidence of any other problems on this system. Works like a dream, except for the desktop-copy thing!

derekimo · 14 Dec 2013

tzdvl said:

A request to those of you who have apparently NEVER worked with files/folders on the desktop...

Could you humor me, and TRY to reproduce what I'm writing about? Just create a new file (.txt, for instance) and place it in the upper left of your desktop. Then create a new empty folder at the lower right. (Then, just for the heck of it, go ahead and refresh the desktop

) Then right-click-copy the file and right-click-paste it into the empty folder. Does the copied file "jump" to a location just above the folder when you click paste?

Thanks for any further advice - I simply don't see any evidence of any other problems on this system. Works like a dream, except for the desktop-copy thing!

OK, I just tried to reproduce what you asked (exactly) and I do not get the same results.

I created a new folder in lower right and 4 .txt files in the upper left.

My results with auto arrange and align icons to grid both unchecked were not the same as yours.

Refresh does nothing, but when right clicking and copy then paste in the folder it moves the file to the folder.

A refresh after the move does nothing again.