How can I modify the icon spacing on the desktop?

John Savill

September 27, 2001

1 Min Read
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A. Icons displayed on the desktop are spaced according to values defined in the display properties. To change these values in Windows 2000 and Windows NT, perform the following steps:

  1. Start the Display Control Panel applet (go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, and click Display).

  2. Select the Appearance tab.

  3. Under Item, select Icon Spacing (Horizontal) and modify the size.

  4. Select Icon Spacing (Vertical) and modify the size.

  5. Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

For the change to take effect, you need to unselect Auto Arrange from the Arrange Icons context menu that displays when you right-click the desktop.

You can also set the icon spacing in Win2K and NT by changing the IconSpacing and IconVerticalSpacing values under the HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop key in the registry.

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