KDE rearranges desktop icons
 

Ok, this is getting annoying. Running KDE 3.3.1 on Mepis (Debian unstable)...

Everytime I log off and back on, the desktop icons are rearranged. Is this a big deal? Well, not entirely...but it's a usability thing. What can I do to stop it.

I've tried saving the sessoin...no dice.

Thanks,
elem

When you find out, let me know :-)

It's a pain in the arse.

My sentiments, exactly.

It all started with 3.3 and here is one of the many bugs I found on bugs.kde.org
http://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=91833
Hopefully this one gets resolved soon

Try this....

it is only a work-around, but a simple one. i have had the same problem on a Yoper installation (only installation i have using the new KDE).

1. Right-click desktop.
2. Icons
3. Make sure only "Align to Grid" is checked.
4. Organize all your icons how you like them.
5. Repeat steps 1-3 except UNSELECT "Align to Grid"
6. Log out and back in and see if it works.

the problem seems to be the alignment process. i select "Align to Grid", organize the desktop, then immediately turn it off. that solved it here.

hope it helps,
pres

edited:
i do like the new kde by the way though ;-)

Thanks for the tips. Nope, didn't work....although last time I rebooted things weren't *quite* as messed up...only my trash can was moved, so I guess we're gaining. :)

dumb question - inst mepis a bootable distro? or one that runs off the cd? if so, how can you store any changes? or am i thinking of knoppix?

Mepis is an installable live cd. I'd say that it easily gives Knoppix a run for it's money. Basically, it's meant to be used either way. It's a live cd *meant* to be installed, if desired. It's probably just about the best Debian distro out there. www.mepis.org It's worth your time...

you mean besides the original, right? ;)

Well, yeah. ;) This is certainly more userfriendly...and a whole heckuva lot quicker to install. You answer about 4 questions, then you're off...you can walk away. All the power of Debian...none of the work.

ahhh, very cool. hope you figure it out. i havent really noticed that but i'll keep an eye out for it.

hmm,

well all the computers i've installed kde 3.3 have moved the icons around until i unselected all the automatic icon options. then they stayed put.

i wonder if permissions might have gotten messed up in your home. that is the only other thing i can think of that might prevent you from writing so it takes old data to layout the desktop.

hmm, maybe a guru can help us here....

It's not old data. It's random data. There's no rhyme or reason to the layout. I only have limited success with deselecting the automatic options, as well.

hmm, i wonder if automated display settings might affect it? i noticed on my wife's notebook that all the icons will move a pixel or two when i move one of them after an icon size change.

have you tried to replicate the problem on different hardware or different installations? if you can find a way to replicate the problem consistently on any hardware etc, then you can help the developers greatly.

I'll see what I can come up with. I do believe that it has something to do with automatic settings, although I just can't seem to come up with anything consistent. It has happened to me on different versions of KDE (3.2 and 3.3.1) as well as different distros. (Mepis primarily, though.)

I tried your suggestion. It worked! :cool:

Thanks!
Dai

hehe, WOOT :D

i noticed that if i move an icon with auto icon unselected, and then select it, not only does it replace the one that got moved, it will move other icons a couple pixels. no big deal, lol just interesting.

i just changed desktop resolution (sax2-1280x800) and rebooted to see what would happen to icons and surprise: trash bin moved! haha. it seems to move when i change res and log out/in.

the fix above seems to still work fine after a res change though. could be a pain if you have to change res very often, but that's probably a rare case.

pres

I still have not solved the problem. I wonder if it has something to do with display resolution, however. What seems to happen, at least partially, is that the icons creep up the screen.

i have noticed that the icons creep the most when you change res or font sizes. otherwise they seem more "stationary" ;-)

for me, it happens whenever an icon is added or removed, as well as when the desktop initializes. it even happens if I turn off the icons and then turn them back on. it's as if they "jump" up a full row.

Same here...
 

I have the same problem and turning off 'Align-to-grid' doesn't help me at all. It actually doesn't mess with all of them when I turn it off (All of them get moved to the LEFT edge and contining from there when I log off with auto-align ON) - but still I would say that at 10 out of the 20+ icons on my desktop get moved. I am at 1280x1024 rez and not sure what to make of it or how to fix it. (It seems most of us have the problem but no one knows a true fix to this 'bug) ;) ANyway hope someone thinks of a fix!


bc

~/.kde/share/config/kdeglobals
~/.kde/share/config/kdeglobals

follow the above steps.. if you dont like it you can change the grid size! yay. I really hate the KDE icon grid. i can get it close but not prefect. its the stupid vertical part. horx im great.

heres mine(the part that matters)
Dont forget backups!

Not sure what your getting at.. maybe I missed something? Are you talking about the post at the top of this thread? And my Grid spacing value has an X value but no Y value. (My X value is 50).

bc

are you offering a smaller grid option? just like to be sure what my goal is before i start making backups... er wait, that might be a good idea regardless ;)

yeah thats what i was going for... samller grid sizes. not the most organized post in the world. oops. i like 20 for my x. y doesnt seem to get any smaller so -20 sounded good. im sure that -20 is not a valid option. i think some people only have one variable there. i had two. I need to start sleeping then maybe my posts will make sense .)

Heres another thing that seems to be working for me. after your icons are in good places change the permissons on /home/jeff/.kde/share/apps/kdesktop/IconPositions to ready only. I havnt tested it out to much but it seems to do the trick. Make sure it still has read permissions just not write.

that might help keep the occasional guest user of your desktop (can't i just check my email real quick?) from making any changes to the desktop too (accidentally dragging icons instead of clicking etc, lol).

i enjoy letting other people use the computer, but sometimes have to rearrange afterwards.

i'll have to give it a try.

I have this same problem of KDE 3.3 and shifting icons. Except it seems to effect only newly created icons. Initially many desktop icons were shifting. So, I tried the "check/uncheck align to grid" approach. That seemed to stabilize the icons.

But then I deleted one, and added a new one. The result was that, on restarts, the new icon moves. I tried the same align to grid fix. No help. I've since added two additional icons. The three new ones now move on restart. I've yet to find a fix.

Very irritating, although it doesn't affect performance.