Arranging icons

Turning Auto arrange icons off

It seems turning auto arrange off doesn't completely turn it off.

Even off, fences fills each row to the width of the fence. I would like to be able to decide how many icons go in each row.

As an example - 

How fences arranges icons;

XXXXXX

XXXXXX

XXX

How I'd like to be able to arrange them;

XXXX

XXXXX

XX

XXXX

Maybe this can already be done, and I just can't figure out how to do it.

22,344 views 14 replies
Reply #1 Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. No that can't be done. But few feature request was made by others before and I have forward your request to the Stardock Support Team for their review and recommendations. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We really do appreciate your feedback.
Thanks.
Basj
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 Top

Facing same issue ..... it seems, nothing more perfect than default Windows desktop screen

Reply #3 Top

This issue has been known since 2012, but the request thread was locked after 3 years:

https://forums.stardock.com/422334

 

Developer doesn't care.

I bought fences 2012 and stopped using it soon, because of annoying autoarrange. I need my OWN structure.

Just stumbled upon an article mentioning fences, remembered it and gave it a shot, sure they must have fixed this after 7 years.

Nope.

Such a little feature request with such huge implication, ignored for years.

 

Sorry, lost me again. 

Reply #4 Top

Quoting fences30195, reply 3

but the request thread was locked after 3 years:
End of fences30195's quote

All threads are locked after a defined period of inactivity.  It is standard policy, partly to limit irrelevances [anachronisms] and partly to deter spammers...;)

Reply #5 Top

Quoting fences30195, reply 3

Developer doesn't care.
End of fences30195's quote

We do care - we just believe it defeats a core feature of Fences to allow free arrangement (icons away from a group) inside a Fence.  This free placement example Fence starts to look like the unorganized Desktop one is trying to have Fences remedy:

There are some ideas we have that may satisfy the few that ask for this, however. 

As always, we appreciate the feedback. 

Sean Drohan
Stardock Support Manager

Reply #6 Top

hey, thanks for the quick response, good to read that you care!

Now I understand where this is coming from. 
but you should keep in mind, that other people have different systems of arranging their icons to keep a clear view.
And it makes little sense to remove flexibility, to force your way of organizing things onto others.

For example, I have an area for all my music production software.
A, B . C, D are different programs
a1.. b1.. c1.. are templates that open the program with different settings I use for different tasks. This way I can open each program with perfect settings depending on the job I need to accomplish.

A   B   C  D
a1 b1 c1
a2 b2 
     b3


Autoarrange totally messes that up and makes it impossible.

I can already feel you wanting to say "why not give each program a fence?
Because it will create a mess of fences. 
And because I just don't want to. I prefer it this way.

That's why options are great. They are options! and they are optional.
Keeping them doesn't diminish the value of your tool. But deleting them does.

I've spend half an hour, trying to find a nice way to use fences. But with auto arrange forced, I can't. Sorry to say, but it stays worthless for me and I won't use it. 
I really hope you consider leaving the options that make sense in your tool, because beyond that problem, fences is great and I love the concept as well as how it works, looks and feels.

Reply #7 Top

I'm in the same boat.  I like having fences as it gives me quick access to folders I selected, but not being able to arrange my desktop icons (those that i've chosen not to place within a fence) in any way that I choose.  I would be able to deal with it if auto-arrange wasn't completely random.  If I arrange by type, like items do not arrange next to each other.  For example, multiple .xlsx files I would expect to arrange alphabetically next to each other.  This does not happen at all.

 

I've recently bought this software and am about ready to abandon it and chock it to a loss since I not allowed to use a core function of windows.

Reply #8 Top

Hello,

I have forwarded your report to the Stardock support team for their review and recommendations.

Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates.

We really do appreciate your feedback, thanks.

 

AzDude
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #9 Top

Quoting admn_det, reply 7

I like having fences as it gives me quick access to folders I selected, but not being able to arrange my desktop icons (those that i've chosen not to place within a fence) in any way that I choose. 
End of admn_det's quote

You can...

https://cdn.stardock.us/support/uploads/2020-02-14_13-26-39.mp4

Sean Drohan
Stardock Support Manager

Reply #10 Top

Quoting AzDude, reply 8

I have forwarded your report to the Stardock support team for their review and recommendations.
End of AzDude's quote

Can I just add my 2cents to this - the idea that adding free arrangement of icons inside a fence "defeats a core feature" is astonishing. 

The core feature of Fences is to allow users to arrange their desktop to be the most efficient for their workflow(s), and that means (like part of the underlying Windows philosophy) allowing flexibility of positioning of icons. To remove that part of the Windows philosophy arbitrarily when, for a long time, some users have been asking for it, seems odd in the extreme.

I'd also like to see animation of icons as they move to their new position to be optional. My desktop is a workhorse, not a visual display to be titivated.

Reply #11 Top

Quoting gottyE, reply 10

Can I just add my 2cents to this - the idea that adding free arrangement of icons inside a fence "defeats a core feature" is astonishing. 
End of gottyE's quote

This is the ability you are asking for, yes?

Sean Drohan
Stardock Support Manager

 

 

Reply #12 Top

Yes.

I wouldn't mind locking to a grid, as long as I can arrange everything freely and empty spaces are allowed where I want them

Reply #13 Top

I turned off auto-arrange and can re-arrange icons as I choose.  HOWEVER, when I lock the computer and come back, which is frequent as it is my company's security policy that setting reverts back and icons re-arrange.  Not to mention the fences need me to click on them to resize appropriately (as I use multiple monitors, and they re-initialize when the devices comes out of sleep) AND all my desktop icons revert back to automatic sort and sometimes sort EXTREMELY close to each other until I turn auto-arrange off again.

For me, I want all the core functionality windows offers PLUS the ability to create fences where I choose. 

 

As fences30195: "I wouldn't mind locking to a grid, as long as I can arrange everything freely and empty spaces are allowed where I want them"

that would be nice too.

Reply #14 Top

I would also like to be informed if you ever decide to allow 'auto-arrange' to be switched off within Fences, and allow icons to be freely located (even if locked to a grid) within a Fence.  So yes I am after the ability you mention in post #11 above.

I have seen a number of threads within your forums regarding disabling auto-arrange, and have responded previously on a separate thread (see post #46 in https://forums.stardock.com/403176/page/2/#replies). Similar to a number of respondents I cannot believe that having the ability to specify exactly where I want my application icons to be positioned / stay defeats a core feature of a product - but at the end of the day it is your product! It just doesn't fulfil my needs in its current guise.

I've just tried the latest version of Fences (as of today), and this is still not possible :(  

As mentioned at the beginning - if you ever reconsider this position and implement the required ability then please let me know.