Windows XP and the Display - Desktop - Fit More Icons or Increase Space for Filenames

SUMMARY: Either increase the number of icons viewable on the Desktop, or increase the space available for Desktop icon filenames.

If you have a lot, and I mean a lot, of icons on your Windows XP Desktop, you may find the Desktop running out of space for more icons if you have them aligned to a grid or auto-arranged. If you absolutely need all of the icons available on the Desktop, there is a way to scrunch them closer together at the cost of decreasing the room for each icon's filename.

Conversely, if your Desktop icons are so crunched together that you cannot read their filenames, you can increase the default space between each icon.

1. Right-click an empty area of your Desktop and choose "Properties".

2. When the "Display Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Appearance" tab.

3. Click the "Advanced" button.

4. Click the pull-down underneath "Item" and choose "Icon Spacing (Horizontal)".

5. Next to the pull-down, enter the horizontal space between icons in pixels when icons are aligned to a grid and auto-arranged - the greater the number, the greater the space.

6. Click the pull-down and choose "Icon Spacing (Vertical)" and repeat the above step for vertical spacing between icons.

7. Click "OK" on the dialog boxes to close them.

Now, to force the icon realignment, right-click on an empty area of the Desktop, choose "Arrange Icons By", and select one of the following:

* Name
* Size
* Type
* Modified