How to Align Desktop Icons

In my applications folder and on my desktop all the icons are out of line and look a bit messy. I can manually place them but its slow to get them exactly in line with each other.

Is there any way i can get them to auto align to a grid like in windows?

I have seen screenshots of mac desktops where the writing for an icon is on the side rather than under the icon. how do i do this?

Hello mate, yes , you can use . Finder>View>Show View Options>Snap To Grid .

or just go to view and then choose clean up. This will automatically put them in like a grid

Try not to have to many icons on your desk top, they use memory. Open up Finder, under view.. show view options.. check off all windows and keep arranged by. Everything is nice and neat.

Try not to have to many icons on your desk top, they use memory

Click to expand...

Is that true, or just a myth?

Seems a bit strange to me.

Is that true, or just a myth?

Click to expand...

I use a PB and never felt a difference. I'm going by what I've read.

Grid Position Changes

My hard drive window is set for icon view with the icon size 24 x 24. Snap to grid is on. Clean up moves the icons to places I don't want them to be, so I don't use that function.

If I create or drop a new folder or move any of the existing icons/folders after a login or startup, to a new position, the position that it falls on is not lined up with the grid. They will position correctly until the next logoff. The position will be either higher or lower (row). Left to right (column) is not effected.

I have been battling this since I upgraded to osx a couple years ago, although this is first time that I have asked for help on it. This is a pb g4 that originally came with os9.

I have the most up to date version of the os. I have on more than one occasion reinstalled the os for various reasons, but it always persists and it drives me nuts. Repairing disk permissions has no effect.

Anybody have any ideas on what could be causing this?