How to Enable or Disable “Align Icons to Grid” on Windows 11 or 10 Desktop?

You will find a folder named Desktop on your system. It displays your background wallpaper, files, folders, documents, shortcuts, and all items stored there. It is the first folder you see whenever you boot your system and log into your account.

Generally, all the icons on your desktop remain aligned in an invisible grid and stay perfectly distant from each other. Windows automatically places these icons in the grid in a default way known as “Align icons to grid.” However, it is up to you how you want to organize the icons on your desktop. You can do this setting in the Desktop Context Menu.

In this risewindows article, you will learn how to enable and disable the alignment of icons on Windows 11 or 10 Desktop.

How to Turn On or Off “Align icons to Grid” on Desktop on Windows 11 or 10?

Use the following steps to enable or disable “Align icons to Grid” on Desktop on Windows 11 or 10:-

Step 1: Minimize all open windows and apps using Windows + D or Windows + M shortcut keys as the first step.

Step 2: Next, go to View > Align icons to the grid by right-clicking on the empty space on your Desktop.

When “Align icons to grid” is disabled, the check mark will disappear beside it, and if a checkmark appears, it is enabled.

How to Enable or Disable “Align Icons to Grid” in Windows 11 or 10 Desktop using Registry Editor?

You can also turn on or off “Align Icons to Grid” in Windows 11 or 10 Desktop by tweaking the Registry. Just use the following steps:-

Step 1: Firstly, Open Registry Editor.

Step 2: After opening the Registry Editor in the left sidebar, browse to the following path:-

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1\Desktop

Step 3: Find FFlags REG_DWORD on the right side of the Desktop folder and double-click on it to edit.

Step 4: Then, set “Base” as Decimal.

Step 5: Next, enter the following numbers in the “Value data” field:

• 1075839520 – Turn Off Auto Arrange Icons and Align Icons to Grid.
• 1075839525 – Turn On Auto Arrange Icons and Align Icons to Grid.
• 1075839521 – Enable Auto Arrange Icons and disable Align Icons to Grid.
• 1075839524 – Disable Auto Arrange Icons but enable Align Icons to Grid.

Step 6: Click on OK.

Step 7: As the final step, restart File Explorer or reboot your system to apply the changes.

That’s it.

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