Please bring back the ability to freely arrange icons within folders "DISABLE AUTO ARRANGE"!

I just don't understand why they would possibly take away this fundamental and crucial OS behavior.

It's not necessarily fundamental and crucial.

You may be surprised to find that many users, like myself, rarely, if ever, use icon view. Instead, I use Details or List view and know where everything is based on the folder it's in and/or its order (usually by name, but sometimes by some other attribute). Sometimes I use icon view for folders containing pictures, but still leave them sorted by name, date, or type.

Microsoft may have determined that very few users were interested in arranging icons manually, other than on the Desktop. When I search the topic, I get many hits on arranging Desktop icons, but next to nothing in regards to arranging icons within folders. It never appeared to be a hot topic. It's obviously super important to you. It just doesn't appear to be important to a lot of other users.

I don't understand why Greg Carmack gave you so many links when everything relevant is covered in this tutorial which clearly states (and you've confirmed this yourself) that it no longer works as of Windows 10 Creators Updateversion1703.

As of Windows 10 1703, the functionality (of icon positions in folders being remembered) has been stripped out of File Explorer. You won't find some registry "hack" to bring back that functionality and, as far as I can determine, there are no third party utilities to provide that feature. There are many tools that enhance Desktop icon position management, but nothing it seems, for icon positions within folders.

At this point, your choices appear to be:

1. Learn to live without that feature (e.g. readjust your file organization to use more folders).
2. Install a version of Windows 10 older than 1703, set it to not auto-update, and accept that it will be less secure.
3. Give up on Windows and get a Mac.

Hi Thanks for staying on Greg! Alphabetical or date or size etc. do not work for me. Another example is if you left your winter coat in your closet and it is gone when you get back. It's been put in some other closet or on another hanger somewhere. Do you know the name of the coat? Do you know the date you put it there? Maybe a terrible analogy but on my older Mac computer I know exactly where every file is because they are still where I put them. My preference in sorting is NONE. I do understand others may like the computer to change their files. I want them untouched when I leave my computer. Windows HAD it (NO auto arrange or align to grid). It's gone now, so we know they can and could restore it back.

    Your link to reinstall and re-register apps; I read through but I'm not sure how that's relevant or why I would want to do that? That sure sounds like asking for trouble too. This problem is a system registry file OS issue not an app registration issue.  Am I missing something or did you just attach the wrong link?   

  It keeps going back to so many users like me just want NO machine sorting. We want to sort the files the way that make sense to us. "Adding" a software function can cause problems. But just Leaving files Alone, doing Nothing to them, seems so utterly simple. I truly am baffled at this whole thing.  Let's keep trying.  Something obvious has to come up. Mark

Try to re-register Feedback Hub from Option 2 here: http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/3175-apps-re...

Meantime, from File Explorer View tab you can set your files to Sort by your preference like Alphabetical order so they are easier to find.

I just don't understand why they would possibly take away this fundamental and crucial OS behavior. It makes Windows so frustrating and not usable to me. I can't think of any reason for them to do this at all?

  I've tried the feedback Hub.  It goes somewhere into cyberspace and is lost forever, at least on my end as I never hear anything or see anything. 

  If you find an expert or a current day solution please relay that. I'm just too tired using Windows searching for my files. The issue was not on the computer I bought until Windows 10 update broke it without me being able to prevent it. It' not fair or reasonable at all. I hope to hear more from you as you are in the loop and may locate a savior to help all of us.

They've taken away that option except for Desktop. We've tried everything possible to put it back. When Shawn Brink says one of his active tutorials doesn't work any longer then it's confirmed. But you can also ask him because he may have suggestions and will be more expert than anyone on any subject he choose to write about.

If you want to express your opinion on this you may be able to help Microsoft improve this product/feature by using the Feedback Hub in Start Menu. While they will not see it here, Microsoft developers DO read feedback from customers that comes in via the Feedback Hub, so that is a great way to share your thoughts on how to better serve you as a customer.

Let me know if I can help further. I'll stay subscribed to this thread in case you need anything else, until the system locks it in a few months.