MS Office desktop icons move after I modify and save them.

Yes, you're right. I have Windows 8, MS 2010, and I never had this problem, until I switched all my Desktop Documents to the Word 97-2003 Document format so I could send them easily through email. Then this issue began. It is likely that anyone "suffering" though this just needs to adjust their Documents' formats to one that appropriately matches the system you're using. 

When saving, click on the drop-down arrow near the bottom and there's a whole list to choose from. Choosing "Word Document" for all trouble files should fix this problem.

Turn off the “Auto Arrange” option for icons on the desktop, and then place icons on the desktop where you want them.

To turnoff the “Auto Arrange” feature,

For windows 7:

Right click a blank area on the desktop and select View and uncheck Auto arrange icons.

For Windows XP:

Right-click a blank area on the desktop, and then click Arrange Icons. Click the command that indicates how you want to arrange the icons (by Name, by Type, and so on), uncheck Auto Arrange.

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Niranjan I K Microsoft Answers Support Engineer.

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This Does not Work My Auto arrange has been deselected forever and it still happens.

Steve,

Did you ever find a solution to the jumping icons? I just got Windows 7 and this is driving me nuts. My IT guys can't figure it out; low priority for them. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...

I had this same problem, and I fixed it based on Morg's suggestion.  If you are using Office 2007 (maybe 2010 as well, but I have 2007) and the file in question is in the .doc format, this issue will result when you save the file, because the original file is deleted and a new copy is saved on your desktop.  Here is the fix:

1.  Open the file that is causing an issue.
2.  In the main menu (top left, the "office button"), choose "Save As".
3.  In the dialogue box that opens, change the "Save As Type" option (it is a drop-down list) to the most current file format (e.g. in MS Word, change "Word 97-2003 Document" to "Word Document").
4.  Click "Save", and click "Okay" on the warning message that pops up.
5.  Close the file; now you should have two icons for the file on your desktop: the original file in the older format, and a new file in the newer format.  Make sure you can open the new file and that nothing has changed that you can't fix.  If all is well, delete the original file and put the new one where you want it on the desktop.

Now the problem should be solved.  To double check, open the new file and change something small, then save and close the file; it should have remained in the same place on the desktop.  Be aware that updating the file format may cause changes to your file, so be sure to scan through it and make sure nothing important has changed.  This seems to be the simplest and most permanent fix (better for me than making a shortcut and placing the file elsewhere).  Hope this helps!