Finder icons won't stay where placed (snap to center)

[Fishrrman]

This is (in fact) "asking for a friend".
I don't have the problem, but a friend with limited Mac skills does.

He's got an m2pro Mini running Tahoe.

For some reason when one tries to move a desktop icon to the left-hand side of the display, it automatically "snaps back to the center" when the mouse button is released.

Doesn't happen with icons placed on the right-hand side or in the center. But... move an icon to the left, and... snaps back to center. Frustrating.

I tried adjusting icon size and grid size, doesn't seem to matter.

Has anyone seen or heard of this problem?
Ideas on how to fix?

I only get over there every 3-4 weeks or so.
I was thinking (on next visit):
- trash finder prefs .plist files
- restart (creating replacement files in prefs folder)
- deleting trash, then resetting prefs to see if that helps...

 

[MacGizmo]

It shouldn't make a difference, but make sure Stage Manager is turned off.

 

[Daydog]

This is (in fact) "asking for a friend".
I don't have the problem, but a friend with limited Mac skills does.

He's got an m2pro Mini running Tahoe.

For some reason when one tries to move a desktop icon to the left-hand side of the display, it automatically "snaps back to the center" when the mouse button is released.

Doesn't happen with icons placed on the right-hand side or in the center. But... move an icon to the left, and... snaps back to center. Frustrating.

I tried adjusting icon size and grid size, doesn't seem to matter.

Has anyone seen or heard of this problem?
Ideas on how to fix?

I only get over there every 3-4 weeks or so.
I was thinking (on next visit):
- trash finder prefs .plist files
- restart (creating replacement files in prefs folder)
- deleting trash, then resetting prefs to see if that helps...

Have You Tried right click on desktop sort by snap to grid on or off..

 

[Fishrrman]

Daydog:
"Have You Tried right click on desktop sort by snap to grid on or off.."

Thanks for that.
Forwarded it to my friend, now it's up to him to try it.

EDIT:
Got email back, friend tried this and it didn't solve the problem for him.
It's something else...

 

[chabig]

I only get over there every 3-4 weeks or so.

You're a pro at this. Ask to share his screen. You could probably fix it remotely. Your proposed ideas seem good to me. You might also install Onxy and let it run its maintenance scripts on his account.

 

[Thessman]

He'll need to adjust finder view options to:

Stack by none
Sort by none

then they'll mostly stay put

 

[Fishrrman]

"Stack by none
Sort by none"

I recall already having tried that the last time I was there.
And it STILL didn't help.

Next time I visit, I'll try creating a NEW account, log into it, and see if the problem persists.
If it goes away, then I'll suspect something in his user account.
If it remains, I might try an "erase all content and settings" after doing a cloned backup...

 

[fisherking]

try changing the screen resolution (then back to what it was). or change the wallpaper? just some ideas...

 

[Sniper08]

This is (in fact) "asking for a friend".
I don't have the problem, but a friend with limited Mac skills does.

He's got an m2pro Mini running Tahoe.

For some reason when one tries to move a desktop icon to the left-hand side of the display, it automatically "snaps back to the center" when the mouse button is released.

Doesn't happen with icons placed on the right-hand side or in the center. But... move an icon to the left, and... snaps back to center. Frustrating.

I tried adjusting icon size and grid size, doesn't seem to matter.

Has anyone seen or heard of this problem?
Ideas on how to fix?

I only get over there every 3-4 weeks or so.
I was thinking (on next visit):
- trash finder prefs .plist files
- restart (creating replacement files in prefs folder)
- deleting trash, then resetting prefs to see if that helps...

Does your friend currently have, or ever have, widgets setup? There's some funkiness that happens with them sometimes and it might be worth it to either remove all of them and start over, or check if any widgets are invisible but still active.

Mine are currently stuck in position and will always snap back to their position (They randomly shuffle around whenever I plug my Mac into an external display).

Alternatively, maybe have them run Onyx and clear finder preferences that way?