How to Get Folders on Desktop A-Z instead of Z-A

[LD Curb]

I "innocently" restarted my Macbook Pro (Early 2015 using Mojave 10.14.5) and whoa ... when it was finished, my folders were a mess on my Desktop.

I know to right click ... choose Sort By Name (no stacks) ... but after restarting 3 times it finally looks like it used to except ... Now my folders are sorted Z-A instead of the logical, normal, A-Z.

I have searched all over the internet and cannot find an answer to how to get it back to A-Z.

Can you help me!!!

 

[DeltaMac]

hmm...
I don't see any method to reverse sorting of icons/folders on the desktop.
What I don't understand is, how you reversed the normal sort by name!

So - one help:
Turn off sorting, then move your folders to the position that you like.
(I like folders to stay in the positions that I wish - no automatic sorting on the desktop for me!)

 

[Moonjumper]

That is odd.

In Finder you can click on the Name field and it will order alphabetically. Click on the Name field again and it will order reverse-alphabetically. But I just checked and that does not work on the desktop itself.

One question. What corner does the first folder appear? It is on the top-right for me, but I seem to remember seeing bottom-right somewhere (but I am not certain, nor how to get that). That would make them appear in reverse order if you were reading from top-left.

 

[DeltaMac]

I'm not sure what you mean by "first folder"
On my Mac, new folders appear where there is space for them.

But, that's also another reason that I don't use any system-offered order to files folders on the desktop.
That's mostly because I can't think of a use-case where I could get any advantage out of system-offered order of files, at least on the desktop.
Just so you can picture (a little) about how I work on the Desktop: I have 3 bunches of folders, 5 or 10 folders in each, and a handful of individual files that I often access. It's my workplace, so I got to be able to find my stuff easily. As I said above, I have no need for sorting - it's all in the placement.
And, this also reminds me that it's past time to clean up my desktop. I don't usually have more than about 15 folders, and maybe 10 files on the desktop, but, it's been a couple of years since I last did some major re-organizing. I need to make time for that.
Finally, my own folders are mostly in the bottom half of the screen, and I tend to place new ones in bottom left quadrant - and that's all because that's where I want them to sit.

 

[LD Curb]

hmm...
I don't see any method to reverse sorting of icons/folders on the desktop.
What I don't understand is, how you reversed the normal sort by name!

So - one help:
Turn off sorting, then move your folders to the position that you like.
(I like folders to stay in the positions that I wish - no automatic sorting on the desktop for me!)

I didn't do anything ... I clicked to sort by Name and they sorted Z-A on their own. I had no choice .. I have tons and tons of folders ... it would be a major job to sort them all.
[doublepost=1563403868][/doublepost]

That is odd.

In Finder you can click on the Name field and it will order alphabetically. Click on the Name field again and it will order reverse-alphabetically. But I just checked and that does not work on the desktop itself.

One question. What corner does the first folder appear? It is on the top-right for me, but I seem to remember seeing bottom-right somewhere (but I am not certain, nor how to get that). That would make them appear in reverse order if you were reading from top-left.

The first folder "A" is at the bottom right and the it "sorts" from the left of that.

 

[DeltaMac]

Right to left is, more or less, what the Mac has always done, at least since the beginning of OS X.
Icons on the desktop, by default, go from top right, then down, and across to the left.
So, what you describe sounds about right - but really messy.

Ya know - if you could put those folders into OTHER folders, sorted by purpose, for example - that could cut down dramatically on your on-screen clutter. Folders inside folders would also be less likely to move around than those on the desktop.

Just sayin'

Tip - you can go into your user folder, then open the Desktop folder. That shows ALL the folders that exist on your desktop. It's much easier to get folders organized, when you don't have all the additional icons that might be on your desktop, such as external drives, and the variety of links to other folders, and mounted drives, that might be adding to your clutter.
And that Desktop folder makes it simple to see exactly how many items you have on the desktop (at least the folders and files.)

 

[LD Curb]

Right to left is, more or less, what the Mac has always done, at least since the beginning of OS X.
Icons on the desktop, by default, go from top right, then down, and across to the left.
So, what you describe sounds about right - but really messy.

Ya know - if you could put those folders into OTHER folders, sorted by purpose, for example - that could cut down dramatically on your on-screen clutter. Folders inside folders would also be less likely to move around than those on the desktop.

Just sayin'

Tip - you can go into your user folder, then open the Desktop folder. That shows ALL the folders that exist on your desktop. It's much easier to get folders organized, when you don't have all the additional icons that might be on your desktop, such as external drives, and the variety of links to other folders, and mounted drives, that might be adding to your clutter.
And that Desktop folder makes it simple to see exactly how many items you have on the desktop (at least the folders and files.)

Thanks, I guess I need to organize things. I do a lot of Photoshop work and I put my current projects in a desktop folder while I'm working. I (used to) name them with a 0 - in front of the name so they would be at the top of the desktop. Now I am naming them z-. The choice to see "most recently opened" does not always work, so I don't bother with that option. I have around 125-ish folders ... ugh... it's a mess but was working for me before it decided to sort z-a.

 

[Gregg2]

Based on Help Me! threads on the forum, it seems to be easier to mess up your files (even lose them) if they are kept on the Desktop. In a folder is safer.

 

[LD Curb]

Based on Help Me! threads on the forum, it seems to be easier to mess up your files (even lose them) if they are kept on the Desktop. In a folder is safer.

Yes, they are all in folders ... such as if I am working on product photos ... all photos for that product are in one folder. I had gone to a Workshop at the Apple store back when I got my Mac and the instructor showed us how to file some of our work on the Desktop, so I sort of got in that habit from that experience.

 

[Gregg2]

Sorry, I was not specific enough. Files are safer in folders within the Documents folder, for example. Files and folders (and files in folders) are less safe if they are on the Desktop. People have reported unintentionally deleting things from the Desktop. You're there all the time, not so inside other "buried" folders. That multiplies the chance for a mistake. IMO, an instructor employed by Apple should know enough to caution "students" about this.

 

[LD Curb]

Thanks. I do keep most Word documents in the Documents folder ... but I'm not too happy with MS Word for Mac. Every once in a while I'll try to open a file and it will say it is corrupted. So for important stuff I keep a copy on my Desktop, also. And when opening a file in Word it often will lock up and I have to Force Quit ... soooo, using Word is not a great experience, unfortunately. I've reported it and begged Apple to fix it .. not sure if the problem is Apple or MS. Most of my Desktop folders have images in them. When I shoot something I move all the photos I need in to a folder on the Desktop, so I can see them better when pulling from Photoshop and also they have a usable image number to help me find with I want and then I often put in to sub-folders. TMI .. but yep... my Desktop is really important to me.....

 

[jbarley]

I have to say I've never experienced your problem, folders on my desktops have always behaved properly.
Just created a few to test...
Sorry can't be of more help.

 

[LD Curb]

Thanks. All these years mine has been fine. Then the other evening I did a Restart and my Desktop was a mess! Thanks so much for your info.

 

[Svend Overgaard]

I have the same sorting problem within different subfolders under the same root folder on my Mac. Some subfolders are sorted z-a, some are sorted a-z. The root folder, hence all subfolders have the same setting in finder view. See pictures.

Very confusing element in our daily work. Anyone that have a solution for this, a-z is preferred outcome, thanks.

/Svend

 

[Svend Overgaard]

I actually just found out, that the mismatch in file structure is a consequence of hidden file extensions. That raises another type of question, and I will take that up in different discussion string.