OSX desktop icon wont snap to grid sometimes

[joliver34]

Hi, i've had this problem for many years now and thought i'd try to finally make a post about it. I've scoured the web and cannot find a definitive answer, im not sure if its just a longstanding bug or what.

On OSX, I use 'Snap to grid' with 'None' as sorting. For as long as I can remember, i've had this odd issue where I can sometimes not move things to a spot, it simply won't snap. Here is an example of it in action:

https://imgur.com/fgQd9bR

It's gotten so bad that nearly half my desktop is unusable.

I've googled around about grid sizes and text, i've tried adjusting them to what AI suggests but the problem persists. Here are my current settings:

https://imgur.com/pp7cylX

Sometimes right click -> 'clean up' helps, usually it doesn't.

I'm on a brand new M4 macbook air that I setup as new hoping it would fix the issue. My display is set to 'more space' (1920 x 1243)

How can I fix this permanently? Or is it a bug?

 

[Gregg2]

On my Mac, Snap to Grid is always a Sort By choice. There is Stack By on the Desktop and Group By in a Finder Window. Can you verify which one is set to None, because I don't think it can be both Sort By None and Snap to Grid.

 

[!!!]

Sometimes right click -> 'clean up' helps, usually it doesn't.

It should. What's happening is that the Finder thinks you are trying to move the file into a spot that's already partially taken up by a different file, so it doesn't allow it. When you do "Clean Up" it should force all icons into their grid slots exactly. Maybe it's broken, wouldn't surprise me.

You can cmd-drag a file and it will do the opposite snap behavior. So, for you on the desktop, holding command while dragging should result in it being unsnapped, and you should be able to place it anywhere. Put it generally where it should be, then clean up again. It should align it correctly.

I'm on a brand new M4 macbook air

If that still doesn't work I recommend contacting Apple support. Remember, you paid money for a product and it's not working correctly.