Windows: Change desktop icon spacing

Since Windows 10, not only various features have changed. The user interface has also been adjusted. Some settings can be found in the latest operating system from Microsoft in a different place than you are used to. If you would like to change the spacing of the desktop icons, that is also possible.

How to change the spacing of desktop icons in Windows

The changes in Windows 10 range from new features to minor design adjustments. If you don't like the spacing between desktop icons because it's larger than in previous versions, then you can change it. For this, however, you need to make changes in the registry entries.

1. Open the "Run" dialog by pressing the key combination "Windows" key + "R".
2. Then enter "regedit" in the text box and confirm your entry via the "Ok" button.
3. After the registry editor has opened, go to "WindowMetrics". This entry is located in the path "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics".
4. Next you need to open the file "IconVerticalSpacing".
5. In the file is the value "-1710". If you want to use the same spacing as in Windows 7 or 8, then enter the value "-1125" here. The value can be between "-480" and "-2730".
6. You can also change the horizontal spacing of the desktop icons. Hierfür benötigen Sie die Datei „IconSpacing“.
7. Nachdem Sie alle gewünschten Anpassungen vorgenommen haben, bestätigen Sie mit „Ok“ und starten Ihren Computer neu.