Make my files move with the Finder window?

Question

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Windows, but in Windows Explorer, whenever you changed the size of the window you were viewing your files in, the files would move with the size of the window while still staying in the same order. When I resize a window in the Finder, my files stay in the exact same position they were before. They don't move with the window. Does anybody know a way to change this?

Answer 1

Actually, it is possible, but it depends on what view style (Icon, List, Column View, etc.) and what view options are set.
From your description, I assume you're referring to a Windows window that was in Icon view, such as the Control Panels window (when viewed in Classic Mode, that is).
You can do this in a Finder window if you switch to Icon view, choose View > Show View Options, and then change the "Arrange by" popup button to something other than None or Snap to Grid. For example, choose Name (how the Control Panels' window would be sorted), and then when you resize the window, the items will be "redistributed" in rows from left to right accordingly.
When you said "When I resize a window in the Finder, my files stay in the exact same position they were before.", that corresponds to the Arrange by setting of "None". This choice provides a way to arrange items in a "spatial" manner. For example, on your Windows Desktop, you might have put your Recycle Bin icon in the lower left, Computer icon at location X, Y, etc. In this particular mode, the location of the item is considered "important" and it won't be moved just because you made the window larger or smaller.
The "Snap to Grid" is the same as the None (spatial), except that when you explicitly drag and drop an item to position it, it is automatically aligned into the nearest grid "cell" (row and column combination).
Hope this helps....
Message was edited by: MarkDouma®