# arrange icons by "Random"?? XP question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrange-icons-by-random-xp-question/344592>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 15, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrange-icons-by-random-xp-question/344592 "2006-02-15T04:16:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrange-icons-by-random-xp-question/344592/1 "2006-02-15T04:16:59Z")

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anyone know of a way to get Xp to let you randomise the files in a folder with a right click command?

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**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrange-icons-by-random-xp-question/344592/2 "2006-02-15T05:37:49Z")

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Not as far as I know. What would be the purpose?

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**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrange-icons-by-random-xp-question/344592/3 "2006-02-15T06:42:30Z")

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randomizing picture files, with the slide show option they run in sequence every time, with the screen saver they are true random, you can see one pic over and over, and the other advantage of slide show is that you can run video over or along side it. not really important and I admit a very very specific use but I had to wonder if anyone else had a need for this feature.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arrange-icons-by-random-xp-question/344592/4 "2006-02-15T17:39:27Z")

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If I had to make an educated guess, I’d say that the truly random one simply enumerated the files in the folder and then randomized the results, while the other simply reads the list of files in the folder and plays them in sequence. (Note that by “in sequence” I’m referring to the order in which they appear on the drive’s FAT table – a product of the order in which they were placed there – not the other in which they appear when you open the folder and look at its contents, which will be sorted by selected criteria)

The latter method can only be randomized by changing their positions in the FAT table, which would involve either reorganize the FAT table itself or moving the files at random to another folder. Obviously, this is not a solution worth considering. Your only real option is to find a slideshow program that supports the feature set you’re after.