When the view is set to small icons or tiles in a folder, I could swear in XP the icons were sorted into columns, so that (for example) the first column showed A-G, the second column showed H-Q, and the third showed R-Z. Ever since W7 (and Vista?) icons
are being sorted into rows, so that the first set of letters is sorted across the top, then down a row and across, and so on. I don't know if I'm the only one who feels this way, but I find it much harder to locate a given item by alphabetical order in the
new sorting method.
If I had to guess why, I'd say that it's about the way the eye scans. First you check which row/column starts with the letters closest to what you're looking for without going over, then you do kind of a messy binary search to pinpoint exactly where it is.
But with the icons sorted into rows, each line only has a few items in it, so it takes longer to identify what row to look through.
Any preliminary info on what direction icons are going to be sorted in when W8 comes out?
