Right click on desktop > Desktop Settings to choose which standard icons you want.

Right Click on desktop > Desktop to arrange your icons, with options for

Icon Size
Auto arrange
Align to grid
By name
By size
By detailed type
By modification date
Horizontal
Vertical

I have one panel at the top for most things and another as a dock at the bottom and (using auto arrange) get no issues with these overlapping the desktop icons.

--
Marjorie

I know exactly how you feel.

Desktop configuration and icon management have been a major issue ie: PITA for me ever since I abandoned MSOSs and adopted Linux definitely.
Not only Cinammon, but also Mate and Xfce.

If there is one (yes, there is one) thing I have a certain longing for is the way Microsoft managed to work out desktop configuration and icon arrangement.
At least up to XPSP3 which was the last MSOs I was involved with.

ie: Right click -> Arrange Icons By -> a drop down menu which had these options:

In spite of the crap Wizard which could be removed/switched off, I have yet to find a Linux desktop that can do the same thing and do it well.
Incredible ...

I've already gone through Cinammon, Mate and now Xfce and I have found them all to be severely lacking in almost every aspect.
To the extent that my next desktop will probably be Openbox with whatever enhancements I may need to be comfortable enough.
Along the lines of what #! Linux (Waldorf) was.

[rant]
All the Linux desktops I have seen are crap.
With all this Windows <-> Linux shit going on lately ...
Why can't we get a decently working Linux desktop?
ie: easy to configure and with icons that do whatever the fuck I want them to do.
[/rant]

Have to go take my pill.

Cheers,

A.

Since I first started to use a graphical desktop back in the 80's, I am used to have the primary panel on top of the screen. This is why I moved the Cinnamon panel to the top of the screen. I also have enabled the Computer, the Waste Basket and the Home Drive as icons on the screen.

Well, problem #1 is:
I do arrange the icons manually on the grid so that they have a reasonable distance to the top.

When I reboot, my order is spoiled, not always, but most of the time. Sometimes the topmost icon is interfering with the panel (partially hidden), sometimes its just moved closer to the panel, sometimes they are reverted in order, i.e. the Waste basket is on the top, the Computer is moved down.

Problem #2 is:
When I plug in USB devices, my camera, a USB drive, the icons often are placed in spots that are already occupied. I have two icons in the same spot.

What can I do to avoid these issues?

Thanks, rolfie