In Windows 7, you could access it through Advanced Appearance Settings in the Window Color and Appearance panel. ... Read: Windows icon spacing is messed up. Change Desktop Icon Spacing Horizontal.

If Windows 11/10 desktop icon spacing has suddenly changed and is now messed up, then you can set the spacing to the default value by following this tutorial: Set the icons to Auto Arrange mode.

By default, Microsoft doesn't allow users to change the distance between desktop icons on the Windows 11 desktop, but an edit of the Windows Registry will do the trick.