Positioning desktop icons on the left instead of right
There is no way to force icons to go to the left automatically (and stay arranged by the criterion you choose).

As a workaround, you can change the View Options in Finder to not arrange items by any criterion and place icons manually on the left.


Click on an empty space on the desktop.
Press Cmd+J or use the mouse to go to the Finder's View > Show View Options menu.
In the Sort by: dropdown in the dialog, choose either None or Snap to Grid.
You'll be able to drop files anywhere on your desktop and they'll stay there.


See Mac Basics: Modify your windows for more information.

Also go through the Mac Basics pages to learn more about using a Mac.