Skip to main content

Change Default Drag and Drop Behavior in Windows Explorer

Drag-and-drop functions in Windows are handled differently in different situations, and some people seems to have trouble predicting what will happen when they drag a file. Will a drag-and-drop result in a move or copy? Although the behavior might seem random, it’s not.

When you drag a file between two location and both locations are on the same drive, then the operation results is a move. When you drag a file between two locations and both locations are on different drives, then the operation results in a copy. The behavior is easy to understand: if the source and destination are on the same drive, you are probably rearranging files and so Windows moves the file. If the source and destination are on the different drives, Windows assumes you want to make copies of the file.

But sometimes Windows makes the wrong guess, and so it provides ways by which the user can override the default drag and drop behavior.

Method 1

The default behavior can be overridden by pressing a hotkey during the drag and drop operation.

If Shift key is held down, then the operation results in a move irrespective of the location of the source and destination. If Ctrl is held down, then the operation results is a copy and if both Ctrl and Shift are held down, then the operation creates a shortcut of the dragged files.

Method 2

There is another way to change the default behavior. Instead of using the left mouse button to drag files, use the right mouse button. When you release the button, a context menu will appear asking you to choose what happens to the dragged file. This way you don’t have to remember to press any keys.

drag-n-drop-menu

Method 3

If you want to make drag and drop always result in a particular operation, you can do so via a simple utility called Drag'n'Drop Editor. Run the executable file and choose the operation you want to associate with drag and drop. This will add the appropriate keys to the registry.

drag-n-drop-editor

This will not affect keyboard modifiers for drag-n-drop, but changes keyboard-free action. To restore the default Windows behavior, click on the “Uninstall explorer tweaks” button.

Comments

  1. The default behavior seems pretty good! Actually it only converts the visuals of the files actions. Nice Tutorial Admin!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Record CPU and Memory Usage Over Time in Windows?

Whenever the computer is lagging or some application is taking too long to respond, we usually fire up task manager and look under the Performance tab or under Processes to check on processor utilization or the amount of free memory available. The task manager is ideal for real-time analysis of CPU and memory utilization. It even displays a short history of CPU utilization in the form of a graph. You get a small time-window, about 30 seconds or so, depending on how large the viewing area is.

How to Schedule Changes to Your Facebook Page Cover Photo

Facebook’s current layout, the so called Timeline, features a prominent, large cover photo that some people are using in a lot of different creative ways. Timeline is also available for Facebook Pages that people can use to promote their website or business or event. Although you can change the cover photo as often as you like, it’s meant to be static – something which you design and leave it for at least a few weeks or months like a redesigned website. However, there are times when you may want to change the cover photo frequently and periodically to match event dates or some special promotion that you are running or plan to run. So, here is how you can do that.

Diagram 101: Different Types of Diagrams and When To Use Them

Diagrams are a great way to visualize information and convey meaning. The problem is that there’s too many different types of diagrams, so it can be hard to know which ones you should use in any given situation. To help you out, we’ve created this diagram that lays out the 7 most common types of diagrams and when they’re best used: