Drag and drop secrets

By Ed Bott

One of the greatest time-saving shortcuts in the GUI era is dragging and dropping files between File Explorer windows. It's the fastest way to copy a bunch of files from your local hard drive to a USB flash drive, for example. But getting the results you want can be tricky unless you understand how Windows handles drag-and-drop actions.

If the current location and the destination are on the same physical drive, dragging a file or folder moves it.

If the current location and the destination are on different physical drives, dragging a file or folder copies it.

To change this default behavior, hold down Ctrl as you drag the objects you want to move or copy.

To create a shortcut in the destination folder, hold down Alt as you drag the file or folder.

And if you'd rather not memorize those shortcuts, here's a foolproof way to get exactly the results you want: Use the right mouse button to drag objects between folders. When you drop them, Windows displays a menu that lets you choose whether you want to move, copy, or create a shortcut.

Microsoft Azure: The smart person's guide

This comprehensive guide about Microsoft Azure includes common use cases, technical limitations, and what to know before adopting the cloud computing platform.

New Microsoft cloud service uses AI to find bugs in your code

Microsoft offers a free assessment of your enterprise's GDPR readiness

How to use Excel's conditional formatting to highlight the same row and column as the active cell

Microsoft's next HoloLens will have dedicated AI chip, boosting on-board processing

Microsoft commits to eliminating Flash support in Windows by 2020

Microsoft's next step for Blockchain as a Service: Making it more usable by businesses

Microsoft's "commercial cloud" services gain steam

Windows 10 no longer supported? How to tell if your PC is eligible for latest version

Video: Extract text from a cell with Excel's FIND and MID functions when you don't know the start point

Learn how to extract a text string from a cell with Excel's FIND and MID functions regardless of how many characters the source cell contains.

Gallery: 10 free backup applications to help you prevent disaster

This IT budget survey from Tech Pro Research focuses on technology decision makers' plans for 2018. What are your company's top tech priorities for next year? Is your IT budget increasing? Let us know by taking this 5-minute survey.

How to choose and manage great tech partners

In a world increasingly dominated by cloud computing and outsourcing, vendor management has become a core competency of running a great IT department. Here's how to maximize your partnerships.