Question Did the drag and drop file moving and saving change in Windows 11?

[Tommy Sawyer]

When I was in Windows 10 I could have a folder open on my desktop and take files from the desktop and drag and drop them into that file folder (in c, and it would be moved and saved in that folder and not exist on the desktop anymore.
Now in windows 11 you have to use control (always copy) and Shift (always move)... I'm not used to this. and sometimes it gathers program icons (shortcuts) off of the desktop and puts them into the folders.... because it selected them if they are near it.

Is there a way to change these settings... without going into the registry?

 

[USAFRet]

When I was in Windows 10 I could have a folder open on my desktop and take files from the desktop and drag and drop them into that file folder (in c, and it would be moved and saved in that folder and not exist on the desktop anymore.
Now in windows 11 you have to use control (always copy) and Shift (always move)... I'm not used to this. and sometimes it gathers program icons (shortcuts) off of the desktop and puts them into the folders.... because it selected them if they are near it.

Is there a way to change these settings... without going into the registry?

No, drag n drop works exactly the same as it did in 10.

You are doing something different.

 

[onespeedbiker]

It's possible your mouse drivers are corrupt. You might want to try uninstalling them then restart and see if the drag and drop functionality returns.

 

[Tommy Sawyer]

It's possible your mouse drivers are corrupt. You might want to try uninstalling them then restart and see if the drag and drop functionality returns.

tried uninstalling both ... it still happens, but I did narrow it down to moving to C: works as it should. it's moving files to D: (my storage drive) that has the issue.

 

[USAFRet]

tried uninstalling both ... it still happens, but I did narrow it down to moving to C: works as it should. it's moving files to D: (my storage drive) that has the issue.

Drag n drop within the same drive is different than moving to a different drive.

Within the same drive (or partition), MOVE is the default.
To a different drive or partition, COPY is the default.

 

[35below0]

Within the same drive (or partition), MOVE is the default.
To a different drive or partition, COPY is the default.

This is sane and safe.

A file moved somewhere else on the same drive isn't actually moved. It's location in the folder tree structure is altered but the 1s and 0s stay where they are.

When dragging a file to another drive, the file needs to be copied obviously, but also deleted from the original drive (this is what move does), or copied so that both drives have a copy of the file. By default, Windows will copy and not delete a file.

 

[Tommy Sawyer]

Drag n drop within the same drive is different than moving to a different drive.

Within the same drive (or partition), MOVE is the default.
To a different drive or partition, COPY is the default.

haha! that explains it. Thank you so much. My other PC which I used for years had only 1 drive. I wasn't used to this new 2 drive experience on my laptop.

 

[Tommy Sawyer]

This is sane and safe.

A file moved somewhere else on the same drive isn't actually moved. It's location in the folder tree structure is altered but the 1s and 0s stay where they are.

When dragging a file to another drive, the file needs to be copied obviously, but also deleted from the original drive (this is what move does), or copied so that both drives have a copy of the file. By default, Windows will copy and not delete a file.

OK, that explains it. Thanks, I appreciate the explanation. My other PC which I used for years had only 1 drive. I wasn't used to this new 2 drive experience on my laptop.