How to Change Default Drag and Drop Action in Windows
When you drag and drop files and folders in Windows, they will get moved or copied by default based on the source and destination locations.
- If you drag and drop a file/folder from a location on one drive to another drive, then the default action will be to copy the file/folder to the drop location.
- If you drag and drop a file/folder from a local location to a network location, then the default action will be to copy the file/folder to the drop location.
- If you drag and drop a file/folder from or to a CD/DVD or Blu-ray, then the default action will always be to copy the file/folder to the drop location. This cannot be changed.
- If you drag and drop a file/folder from a location to another on the same drive, then the default action will be to move the file/folder to the drop location.
- If you drag and drop a file/folder to the Recycle Bin, then the default action will always be to move the file/folder to the drop location. This cannot be changed.
You can also use any of the keyboard shortcuts below to temporarily change the default drag and drop action for this instance.
- Press and hold the Control (Ctrl) key while you drag and drop to always copy.
- Press and hold the Shift key while you drag and drop to always move.
- Press and hold the Alt or Control+Shift keys while you drag and drop to always create a shortcut.
This tutorial will show you how to change the default drag and drop action to always copy, move, or create shortcut for all users in Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to change the default drag and drop action for all users.
EXAMPLE: Drag and Drop to "Copy", "Move", or "Create link" (shortcut)
Here's How:
The downloadable .reg files below will add and modify the DWORDs in the registry keys below.
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*
and
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects
DefaultDropEffect DWORD
0 or delete = default action
1 = Always copy
2 = Always move
4 = Always create shortcut
1 Do step 2 (always copy), step 3 (always move), step 4 (always create shortcut), or step 5 (default) below for what you would like to set the default drag and drop action to be.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Set_Drag_and_Drop_to_Copy_by_default.reg
Download
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Set_Drag_and_Drop_to_Move_by_default.reg
Download
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Set_Drag_and_Drop_to_Create_Shortcut_by_default.reg
Download
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.
Set_Drag_and_Drop_to_Default.reg
Download
6 Save the .reg file to your desktop.
7 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.
8 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
9 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn
Related Tutorials
- How to Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows
- How to Enable or Disable Dragging Maximized Windows in Windows 10