Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows  

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
    Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows

    Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows

    How to Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows
    Published by Category: Customization
    07 Aug 2022
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows


    By default in Windows, if you move an item by a distance of 4 pixels and leave it, it will result in a drag and drop operation.

    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.

    Many people find that it is way too easy for them to inadvertently drag and drop files from one folder to another with a default distance of 4 pixels.

    If you increase the distance to say 50 pixels, then you will have to drag items (ex: text, files, folders, windows, etc...) by at least 50 pixels before it can drop.

    This tutorial will show you how to change the drag and drop sensitivity to what you want for your account in Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.

    If you have a high screen resolution (ex: 4K UHD), then you may want to increase the drag and drop sensitivity to an even higher pixel.





    Here's How:

    1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.

    2 Navigate to the registry key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

    Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows-drag_and_drop_regedit-1.jpg

    3 In the right pane of the Desktop key, double click/tap on the DragHeight string (REG_SZ) value to modify it. (see screenshot below step 2)

    4 Enter a number for how many pixels you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    The default value is 4 pixels.

    If you set the value too high (ex: 1000), you won't be able to drag anything (ex: files, folders, windows).

    Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows-drag_and_drop_regedit-2.jpg

    5 In the right pane of the Desktop key, double click/tap on the DragWidth string (REG_SZ) value to modify it. (see screenshot below step 2)

    6 Enter the same value you used for DragHeight from step 4, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows-drag_and_drop_regedit-3.jpg

    7 When finished, close Registry Editor.

    8 Sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.


    That's it,
    Shawn Brink






  1. Posts : 27,157
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #1

    Thanks Shawn! I needed this one with my twitchy little pointer finger(left click).
    I set mine to 100.
    Cool is, as you drag, the file or folder will ghost itself(or show itself) on the cursor, after it has moved the amount of pixels set.
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #2

      My Computers


  3. Posts : 1,811
    W7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), LM 19.2 MATE (64 bit), W10 Home 1703 (64 bit), W10 Pro 1703 (64 bit) VM
       #3

    Does this only affect File Explorer or does it also apply elsewhere (e.g. text selections in Notepad, Word, etc.)?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #4

    It also affected the text in Internet Explorer for me, so it appears that dragging text is affected as well. You don't really notice it unless you set high a value though.
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 27,157
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #5

    If you don't set it to high, ya'll should be ok, like I said I have twitchy fingers, although this would really be useful for laptop users using the touchpad, as they can really be dangerous
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 1,811
    W7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), LM 19.2 MATE (64 bit), W10 Home 1703 (64 bit), W10 Pro 1703 (64 bit) VM
       #6

    Brink said:
    It also affected the text in Internet Explorer for me, so it appears that dragging text is affected as well. You don't really notice it unless you set high a value though.
    Thanks. :)

    Cliff S said:
    If you don't set it to high, ya'll should be ok, like I said I have twitchy fingers, although this would really be useful for laptop users using the touchpad, as they can really be dangerous
    I can imagine that hilarity ensues if the new values are too high.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #7

    I had set the value to 5000 for the fun of it, and I couldn't drag anything afterwards. LOL
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 27,157
    Win11 Pro, Win10 Pro N, Win10 Home, Windows 8.1 Pro, Ubuntu
       #8

    Hey Shawn, I had reduced mine for a bit, from the above mentioned 100 to 25, last week, but had to turn it up again to 100, as I D&D'd a system folder into another by accident today

    Thank god File Explore has a very little known "Undo move" right click option
    Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows-image-003.png

    Anyhow, it might be a good idea to add in the tutorial, that users with very high resolution monitors, like 4K UHD, really need to go up on the pixel count. Even 50-75px was too little for my 4K screen.
      My Computers


  9. Posts : 68,543
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Thank you Cliff. Note added. :)
      My Computers


 

Tutorial Categories

Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows Tutorial Index Network & Sharing Instalation and Upgrade Browsers and Email General Tips Gaming Customization Apps and Features Virtualization BSOD System Security User Accounts Hardware and Drivers Updates and Activation Backup and Restore Performance and Maintenance Mixed Reality Phone


  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 00:06.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums