Default Left Click Action

[mcp6453]

This question relates to the default action of the left mouse button
when moving files in Windows Explorer. When dragging and dropping files
in XP, the default action is to copy a file that is dragged to a new
drive or to move a file that is dragged to the same drive. Move or copy
can be selected by right clicking and dragging.

I prefer to have left click and drag default to move without regard to
whether the destination is on the same drive or on a different one. When
I searched the web and newsgroups, I found posts and articles that say,
1) just use the right mouse button, and 2) there is no way to change the
default.

While I cannot remember which operating system I was using at the time,
I once successfully changed the default action, possibly with a registry
hack. Does anyone know of a way to change the default action of the left
mouse in XP to cause it to always move a file?

 

[Bill James]

The answers you found in your search are correct.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

When dragging a file, you can control the operation that will be
performed when you release the mouse button:

Hold the Control key to force a Copy.

Hold the Shift key to force a Move.

Hold the Alt key to force a Create Shortcut.

If you drag using the right mouse button, a menu appears with the commands
Move Here, Copy Here, Create Shortcut(s) Here, and Cancel. Click the
command you want.

If you drag an item to another disk, it is copied, not moved. To move the
item, press and hold down SHIFT while dragging.

Dragging an .exe file that is not listed in App Paths moves the file.

Dragging an .exe file that is listed in...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths
....creates a shortcut.

To move an .exe that is listed in App Paths, right click and then drag the
..exe to the new location.

Raymond Chen, the creator of TweakUI, offers this.

<quote>
Will dragging a file result in a move or a copy?
Some people are confused by the seemingly random behavior when you drag a
file. Do you get a move or a copy?

And you're right to be confused because it's not obvious until you learn the
secret. Mind you, this secret hasn't changed since 1989, but an old secret
is still a secret just the same. (Worse: An old secret is a compatibility
constraint.)

* If Ctrl+Shift are held down, then the operation creates a shortcut.
* If Shift is held down, then the operation is a move.
* If Ctrl is held down, then the operation is a copy.
* If no modifiers are held down and the source and destination are on the
same drive, then the operation is a move.
* If no modifiers are held down and the source and destination are on
different drives, then the operation is a copy.

This is one of the few places where the fact that there are things called
"drives" makes itself known to the end user in a significant way.
<quote>
Will dragging a file result in a move or a copy?
http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2004/11/12/256472.aspx

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In