Delete copies in Explorer folders

[Guest]

I copied files from Folder 1 to folder 2. Windows made a copy of the file in
Folder 1. I attempted to delete the copies by selecting several and deleting
them. It then made a copy of the copy. I now have about 50 copies of copies.
The only way I can delete them is to do each one individually.

Is there a way I can delete all these files at one time? If I do them
individually, it will take me hours.

christine

 

[Guest]

doesn't it work when you hit the Ctrl key? you should be able to choose
multiple files at once to delete by hitting the Ctrl key and then click on
about 15 of them and when they are all highlighted right click and choose
delete.hope that helps

 

[Guest]

Wow! Thanks loads. Why didn't I think of that?

I was selecting one and using "shift" to highlight all of them. Control is
the answer.

Is there a setting to prevent copies from being generated every time you
move a file?

 

[Guest]

When I'm in Explore and try to use "help" I get the Dell Support help screen
which is useless. Is there a setting that will allow me to get a Microsoft
Windows help screen?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

What happens if you click the Start button, then click on Help and Support?

Try this, I don't know if it will work for you or not, Dell may have fouled
up Windows help.
Start | Run | Type: helpctr |Click OK

To select multiple files and folders:

To select consecutive files or folders, click the first item, press and hold
down SHIFT and then click the last item.

To select nonconsecutive files or folders, press and hold down CTRL and
then click each item.

To select all the files and folders in the window, CTRL + A.

After files have been selected, to unselect individual files, press and hold
down CTRL and then click each item.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Richard Blaine]

Wow! Thanks loads. Why didn't I think of that?

Are you a blonde?

 

[Guest]

Wes,

Originally I did select first item, held down SHIFT and clicked last item.
When I right clicked and deleted, Windows created another copy and another
and another.

I tried start, run, helpctr and got Dell's support screen.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

christine,

When I right clicked and deleted, Windows created another copy and another
and another.

This is caused by not having a steady hand.

By moving one's hand slightly which also moves the mouse and all the files
that are selected, Windows interprets this as dragging which copies the
files. Done this plenty of times myself. ;-)

You either have to practice or set the drag sensitivity differently.

Drag sensitivity specifies how far (in pixels) the mouse must
move with the button held down before the system decides
that you are dragging the object. Increase this value if you
find that you are dragging objects accidentally when you click
on them.

The only way to adjust the drag sensitivity that I know of is with TweakUI.

Download TweakUI here >>>

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

These are all the Mouse settings that can be set with TweakUI.

TweakUI
[+] Mouse

Menu Speed
The Menu Speed slider control sets the speed at which
cascading menus automatically open when you move the
mouse over them. The fastest setting causes them to open
immediately and the slowest setting is extraordinary slow.

To test the mouse setting, right-click the test icon.
-----

Double-click sensitivity
Double-click sensitivity specifies how close together two
mouse clicks need to be (in pixels) to be considered a
double click.

To test the double-click sensitivity, click twice on the test icon
with the left mouse button. If the two clicks registered as a
double-click, then the icon will change.
-----

Drag sensitivity
Drag sensitivity specifies how far (in pixels) the mouse must
move with the button held down before the system decides
that you are dragging the object. Increase this value if you
find that you are dragging objects accidentally when you click
on them.

To test drag sensitivity, try to drag the test icon with the
left mouse button. The icon will begin dragging when you
have moved the mouse the necessary distance.
-----

Hover
This is used to detect when the mouse hovers over the icon to get selected.
The size of the region is determined by the hover sensitivity in pixels.
-----

Wheel
This is used to control the number of lines when the mouse wheel is
scrolled. This can be either one page at a time or a particular number of
lines at a time.
-----

X-Mouse
The “Activation follows mouse” checkbox enables X-Mouse style window
activation. When X-mouse style window activation is enabled, you need only
move the mouse into a window in order to give it focus. Normally you must
click on a window in order to give it focus.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

es,

Sorry to confuse the issue; however originally I was dragging. e.g. had ab
out 10 files in one folder that I wanted to drag to another folder. Clicked
the first file, held down shift, clicked item 10 and dragged to new folder.
Files moved to new folder. Windows created one copy of each file in the
original folder.

I then went to 10 of the copies, clicked the first copy, held down shift,
clicked copy for item 10 and right clicked to delete. It appeared to delete
the 10 copies and created some more copies. It got out of hand before I
realized what was happending.

christine,

When I right clicked and deleted, Windows created another copy and another
and another.

This is caused by not having a steady hand.

By moving one's hand slightly which also moves the mouse and all the files
that are selected, Windows interprets this as dragging which copies the
files. Done this plenty of times myself. ;-)

You either have to practice or set the drag sensitivity differently.

Drag sensitivity specifies how far (in pixels) the mouse must
move with the button held down before the system decides
that you are dragging the object. Increase this value if you
find that you are dragging objects accidentally when you click
on them.

The only way to adjust the drag sensitivity that I know of is with TweakUI.

Download TweakUI here >>>

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

These are all the Mouse settings that can be set with TweakUI.

TweakUI
[+] Mouse

Menu Speed
The Menu Speed slider control sets the speed at which
cascading menus automatically open when you move the
mouse over them. The fastest setting causes them to open
immediately and the slowest setting is extraordinary slow.

To test the mouse setting, right-click the test icon.
-----

Double-click sensitivity
Double-click sensitivity specifies how close together two
mouse clicks need to be (in pixels) to be considered a
double click.

To test the double-click sensitivity, click twice on the test icon
with the left mouse button. If the two clicks registered as a
double-click, then the icon will change.
-----

Drag sensitivity
Drag sensitivity specifies how far (in pixels) the mouse must
move with the button held down before the system decides
that you are dragging the object. Increase this value if you
find that you are dragging objects accidentally when you click
on them.

To test drag sensitivity, try to drag the test icon with the
left mouse button. The icon will begin dragging when you
have moved the mouse the necessary distance.
-----

Hover
This is used to detect when the mouse hovers over the icon to get selected.
The size of the region is determined by the hover sensitivity in pixels.
-----

Wheel
This is used to control the number of lines when the mouse wheel is
scrolled. This can be either one page at a time or a particular number of
lines at a time.
-----

X-Mouse
The “Activation follows mouse†checkbox enables X-Mouse style window
activation. When X-mouse style window activation is enabled, you need only
move the mouse into a window in order to give it focus. Normally you must
click on a window in order to give it focus.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Wes,

Originally I did select first item, held down SHIFT and clicked last item.
When I right clicked and deleted, Windows created another copy and another
and another.

I tried start, run, helpctr and got Dell's support screen.