Using "Select multiple files or folders"

[John]

I want to select a long string of files (for deletion).

Vista Help says:

--To select a consecutive group of file or folders, click the first item,
hold down the SHIFT key, and then click the last item.
--To select a consecutive group of files or folders without using the
keyboard, drag the mouse pointer to create a selection around the outside of
all the items you want to include.

Using #1, it selects the "first item" and the "last item," but none of the
items between the two.
Using #2, it tries to MOVE files, not select them.

My last OS did it this way, but Vista does not. Do I have something set so
it behaves the way it does? How do I easily select multiple files?

John

 

[Malke]

I want to select a long string of files (for deletion).

Vista Help says:

--To select a consecutive group of file or folders, click the first item,
hold down the SHIFT key, and then click the last item.
--To select a consecutive group of files or folders without using the
keyboard, drag the mouse pointer to create a selection around the outside
of all the items you want to include.

Using #1, it selects the "first item" and the "last item," but none of the
items between the two.
Using #2, it tries to MOVE files, not select them.

My last OS did it this way, but Vista does not. Do I have something set
so
it behaves the way it does? How do I easily select multiple files?

File selection in Vista works the same way it has in all the other MS
operating systems.

To select multiple contiguous files, highlight the first file in the series and
then hold down the Shift key and highlight the last file in the series. All
your desired files will be highlighted.

To delete non-contiguous files, hold down the Ctrl key as you select.

If this isn't working for you, I'd try a different keyboard.

Malke

 

[John]

What would a different keyboard do? I'm not having any other problems with
the keyboard. I've used this for years and it did the Select Multiple Files
on the previous OS with this keyboard and it worked perfectly.

John

 

[John]

Hello John,

You have the "SHIFT" key part right for selecting all files inbetween
the first and last one selected.

This is exactly what I am doing. It is also exactly what I copied from
Vista Help.

To select random multiple files your would do so by pressing and
holding down the "CTRL" (control) key while select the files instead.

Random, using CTRL works great. Does just as it says.

If the two options above are not working this way for you, then check
to see if this may be able to fix it for you.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/157271-select-multiple-files-fix.html

There was no change after using this. I check the first, hold SHIFT, press
the last, then DELETE and it only deletes those two files.

This may help: The instruction you quoted above about the SHIFT key works
exactly the same way using the CTRL. Therefore, I think the answer is that
the SHIFT operation is really doing the CTRL operation; that is, "random"
selection. To repeat: they both function the same way, as "random"
selects, instead of the intended "multiple" selects.

You can also use the option in the tutorial below to select files using
a check box.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76644-select-files-using-check-boxes.html

I already have the "check box" option checked.

Hope this helps,
Shawn





--
Brink

'*MS MVP - Windows Desktop Experience*'
(https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=87AD1AFC-4723-4479-A555-AD617AF3D511)
*There are no dumb questions, just the people that do not ask
them.*
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'*Windows Vista Forums*' (http://www.vistax64.com/)

*Please post feedback to help others.*

See inline answers.

John

 

[John]

See inline comment:

John,

As a test, reset your folder view settings using the download from
METHOD TWO in the tutorial below to see if it will work after merging
the .reg file and restarting the computer.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/70819-windows-explorer-folder-view-settings.html

File Reset_Folder_View.reg does not offer MERGE as a right-click option as
indicated in the tutorial, only Open, Cut, Copy, Delete, and Properties, so
I can't do it. "Open" offers virtually all the programs I have on the
computer.

John

 

[Malke]

What would a different keyboard do? I'm not having any other problems
with
the keyboard. I've used this for years and it did the Select Multiple
Files on the previous OS with this keyboard and it worked perfectly.

Because keyboards don't last forever and your Shift key may be stuck or not
working. It's an easy enough test to do and at least will rule out hardware
issues. Since tons of other people, including me, have no problems selecting
files in Windows 7 it the issue you are experiencing is something unique to
your particular setup. Therefore, do the normal troubleshooting process of
elimination which in this case is to first switch out the keyboard.
Otherwise, Brink has the software end well in hand.

Malke

 

[Malke]

Malke wrote:

Addendum to my last post. I meant to say "Vista" and not "Windows 7".
Doesn't change what I wrote, but I don't want any confusion.

Malke

 

[John]

OK, I did test it--with Word. SHIFT commands work correctly; so do CTRL
commands; all the time.

John

 

[John]

Did you extract the .reg file from the ZIP file first?

Yes, I extracted it to the Desktop. It is identified as a Regedit file.

I tried the Manual approach. The early steps found the entries in the
procedure, but some of the later ones didn't. Some of the deletions
weren't there. Also, Windows Live planted a lot of stuff in there. I
didn't want to interfere with them. Some of the entries that dealt with a
suspected Vista problem of not allowing enough space were not what was
shown, so I completely avoided that. I am guessing with the pros that this
could easily be the problem, but less easily fixed. But nothing I did fixed
the problem when I rebooted.

Where I'm at: There might be the elusive space allocation problem in Vista
that I discussed. I will upgrade to Windows 7 soon, so I'll see if it goes
away. Also, I know my Asus MB may have a bad audio chip, so I have ordered
another MB. Between these two hardware and software solutions, perhaps I
can get it to work again. It's just annoying to have to click 168 files for
deletion individually.

Of course, I just happened to think--I might be able to delete these
multiple files under DOS. It's been a while.

John

 

[John]

Success! I used the command prompt, since all the files I wanted deleted
had the same prefix. I still remembered some DOS from years ago.

Thanks all for your help.

John