Manipulating files in Explorer (file manager for Windows) can be a time saving and useful tool if you understand the basics. You can copy, move, delete, rename etc. There are two essential keys that are used in Explorer while working with files. They are the CTRL and SHIFT keys. If you highlight a file(s) and drag/drop it to another folder on the same drive (example C:), Explorer automatically assumes you want to "move" the file. If you want to make a copy of the file, hold down the CTRL key while dragging the file to it's destination folder. You will notice the + (plus sign) by the mouse pointer. This is indicating a file "copy".

The same holds true for files from one drive to the other (example C: to A:). If you highlight a file(s) and drag/drop to A: drive, Explorer automatically assumes you want to "copy" the file. Sometimes you may not want to copy the file, but instead "move" the file to A: If you want to move the file, you will have to hold down the SHIFT key while dragging the file to the A: You will notice the + (plus sign) disappear by the mouse pointer.

Sometimes we want to copy or move more than one file. The graphics below will show you how to selectively choose files, or select them in a group or range.

Selecting files

Selecting files not in range or group. This is done by clicking (or highlighting) the first file, then hold the CTRL key and clicking on other files you want to select. This is called CTRL-Clicking.

Selecting files - in a group

Selecting files in a range or group. This is done by clicking (or highlighting) the first file, then hold the SHIFT key and clicking on the last file in the group. This is called SHIFT-Clicking.

Selecting multiple groups

Selecting files in multiple groups. This is done by clicking (or highlighting) the first file, then hold the SHIFT key and clicking on the last file in the first group. Then you CTRL-click on the first file of the second group and CTRL-SHIFT click on the last file of the second group.