There are several methods of copying or moving files and folders:
Since this is a very important set of skills, you will see all of the methods. One of the safest methods is using right drag and drop since it gives you choices on its context menus, but the others have their uses, too.
In previous lessons you moved or copied items between two different windows. This time you will use the folder tree and some new methods.
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Step-by-Step: Copy/Move & Restore |
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What you will learn: | to copy or move folder to new
location using: right drag to folder tree context menu buttons drag and drop ribbon (Win8) to customize the toolbar (WinXP) to undo a copy or move to refresh the window to delete using the keyboard and menus to restore deleted item from Recycle Bin to rename folders using mouse context menu menu bar |
Start with: , Removable disk contents showing in a window in Details view
Remember that
if the thing you are dragging is on a different drive than the new
location, it will be copied. If it is on the same drive
as the new location, it will be moved. The action in bold text is the current default. If you hold the CTRL key down while you drag, this is reversed.
The best idea is to use a right drag so that you get the popup menu to choose from! Much easier on the brain!
In the Navigation pane on the left, you can select only one folder or drive at a time.
Keyboard method to Undo: CTRL + Z
Hold down the CTRL key and press the Z key.
Keyboard method to Redo: CTRL + Y
Hold down the CTRL key and press the Y key.
Location at end of list: The folder paint docs was not put back in its alphabetical spot in the display. It is at the end of the list now, out
of alphabetical order.
Keyboard method to Refresh: F5
Press the F5 key
(usually in the top row of your keyboard) to refresh the window in many programs, as well as in Windows itself.
This Cut-and-Paste method accomplishes the same result as a Move. It is useful when you cannot see what you want to move and the new location at the same time.
Paste right away! If you copy anything else before you Paste,
it will replace the first copy on the Windows Clipboard! In these
file/folder management windows, you are safe. If you Cut but never Paste, the
folder is not moved at all. The action is canceled.
But in most programs, cut material is removed from documents, even if you don't
ever paste it anywhere. So you can easily lose the cut material entirely.
If
you are working in Vista, Win7, or Win 8, you may skip to the next sections that apply only to WinXP.
Windows
Vista & Win7 do not let you hide the toolbar. Win8 uses a ribbon instead of a toolbar.
If the toolbar is not showing:
Move To, Copy To,
Delete, Undo
Resize the window, if necessary, to show the file/folder management buttons:
If you do not see the file/folder management buttons on the Standard toolbar, you can add buttons and even separator bars,a if you wish. The next section explains how.
Windows
Vista and Win7 do not let you customize the toolbar for a Computer window.
Windows 8 will let you customize the ribbon but the ribbon already includes CopyTo and MoveTo buttons.
Skip past the sections that apply only to WinXP.
WinXP and Win8 have Copy To and Move To buttons.
Windows
Vista and Win7 do not have a Copy button on the toolbar.
Skip to the next section for Vista/Win7.
Win8 does not have a menu bar but uses a ribbon instead.
Problem: The Menu bar is not showing in Vista/Win7.
Solution 1: Press the ALT key each time you need to see the Menu bar.
Solution 2:To
keep the bar in view all of the time, click the Organize button and then select > .
The folder that you moved vanishes from the right pane and is now moved into the folder class. Verify this by opening the folder class and looking at its contents in the right pane.
Previously you used an Undo command on the menu and on the context menu.
Deleting
from most removable drives is permanent, no matter what method you use.
Undo will not restore what you deleted. In most cases a flash drive or other
removable drive does NOT send deleted objects to the Recycle Bin. Only if your drive
shows as an additional hard disk will your deleted files go to the Recycle
Bin. Check yours out!
Which
dialog did you see? The one for the Recycle Bin or the one to permanently delete?
Under DOS and UNIX you have to delete
a folder's contents before you can delete the folder. Not so with Windows.
Can
you tell what object will be restored with the Undo Delete command?
At some time you will make a mistake when you delete
something from your hard disk and you won't realize it until later. Undo will
not work if you have done a number of other things since deleting. The Recycle Bin exists just to handle this problem.
The Desktop icon for the Recycle Bin may look different on your computer. Many
themes change the look, sometimes to something entirely different,
like this Egyptian bird icon from the Nile theme for WinXP for the empty Recycle
Bin. (Does not look much like a waste basket, does it?!)
Below you will create a folder on the computer's hard disk, delete it, (which sends it to the Recycle Bin), and then restore it from the Recycle Bin. Then you will delete it permanently to return the disk to its previous state.
If another folder already exists with this name, Windows will call yours New Folder (2). No problem! Just continue using the name Windows gave it. It won't be around for long anyway.
Click on Recycle Bin in the left pane.
(You
may need to scroll to see it.)
Alternate Method: You can also open a Recycle Bin window by double-clicking the Recycle Bin icon on the Desktop.
Problem: The Recycle Bin does not show in the folder tree
Solution: Open the Folder Options dialog to the General tab. Check the box 'Show all folders'.
Click OK to close the dialog and save changes.
The right pane will show a list of recently deleted files and folders. The right pane has 2 more properties to show now: Original Location and Date Deleted.
Your Recycle Bin will have different things showing in the Contents pane on the right. There may be many other things listed or none at all. The Recycle Bin should be emptied from time to time to save disk space.
Problem:
You don't see 'New folder' in the Recycle Bin
Solution: Sort on Date Deleted. Your folder
named New Folder should be the most recent deletion.
If you are using a classroom computer and other students have already done this exercise, you may find a LOT of folders named New Folder! Look at the Date Deleted to see
which is yours.
You can also find the Restore command on the File menu, but only when Recycle Bin is selected.
In this section you will revise the folder names so you can use them to store the projects you work on in these and other lessons. Many of you will be going on to the Working with Words lessons. Others may not do any other lessons or may go to a different topic.
Your Class disk should now contain: