Jan's Working with Windows:

Step-by-Step: Move, Delete, & Rename

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What you will learn:

to move/copy a folder between windows by dragging and right-dragging to drag to select multiple folders to move/copy multiple folders at once to undo a move to delete a folder to rename a folder to undo a rename

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Start with: , two windows from the previous lesson - one showing what is on your removable Class disk and one showing the contents of the folder my docs on the Class disk. Both windows show Icons (WinXP) or Medium Icons (Vista, Win7, Win8).

The methods you will be using work for both files and folders. 

Move by Dragging

Drag and drop: Select something. With the mouse pointer over the selection, press down the left mouse button and hold it down while moving the mouse. The object is dragged along with the mouse pointer. When you release the left mouse button, the object is dropped at the spot where the mouse pointer is.

1. Drag the title bar of each of the two windows (the contents of the removable drive and of the folder my docs) so that the windows do not overlap. Resize the windows, if you need to, so that they fit side-by-side on your monitor.

   
   

2.  Drag the folder excel docs from the my docs window until your pointer is over folder class in the drive window.
   The icon for this folder class is highlighted once it is selected.

   Screen Tip:
   Except for WinXP, a screen tip tells you whether you are about to Move or to Copy the folder. Excellent feature! Remember to pay attention to that!

3. Drop the folder excel doc on top of the folder class by releasing the mouse button that you were holding down.
   The folder location is changed to where the pointer was, or, in this case, to the object that was highlighted.

   Progress Dialog: Except for small jobs, a dialog displays while the computer moves, copies, or deletes folders and files. A progress bar gradually extends to show you how much of the job has been done. (The job in this lesson will finish before such a dialog can display!) There is a Cancel button you can click... if you are fast enough!

   

Problem: Not enough space
If there is not enough free space on the drive to hold what you are copying or moving, you will get a message.

Solution 1: Leave the message open while you delete or move files/folders on the destination disk to make more space. Then click the Retry or Try Again button.  This way you don't have to select again!
Solution 2: Choose Cancel and find a different location for your copy/move.
Solution 3: Choose Cancel and select a smaller set of files and then try again.

Why is it hard to know if there is enough space ahead of time?
Files can take more space on one drive than they do on another. That happens when the drives are formatted with different rules, which is common when there are two different types of storage, such as a hard disk and a USB drive.

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Move with Right Drag

Right drag: Hold down the right mouse button and drag the mouse.

1. Right drag the folder word docs to the folder class .
   When you release the mouse button to drop the folder, a context menu appears.
2. Choose  Move Here .

   Notice all the choices: Cancel, Copy Here, Move Here, or Create Shortcut(s) Here (to the object that you right dragged). The one in bold is what will happen if you don't choose something from the menu.

   Recommended: Right drag files and folders always and you won't have to remember whether the object will be copied or moved. The menu will always give you a choice!

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Undo and Redo Move

Windows keeps track of your actions. Often you can reverse those actions with the Undo command. If you find that you were right the first time, the Redo command will do what you just undid. But you have to be quick. The commands are not available forever.

WinXP: Does not put the Undo or Redo commands on a context menu. The Undo command is in the Edit menu from the Menu bar, but there is no Redo in WinXP for a My Computer window.

1. Open the folder class by double-clicking it.
   The window shows the two folders you moved here: excel docs and word docs
   

2. Right click in a blank area of the window and from the context menu, select Undo Move.
   (The menu item changes to show the last action that you took.)

   WinXP: Menu bar: Edit > Undo Move

   The word docs  folder vanishes from the window.  

3. Repeat to get the menu back again.
   A new command shows, Redo Move, along with Undo Move.
   
   WinXP: No Redo command on the context menu or the Edit menu.
4. Click on Undo Move.
   The excel docs folder vanishes.  
5. Show the menu again and select Redo Move.
   The excel docs  folder comes back.  
6. Redo again.
   The word docs  folder returns. Hurrah!
7. Practice the Undo and Redo actions using the key combos, CTRL + Z to undo and CTRL + Y to redo.
   When you are finished practicing, the class folder should contain the folders excel docs and word docs again.

It would be nice to see a list of the actions that are available to Undo and Redo, but there is not one for this type of window.

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Select and Move Multiple Folders: Marquee Select

There are several ways to select multiple folders. The marquee select method used here is particularly useful when the icons for your files and folders are next to each other.

1. Click in a blank spot in the window showing the contents of the class folder and  drag.
   A box called the marquee appears as you drag. (Pronounced . It's French.)  
2. Keep dragging until the box covers enough of the icons for the two folders excel docs and word docs that the icons become highlighted, which shows that they are selected.  
   (Your marquee box does not have to completely enclose the icons.)
3. Now release the mouse button.
   This method is called marquee select.

4. Drag either of the selected folders over to the my docs window and drop.

   Both folders are dragged since both were selected!

   

   The dragged icon shows the number of objects you are dragging, except in WinXP. This is very helpful when you are moving or copying a large number of items.

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Delete Folder

1.  Click on the folder paint docs in the window for my docs to select it.  
2. Press the DELETE key on your keyboard.
   One of two dialog boxes will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete this folder.
   • Send to Recycle Bin: If what you are deleting can be saved in the Recycle Bin and therefore can be undeleted later, you will see a dialog with the icon for the Recycle Bin, like:

   

   • Permanently delete: If what you are deleting cannot be put in the Recycle Bin, because it is on removable media or is too large to fit in the available space in the Recycle Bin, then you will see a somewhat different dialog:

   

   You cannot use Undo to get back anything that was permanently deleted!!!

   Recycle Bin and a USB drive: Your computer will not usually allow files and folders from a USB drive to go to the Recycle Bin. It seems to depend on whether or not your computer 'sees' the USB drive as a removable drive or instead as an additional drive.  

3. Click on the Yes button.
   Your folder is deleted. Which type of deletion - to Recycle Bin or permanent?
4. Use the key combo CTRL + Z to attempt to recover what you deleted.
   If you saw a message about a permanent deletion, this won't work! That would be normal for a removable drive.
5. If necessary, recreate the folder paint docs.

   Recover a deleted file from the Recycle Bin:
   If the item went to the Recycle Bin but it is too late to use Undo, you may be able to recover deleted items, if you act soon enough. The Recycle Bin will only hold so much and will clean itself out as it needs space for new deletions. So you can't undo your deletions forever. If you are deleting a large number of files or very large files, the Recycle Bin may not have room for them at all.

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     If the Undo option is not still available, open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking its Desktop icon.
     A Computer/File Explorer window opens.

   • Select the item(s) you want to restore.
   • Use one of the following methods to restore:
     • File > Restore
     • Right click on selection > Restore
     • Win8, Win8.1: Ribbon button: Restore selected item(s).

   To permanently delete files or folders immediately:
   Hold the SHIFT key down while pressing the DELETE key. The selected item(s) will NOT be put in the Recycle Bin even if they could have fit in it. They are destroyed.  Fancy file recovery software may be able to get them back. Maybe!

   Check confirmation box for type of deletion: If the icon is the Recycle Bin, then you can undelete your deletion, at least in the near future. Otherwise it is a permanent loss.

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Rename Folder: Mouse

You don't have to use menus to rename folders and files, if you can click carefully.

1. To rename the folder word docs, click on its label.
2. Pause briefly and click again.
   Clicking too quickly will result in a double-click, which will open the folder.  

   Problem: You double-clicked and opened the folder by accident.
   Solution: If a new window opened, close the new window and try again. If the display changed in the same window, click the Back button and try again.

   Problem: Lost highlight for the label
   Solution:  Click off the label in a blank area of the window and then click the label again.

3. Type  pictures  and don't click anywhere else yet.
   You changed your mind and don't want to rename after all!
4. While the name is still highlighted, press the ESC key at the upper left of your keyboard. The folder name will return to the previous name.

   Let's try a different name.
   

5. Click on the label word docs. Pause and click again.
   
6. Type  reports , and then click in a blank spot in the window.
   The name is changed.
   Hmmm. You still don't like this name. This time we will let Undo come to the rescue.

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Undo Rename

1. Right click in a blank area in the window and from the context menu click  Undo Rename  to undo the change.
   

   This works well when the highlight has been lost. The label will return to word docs.

   Undo last action: What action that the menu says you can Undo will change depending on what you just did! It's always the very last thing you did. There is no history list that you can see, though Windows does remember more than one action in the more recent versions. So catch those mistakes quickly!
   

2. Refresh: Press the F5 key to refresh the listing of folders.
   They should be in correct alphabetical order now.
3. Close all open My Computer/Computer/File Explorer windows with the method of your choice:
   • Close button
   • File > Exit
   • Double-click the control icon on the title bar or the title bar itself.