What happens when you drag and drop a file?

A guide to what happens when you drag and drop a file in Windows.

Some people are confused by the seemingly random behavior when you drag a file. Do you get a move or a copy?

And you’re right to be confused because it’s not obvious until you learn the secret.

* If Ctrl+Shift are held down, then the operation creates a shortcut.
* If Shift is held down, then the operation is a move.
* If Ctrl is held down, then the operation is a copy.
* If no modifiers are held down and the source and destination are on the same drive, then the operation is a move.
* If no modifiers are held down and the source and destination are on different drives, then the operation is a copy.

This is one of the few places where the fact that there are things called “drives” makes itself known to the end user in a significant way.

Side note: a right-click drag will always provide a menu where you can choose which operation (copy, move, create a shortcut) will take place.