How to Copy or Move Files Using Cut, Copy, and Paste If the destination folder is on a different drive, click and drag them over to the second window just like before, but this time press Shift to trigger the Move mode. To move files to a different directory on the same drive, highlight the file(s) you want to move, click and drag them over to the second window, and then drop them. Before you drop them, though, press Ctrl to trigger the Copy mode. If you’re trying to copy the files to a folder on the same drive, click and drag them over to the second window.
To copy files over to a different drive, highlight the file(s) you want to copy, click and drag them over to the second window, and then drop them. However, there’s a hidden trick that forces Windows to perform a specific action. Moving occurs when you drop it on the same drive, as we’ll do below. Copying happens when you drop the file or folder into a directory on a different drive. Windows has two default actions when you drag and drop a file or folder into a new destination: copy or move. Open a second File Explorer window by pressing Windows+E, and navigate to the destination folder.
