Drag and Drop Not Working in Windows 7

Anonymous
2011-03-18T18:18:13+00:00

I have a new problem that has cropped up just in the last week or two. I can no longer drag and drop my files and folders in Windows Explorer. I have Windows 7 on a HP Notebook. It came installed on the computer last December when I bought it (09). I've never had an issue with it since then, and I'm not sure how to find the settings to enable drag and drop or re-enable it. I know I've done it before on this machine, many times- and just noticed it first in  Thunderbird, (my email desktop application) then in explorer. I did recently install the SP1 (spelling??) a few weeks ago, and have installed a few other odds and ends programs, but I'm pretty sure drag and drop was working okay until a few days ago.

Any help would be appreciated. As a genealogy writer, that's a must have feature.

Thanks.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2011-07-20T06:47:39+00:00

This happened to me yesterday.

In Windows Explorer, click a file with the left mouse button and keep the button held down. Then press the Escape key. Drag and drop is miraculously re-enabled.

I think just pressing the escape will work too but I'm no longer in a position to test that. I got this from http://it.thelibrarie.com/weblog/2010/06/drag-and-drop-stops-working/

Was this answer helpful?

400+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2014-05-15T11:56:09+00:00

This happened to me yesterday.

In Windows Explorer, click a file with the left mouse button and keep the button held down. Then press the Escape key. Drag and drop is miraculously re-enabled.

I think just pressing the escape will work too but I'm no longer in a position to test that. I got this from http://it.thelibrarie.com/weblog/2010/06/drag-and-drop-stops-working/

I don't feel like reading through everything to see if this has been mentioned.  The escape fix worked for me with Win 7.  The only thing I have that is unique from coworkers is a wireless keyboard and mouse.  I expect that has something to do with my issue.

Thanks Nige!

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments No comments

187 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
  1. Deleted

    This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.


    Comments have been turned off. Learn more

  2. Anonymous
    2016-09-13T08:58:50+00:00

    Hi! You have saved me!.

    I have been at least two hours trying to find a solution to this issue. I had done many things, reinstalling thunderbird, rebuild account, repairing folders, etc.

    Thank you very much for your comments.

    Regards.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-05-03T10:44:19+00:00

    Not sure that there is anything to fix here. The fact that there is a key combination stroke to stop it happening implies that there is something you did that made it happen in the first plvce .. rather than an actual bug. Someone has intimated that its something to do with dragging/dropping between apps that are/not run as admin .. so probably the Operating System is functioning perfectly fine. I'd be looking at 3rd party apps in use at the time if I were you. .. ascertain how the code reacts in a drag/drop scenario. For instance sometimes I 'cheat' with a certain app when importing a data file .. instead of browsing for the file I open the file import gui and drag and drop a data file in and select it. The developer would say that's not the supported method to pick up files .. even if i argued that I'd expect to have full drag and drop functionality .. I suspect there are some people reading this that are thinking "no wonder your environment is misbehaving" and they are perfectly correct .. its always best to stop and think .. is what i just did supported by the environment I'm in .. versus finger pointing :)

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments No comments