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

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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/

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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!

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-05-15T22:47:16+00:00

    Hi EvilestDeath,

    To avoid confusion, I would recommend starting your own question so that the community can best focus on your specific issue.

    Thanks for using Microsoft Answers!

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  2. @CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2011-05-15T22:49:50+00:00

    Are you using a touchpad?  Perhaps the click-lock feature has been activated.  Would you be able to try using another mouse?

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-06-01T09:45:29+00:00

    Id like to add i have the same issue on my computer. It comes and goes randomly. Restarting computer temprary solves the problem. When it happends drag and drop stops working in all my applications. It actually acts like I do a single left-clik instead of golding down the mouse-button. 

    I am using a desktop-computer with a normal mouse. Tries 2 different mouses to see if it was the mouse; but that did not help.

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