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
    2011-08-10T17:22:59+00:00

    I have similar issues but I think it may be related to whether the program is being "Run as Administrator" or not.  I have a development tool that is set to always be run as administrator.  I can't drap and drop to it from Windows Explorer even if I tell it to run as administrator.  The option to permanently set Windows Explorer to be run as administrator is grayed out.

    I have another text editor, Notepad++.  If I open that tool and then press ctrl-O to open a file in it, but instead of just opening a file, I drag the file to my development tool, I can't do it.  The icon is the circle-slash icon.  If I do the exact same thing with Notepad++, but run it as administrator then I CAN drag and drop the file into my development tool.  Not that this would be the approach to use, but it helps to further identify the real breakdown.  Apparently you can only drag and drop a file into a program which is running as administrator, from another program that is also running as administrator.  Kinda makes sense, but its still a pain, especially since I can't get it to work from explorer.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-08-15T21:25:22+00:00

    Thanks!  That did it (The click on a file, hold, and press escape in Explorer). At least for now. This problem has been perplexing me for months.

    I had the same problem with STICKIES and Directory Opus.

    Yay!

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-08-16T23:41:54+00:00

    OK...it seems that only worked for a day. Now I've found I have to press CTRL-ESC to get it all working again. Of course when I do that, the Windows menu pops up for a second. But it's a small price to pay to get drag and drop back in Directory Opus.

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