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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
November 9,
2008
Q.
Sometimes I need to copy or move a group of
files from one folder to another. They may
or may not be in sequence. How can I do this
without copying them one at a time?
A.
In all versions of Windows, the CTRL+A
keypress combination will select all the
files in the current folder. When a filename
is selected, it is highlighted. This CTRL+A
keypress and those described below are
pretty much universal at selecting items or
text whether in a document or folder. So, if
you want to copy everything in a folder,
just press the CTRL+A to select them all,
then right click on any one of them and
choose to copy, move, cut, delete etc.
By
default, when Windows is installed, it is
set to require a double click to select an
item. It can be set to require only a single
click. (See ** below for how to change this
setting). In this example I'll be using the
double click setting. If your cursor turns
into a little hand when you place it on a
filename, then it is set to single click. If
the cursor remains as an arrow, then it is
set to double click.
I find
that having the folder view set to "Details"
rather than the default setting makes
selecting and copying more than one file
much easier. To change the view to details,
click on View, and select details. This will
display the file names without the icons in
alphabetical order. If you are using Vista
and the top menu is not displayed, press the
ALT key to display it. To have this menu
displayed all the time, press the ALT key,
click on Tools, then Folder Options, then
the View tab. Check the box in front of
"Always show menus", and click OK.
To copy a
group of files that are in sequence, click
the top item to select it. Hold down the
SHIFT key and select the bottom item. All
the items in between will be selected. Right
click on any one of the selected items and
choose your desired action.
To copy
files that are not in sequence, click the
first file to select it. Hold down the CTRL
key, and select the other files that you
want to copy. When they are all selected,
right click on any one of them and choose
your desired action.
These two
methods can be used together. Let's say you
want to copy items 1 through 5, then 8
through 10. Click on number 1, hold down the
SHIFT key and click on number 5. 1 through 5
will be selected. Hold down the CTRL key and
click on number 8 and it will be selected.
While still holding down the CTRL key, also
hold down the SHIFT key and click on 10.
Now, 1 through 5 and 8 through 10 will be
selected. Right click on any one of them and
choose your action.
The above
works on all versions of Windows, but this
whole process has been made much easier with
Vista. To set it up, click on Tools in the
menu, then Folder Options, then the View
tab. Scroll down the near the bottom of the
list until you see "Use checkboxes to select
items", and click the box in front of it.
Click OK. Now go back to the folder
containing the files you want to copy.
When you
hold the cursor over a filename, a little
checkbox appears to the left of the
filename. If in an icon view, this checkbox
appears in the top left corner of the icon.
To select this file, just click the
checkbox. No need to hold down the CTRL or
SHIFT keys, and items remain selected. Right
click on any one of them, and choose your
desired action.
There are
many other things in Vista that are not
included in earlier versions of windows.
I'll cover some of them next week.
** In XP
or Vista, to change the double click to
single click, Chose Tools, then Folder
Options. At the bottom of the dialog, you
can choose to use the single click. If this
single click is checked, then you have two
further choices; To underline consistent
with your browser settings, or to underline
only when you point at them. I find that the
later underline choice is the best. When the
single click is selected, just placing the
cursor over an item does the same as
clicking it when set to double click. |
