How to confirm file/folder move on drag & drop on Windows 10
Files and folders on Windows 10 can be copied/moved using keyboard shortcuts, the context menu, and drag & drop. If you use keyboard shortcuts or the context menu options to move files or folders, you will see a confirmation box asking if you really want to move the files. The same confirmation box does not appear when you drag & drop files which can often be an accidental move.
Confirm file/folder move on drag & drop
- Visit the Github page for DragDropConfirm.
- Click the green Clone or Download button.
- From the menu, select Download zip.
- Extract the zipped file that is downloaded to your system.
- Inside the extracted folder, go to …\DragDropConfirm-master\Installer.
- Run the DragDropConfirm_installer.exe file, and install the app.
- Once installed, you can drag & drop files/folders like you normally do, and you will see a confirmation box asking to confirm the move.
- Select OK to move files, select Cancel to stop them from being moved.
Remove confirmation box
If you do not like how this app works or later decide you don’t need the confirmation box, you can disable it by uninstalling the app.
- Open Control Panel.
- Go to Programs>Uninstall a program.
- Look for DragDropConfirm in the list of installed programs.
- Select it and click the Uninstall button.
- Once the app has been uninstalled, the confirmation box will stop appearing when you drag & drop files.
Not the Windows confirmation box
If you use DragDropConfirm, you will know right away that you’re not seeing the Windows 10 confirmation box. The app isn’t forcing the stock confirmation box to appear. It is instead showing you its own confirmation message, which reads nothing like the Windows message but does the trick nevertheless.
If you need the default Windows confirmation box to appear, you’re out of options. You can choose to move files via the keyboard shortcut or the context menu, or you can disable drag & drop altogether, but the stock confirmation box cannot be made to appear for drag & drop gestures.
Conclusion
Drag & drop is supposed to be the quick method for moving files. The gesture can be modified by holding down the Ctrl or Shift keys allowing users to copy or move the files. A confirmation box would make the process slower and not as convenient as you’d expect drag & drop to be. It makes sense not to have a confirmation box, but there should be an option to enable one if users need it instead of not adding the feature altogether.
But *HOW* would we “or you can disable drag & drop altogether”?
Thank you. I’m afraid in general to install any unknown software so…
Another possibility I found without adding any software is to go to “Mouse Properties”.
Enable the “Mouse Properties” called “Click Lock” that comes standard with many mouse drivers.
Then change the “Click Lock” setting so “short”. That’s the key thing to do.
Then whenever you click on anything very briefly, the object will get “locked” so you won’t be able to drag and drop without confirming by clicking the destination also.
So, if you ever accidently click something, you will notice it and you can simply click ESC to ungrab it as if you never touched it.
This YouTube vid explains “Click Lock” settings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFP73lkwm7U
Caveats:
It takes time to get accustomed to having “Click Lock” on.
“Click Lock” will affect many things you click like scrolling etc.
But I find it helpful in preventing harmful effects of unintended mouse or touchpad clicks.
Using “Click Lock” I now have to click again to confirm my clicks now with an extra click.
I would like to use this program and installed it step-by-step as above Windows asking me for a confirmation for executing the DragDropConfirm_installer.exe.
Unfortunately, the program does show any confirmation.
OS: Win10 Pro, 64-bit