Windows Explorer 3
Using Two Explorer Windows
One of the main uses for Windows Explorer is to drag and drop files and folders to create backup copies of your data.
This can become a bit difficult if you're dealing with widely separated locations; on two different drives for instance. The following shot shows two windows on one screen. That's easily accomplished by opening the program twice. The image is not very clear because I've reduced the size to fit the browser screen. But you get the idea.
In this case I'm about to drag my Outlook files from my main disk to
another hard disk for backup.
Windows behaviour when copying or moving files
When dragging and dropping from one place on a disk to another place on the same disk, the files are moved.
When you do the same between two different disks or storage devices, they're copied. The original files and/or folders are left intact.
Make your own decisions!
You can force a move (or shift) rather than a copy, between disks, by holding down the Shift key during the drag and drop operation.
Conversely, you can force a copy within the same disk by holding down the Ctrl key.
Setting up two Windows to fit neatly on the screen
If you'd like to display two or more windows on the screen neatly tiled to fit as in the previous picture, this is what you do.
- Right click on a blank area of the Task Bar.
- Choose the arrangement you want from the pop-up menu
– usually "Tile Windows Vertically" is best:
This can be a little cluttered if more than two windows are open. You
can work around this by holding down the Ctrl key, then clicking on
the task bar on the two windows you'd like to tile. Then follow the
procedure outlined above.
