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file_operations:copying_moving_and_deleting_files:drag_and_drop

Drag and drop

Drag-and-drop is a common way of moving files around in Windows. In Opus, drag-and-drop is controlled by the File Types system.

Default drag-and-drop behavior

The default behavior is the same as in Explorer:

  • Drag-and-drop of a file to another folder on the same drive will move it
  • Drag-and-drop to a folder on a different drive will copy it
  • Holding the Shift key when dropping forces the file to be moved
  • Holding the Ctrl key when dropping forces it to be copied
  • Holding the Alt key when dropping creates a shortcut to the file
  • Drag-and-drop with the right button displays a menu that lets you select Copy, Move or Create Shortcut as the action.

Internally, these actions are defined by the items on the Events tab for the All files and folders file type. Whereas in Explorer these actions are fixed, in Opus they are configurable.

Configuring drag-and-drop actions

This screenshot shows the File Type editor for the All files and folders file type. The events are all defined as some variant of the internal Copy command.

  • Drag-and-drop: Copy MOVEWHENSAME moves the file on the same drive, and copies it otherwise.
  • Drag-and-drop+Alt: Copy MAKESHORTCUT makes a shortcut to the file.
  • Drag-and-drop+Ctrl: Copy RENAMEWHENSAME automatically renames the copied file if the name clashes with an existing one.
  • Drag-and-drop+Shift: Copy MOVE always moves the file.

Although not shown here, the Drop Menu tab also defines the contents of the menu shown when dragging with the right mouse button. This can also be configured.

Editing these functions modifies the drag-and-drop behaviour in Opus. For example, if you wanted drag-and-drop to always copy (rather than moving on the same drive), you could edit the command definition to Copy RENAMEWHENSAME (the same as the Drag-and-drop+Ctrl event).

Overriding behaviour for specific file types

The All files and folders file type is a special file type that by definition matches everything - both files and folders. You can use the File Types system to define overriding events for specific file types. For example, you could configure drag-and-drop of a Zip file to extract the contents of the archive when dropped with the Shift key held down.

See the documentation on the File Types system for more information.