To copy a file or folder to a folder on a different drive, use the technique described in the previous list, but don’t hold down the Ctrl key. When you drag a file to another drive, Windows automati- cally copies the file rather than moving it. Because it’s easy to get confused about which drive a folder is on, you may prefer to use the right-drag-and-drop technique described in the next section instead of the plain drag-and-drop technique.

Copying a File or Folder by Using Right-Drag-and-Drop

You can also copy a file or folder by using the right-drag-and-drop technique. Follow these steps:

1.  Open an Windows Explorer window to the folder that contains the source file or folder.

2.  Open another Windows Explorer window to the destination folder.

3.  Right-click the file or folder in the source folder and right-drag it to the destination folder. Windows displays a context menu of options, as shown below.

4.  Select the Copy Here item. Windows copies the file or folder.

The advantage of this technique over the plain drag-and-drop technique is that you can always choose whether to copy the file or move it.

Copying a File or Folder by Using the Copy and Paste Commands

You can also copy a file or folder by using the Copy and Paste commands. Follow these steps:

1.  Open an Windows Explorer window to the source folder.

2.  Select the file or folder.

3.  Issue a Copy command by right-clicking and then choosing Copy from the context menu, or by pressing Ctrl+C.

4.  Navigate to the destination folder, either in the same Windows Explorer window or in another Windows Explorer window.

5.  Select the destination folder.

6.  Issue a Paste command by choosing Organize   Paste, right-clicking and choosing Paste from the context menu, or pressing Ctrl+V. Windows pastes the copy of the file or folder into the destination folder.

Copying a File or Folder by Using the Copy to Folder Command

If you’ve chosen to display the Windows Explorer menus, you have another way of copying a file or folder:

by using the Copy to Folder command. Take the following steps:

1.  Select the file or folder you want to copy.

2.  Choose Edit   Copy to Folder. Windows displays the Copy Items dialog box, as shown here.

3.  Navigate to the folder in which you want to create the copy of the file or folder. To create a new folder in the currently selected folder, click the Make New Folder button. Windows creates a folder named New  Folder and displays an edit box around it. Type the name for the folder, and then press Enter. Windows renames the folder and leaves it selected.

4.  Click the Copy button. Windows copies the file, and then closes the Copy Items dialog box.