What happens when you drag and drop a file in windows explorer

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What happens when you drag and drop a file in windows explorer
In order to copy a file in windows we usually select the file in the Windows Explorer and then drag and drop to the new location. Have you ever wondered what happens to the file? Is it getting copied, deleted or moved?

In fact Windows Operating System hints at what is happening by displaying different icons for each case. The truth is that most of us do not really notice it. When you drag and drop next time watch the mouse cursor carefully.

If a '+' sign is shown in a small white square next to the cursor arrow then the file or folder is being copied to the new location.

If instead of '+' you see a small curved arrow then the file's shortcut will be created in the new location instead of copying the file itself.

If there is no change in the mouse cursor then the file is being moved to the new location hence the file will be deleted from the original location.

There is a problem when you do drag and drop. In some cases, windows default action may not be what you really want to do. For example if you are trying to move an .exe file to another location, windows may just create a shortcut instead of moving by default. There is a solution to this problem.

Instead of using 'left click' while drag and drop, right click and drag and drop. If you use right mouse button to drag and drop, when you release the mouse button at the destination folder you will get a shortcut menu with the options whether you want to create shortcut, copy or move the file.