Drag and drop is undoubtedly a cool feature to move/copy a file in Windows 11. Until and unless there is a newbie who uses your computer. That’s exactly what happened to me.
My six-year-old nephew was visiting me earlier this year. As he was in the learning phase of using a computer, his clicks on the mouse were not perfect. While double-clicking any item, he dragged the file and moved it somewhere.
Later that night, I found my files in a completely disastrous situation. That triggered me to change the drag and drop sensitivity on my computer.
In this article, I’ll share my findings on how you can turn off the accidental drag and drop feature in Windows 10/11.
Read till the end to find out.
How to Disable Drag and Drop in Windows 11 File Explorer
Deactivating drag and drop is not possible unless Microsoft turns it off. Previously, with Windows’ Build 22449 update, the drag and drop feature was disabled due to bug issues.
But, with the following update patch, Microsoft resolved the drag and drop issue.
My point is — you can’t turn off this feature completely, but you can increase the drag and drop sensitivity. So that you can prevent accidental file movement.
Let’s get to the process of how you can increase the sensitivity to stop drag and drop.
Also read, Fix Mail Recipient Missing from Send to Menu in Windows 11
Here’s the procedure to turn off drag and drop in Windows 11 file explorer:
- Search for Registry Editor in Windows 11 search menu and press Enter.
- Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
- Double-click on the DragHeight string value.
- Set it to a bigger number e.g., 50.
- Double-click on the Dragwidth value and set it as the same number (50).
Sign out and Sign-in again to save the changes. You can restart the computer and check if the changes are applied or not.
Note: Setting the value to 50 means the minimum drag interval is 50px. You need to move the file 50 pixels to draw the file to another place. The more you set the value, the hard it will be to drag the file.
Check out the easiest way to Fix Yahoo Mail App Error 0x8019019a on Windows 11/10.
Should I Enable or Disable the Drag & Drop Feature in Windows 11/10?
Drag and drop action in Windows 10/11 actually helps to improve work efficiency. It reduces the moving/copying time on your machine. So, I would prefer not to disable drag and drop. But, if you want to prevent unexpected drag and drop, increase the sensitivity slightly.
Basically, if you move an item by 4 pixels at a time in Windows 11/10, it will result in a drag and drop action. So, increase the Drag height and width a bit more, e.g., 10-20.
That will prevent an unexpected drag and drop operation. Plus, you’ll be the one to know how much you need to draw a file to activate the drag and drop feature.
Now, would you like to turn off the snap to grid drag-drop feature in Windows 10/11? Check out the following section.
Related guide: Windows 11 Remove Password Complexity Requirements.
Steps to Disable Drag and Drop Snap to Grid in Windows 11
Snapping a Windows lets you split your screen with multiple programs/files. But unlike Windows 10, you can split the screen into multiple sections for different applications.
Just drag the program’s title bar and move it to any corner of the display. However, if you don’t find the feature useful, you can disable it from the registry editor. Follow the latter instructions, and you’ll be able to turn off the drag and drop snap to the grid easily.
Here are the steps to quickly disable Windows 11 drag and drop to grid feature:
- Press Windows + R to launch the Run prompt.
- Type in Regedit and hit Enter.
- Navigate to HKEY_Current_User > Control Panel > Desktop.
- Double-click on the DockMoving DWORD (32-bit) value.
- Set the Value data as 0 and click Ok to save the value.
- Double-click on the WindowArrangementActive DWORD (32-bit) value.
- Set the Value data as 0 and click Ok to save the value.
- Restart your computer.
Note: To Enable the drag and drop feature, just change the value to 1.
Sometimes, dropping to the grid feature in Windows 11 might seem distracting. Follow the above-mentioned instructions to disable it.
Follow our guide to know Mount, Burn, Create & Unmount ISO File in Windows 11.
How to Enable/Disable Drag Maximized Window in Windows 11/10
Enlarging a window over an existing program sometimes can be irritating. That happens when you accidentally double-click on a program’s title bar and move the cursor to somewhere else on the screen.
After following these steps, you can disable drag and drop maximized window in a jiffy.
Here are the steps to enable/disable drag maximized window feature in Windows 10/11:
- Launch the registry editor from Windows’ search menu.
- Navigate to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
- Look for the DragFromMaximize string on the right side of the display.
- Double-click on the value and set the value data as you prefer.
- Value 0 – Disable maximized window.
- Value 1 – Enable maximized window.
- Click on Ok to save the value.
Restart your computer to save the value. Once you disable the value, you won’t be able to move a window by dragging its title.
Have any questions regarding this topic? Check out the following section.
You may also like to read: Fix When Windows 11 Won’t Install.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to drag and drop in Windows 11?
Microsoft turned off the drag-drop action in Windows 11 with the previous build. But, they reinstated the feature with the latest build version. Update your Windows if you can’t draw and move files in Windows 11.
Can you disable drag and drop in Windows 10?
To turn off Windows 10 drag and drop action, go to the registry editor > HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop > Set the DragHeight and Dragwidth value to 200.
How do I change the default drag and drop action in Windows 11?
Change the default drag and drop action in Windows 11 by following:
- Hold the Ctrl key + Drag a file or a folder to copy it.
- Hold the Shift key + Drag a file or a folder to move it.
- Hold the Alt key/Ctrl key + Shift key simultaneously and drag a file to create a shortcut.
Wrapping Up
Throughout this article, I’ve explained the method to help you stop accidentally moving the files/folders. By following my instructions, you can prevent drag and drop action in Windows 11.
However, if these simple steps also seem complicated to you, just let me know through the comment box. My team will be happy to assist you in executing the steps effortlessly.
