Windows 11 and Windows 10 offer a variety of ways to move Files and Folders from one location to another. To move a file or a folder means to change its current location to the desired location, without creating any identical copy of the file or the folder. The most common way to move files or folders is to drag and drop them to the destination. However, we will learn more ways to do so.
How to move Files and Folders in Windows 11
In this post, we will now cover all the possible ways to move files and folders in Windows 11/10 with the help of Context Menu, File Explorer, Power Shell, Command Prompt, and so. They are mentioned as below.
- Drag and Drop
- Context Menu – Cut/Paste
- Context Menu – Move item
- File Explorer Home Menu – Cut & Paste
- File Explorer Home Menu – Move to button
- Using the Command Prompt
- Using PowerShell.
Let us look into them in detail.
1] Drag and Drop
The Drag and Drop method is the most commonly used and an easy way to move files and folders from one place to another. To do so, open both the File Explorer Windows side by side by pressing Windows logo key + E.
Let’s say, you want to move a PDF file “The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act” from ‘Documents’ folder to ‘Health and Food Security’ in the ‘Pictures’ folder. Click on the destination folder in the File Explorer window 2.
Select the file from the File Explorer Window 1 and simply drag it and drop it to the destination File Explorer window 2.
Your file will be moved to the destination folder!
2] Context Menu – Cut/Paste
This is another easy method to move files or folders without opening multiple File Explorer windows side by side. The context menu can be opened by simply right-clicking on the file or folder.
Select the file you want to move, then right-click it. The pop-up window that opens is the Context Menu which consists of a variety of functions and commands. Click on the ‘Cut’ option.
Next, go to the destination folder where you want the file to be moved and then, click ‘Paste’. The selected file will be seen there in the destination location. Simple!
3] Context Menu – Move item
Use our Ultimate Windows Tweaker to add “Move To” option to your context menu and use it to easily move items from one location to another.
You will get the setting under Context Menu > Desktop Context Menu 2 tab.
Read: Can’t move drag-and-drop files or folders in Windows
4] File Explorer using Home Menu – Cut-Paste method
Here, we are going to use the Home Menu in File Explorer.
Select the file or folder and click on the Home tab from the Ribbon above. Click on the ‘Cut’ option.
Then, go to the location where you want to move the file or folder.
Select the Home tab and then, click on ‘Paste’. The selected file or folder will appear there.
Read: How to move All Files from Subfolders to Main Folder
5] File Explorer using Home Menu – Move to button
This method is similar to the one mentioned above using the Home Menu in File Explorer. But, instead of the cut-paste method, we make use of the ‘Move to’ option.
Select the file or folder that you want to move and click on the Home tab in the File Explorer ribbon above. Next, click on the ‘Move to’ button, and a drop-down list will appear. Choose the location you would like to move the file to, and it will be sent there directly.
6] Using the Command Prompt
Open a command prompt window and use the following command:
move "FileFolderPath" "PathToDestinationFolder"
Eg. If you want to move a file named TWC.exe from your Program Files folder to your D drive, the command will be:
move "C:\Program Files\TWC.exe" "D:\"
If you want to move a folder named TWC from your Program Files folder to your D drive, the command will be:
move "C:\Program Files\TWC" "D:\"
7] Using PowerShell
Open a PowerShell window and use the following command:
Move-Item "File/FolderPath" "PathToDestinationFolder"
Eg. If you want to move a file named TWC.exe from your Program Files folder to your D drive, the command will be:
Move-Item "C:\Program Files\TWC.exe" "D:\"
If you want to move a folder named TWC from your Program Files folder to your D drive, the command will be:
Move-Item "C:\Program Files\TWC" "D:\"
These are the different ways by which you can most conveniently move files and folders in Windows 10.
Read next: 8 ways to rename Files and Folders in Windows 11.
