How to Select Multiple Files on Win­dows 10 File Explorer, Here 4 Tricks

You may need to select multiple files in Windows 10 File Explorer for a variety of reasons. It could be that you want to move the files to a different location or that you want to delete all of them. In any case, the Windows operating system allows you to select multiple files in a variety of ways.

In File Explorer, there are several options for selecting multiple files. If you want to quickly select, copy, and paste files, for example, using Windows shortcuts can save you a lot of time. We’ll go over some quick and easy ways to select multiple files in this post.

Using the Universal Shortcut

A universal Windows shortcut for selecting everything in a window is CTRL + A. This shortcut is useful for selecting all items on a page or window. When selecting all of the files in a folder, the shortcut is the same. This is what you must do:

1. To begin, open File Explorer.

   

2. Open the File Folder that contains the files you want to pick.
3. On your keyboard, hold down CTRL + A at the same time. This action will make all of the items in the current window stand out.

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Using the Left Mouse Button to Drag

In File Explorer, you can also select multiple files by dragging the left mouse button over them. Here’s how to put it to use:

1. To begin, open File Explorer

   

2. Open the File Folder that contains the files you want to pick.
3. To make a blue click-and-drag box, find an empty space beside the files and hold down the left mouse button.
4. Select the required files by dragging the cursor over them.

NOTE: For selecting multiple files that appear together on a list, drag while holding down the left mouse button is the best method.

If you need to deselect some files from the entire selection, follow these steps:

1. Keep the CTRL key pressed on your keyboard.
2. Deselect the items by clicking them. Hold down the CTRL key until you’ve completed deselecting all of the items in your selection.

Using Shift + Left Mouse Key

When you need to select multiple items in a row, the Shift and Left Mouse Keys on your keyboard come in handy. This is what you must do:

1. To begin, open File Explorer.
2. Open the File Folder that contains the files you want to pick.
3. By clicking on any of the files you require, you can select it.
4. Keep the Shift key pressed on your keyboard.
5. To select the last item in the series, move the mouse cursor to it.
6. Toggle the mouse to the left.

All of the items within the identified range will be selected if you follow the steps above. To deselect any of the items in the range, simply hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard and move your cursor over the item you want to deselect.

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Using the File Explorer Ribbon

Your File Explorer has a ribbon that gives you access to a number of tools for performing a variety of tasks. Modification of items, moving and copying of items, and selection of items are just a few of the operations. Here’s how to go about it:

1. To begin, open File Explorer.

   

2. Open the File Folder that contains the files you want to pick.
3. Click Home on the File Explorer Ribbon.
4. You can either click Select All to select all of the items in that window or click Invert Selection to reverse your selection of items within the Select Group.

NOTE: When you need to select all but one of the items in a window, inverse selection comes in handy.

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Fixing Unresponsive Windows File Explorer

The methods described above can be used to select multiple files, folders, or a combination of files and folders, in addition to multiple files. You can quickly cut or copy files this way to move them around all at once. The File Explorer can become unresponsive if you’re working with a large number of files and folders.