Have you encountered the problem in which you can no longer drag and drop files and folders in Windows 10 or Windows 11? You can click and right-click on files and folders, you can select files and folders, but you can't drag and drop them anymore. We've encountered this issue ourselves, and after searching for many possible solutions, we've found one which should work in most cases. Here's how to restore the drag and drop feature in a couple of seconds:
Drag and drop not working
This issue can occur in Windows 10 as well as in Windows 11, and we stumbled upon it when running virtual machines in VMware Workstation Player and VirtualBox. Unfortunately, we don’t know what’s causing this problem, and we did not find any documentation from Microsoft explaining things clearly.
Left-click and hold, then press Escape
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Problem description: You can’t drag and drop!
At some point, while using Windows, you may end up not being able to drag and drop your files from one place to another using the left-click mouse button. However, the mouse works perfectly well, and there’s nothing apparently wrong with Windows either, except for drag and drop not working.The solution: Left click a file, keep the left click pressed, and then hit Escape
When drag and drop does not work, left-click a file in File Explorer and keep the left click mouse button pressed. While the left click button is held down, press the Escape key on your keyboard once. Then, release the left-click mouse button. Finally, try to drag and drop again. This feature should work now.
Discussion (175)
It actually worked, thanks. 🙂
Same issue on my pc. Bought a new mouse. Same issue. None of the solutions really worked.
Then i installed a bluetooth adapter and switch my mx anywhere 2 / 3 mouse to bluetooth. And guess what All issues gone !
I was banging my head for weeks on this annyoing issue. But bluetooth connections have no issues at all with the mouse drag and drop. It never looses the connection anymore. I can select the text again without loosing the focus. Everythings works again,
Thank you soo much! It worked for me. Robin didn’t know how to do it. I HATE WINDOWS 11!!!
Thank you ,from new computer user. Fixed my click and drag, first time I tried
utterly did not work. That process opens a brand new blank word file called document one. you can put nothing in it and it is not linked to a file folder. But thanks for trying
I use two monitors. I could not drag a window from one screen to the other. Also, I was having problems adjusting the size and shape of the window. The technique of left click and Esc solved the problem. Thanks.
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works great windows 10 Adobe creative cloud June 2021. thanks
Genius!
Just had this issue on my old WinXP x64 SP2 (WinNT 5.2) workstation for the first time in over 20 years of IT life (yes the OS in question is almost as old), and what can I say? It worked. I was sure this solution was bogus, but no. It isn’t. It really works.
Can anybody shed some light on what’s going on here internally? Especially since this problem exists starting with at least WinXP x64 all the way up to Win10. Did all of us just somehow accidentally trigger this issue (is it a feature?) by ourselves somehow? And why/how does this trick solve it?
Thank you.
Your solution with right-click & esc-key solved my problem.
Thank you so much!!! This was so frustrating (with such a simple solution, lol). Thank you!!
TOTALLY WORKED!! Thank GOD for this fix! All of a sudden, drag & drop stopped working — no idea why— but thankfully you guys are amazing with this fix!
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
This also worked in Solitaire, the card would drop as it passed over another card – as if it forgot that the left key was still down. I did your “hold down left while pressing escape” on the card I wanted to move – no more trouble for a bit – repeat – OK little bit more – since about the 8th time it not happened again.
A simple, neat, effective solution to a problem which had been driving me crazy. Thanks.
thanks for sharing this tip. it was of great help
appreciate it
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hOOLEY cOW!!!
Now this put a smile on my face – for the first time ever while looking at a computer screen! (Hello? It’s a dead thing in front of you, all day long – you knew thAt!)
And it is also the first time the word “magic” could justifiably be used on the whole www !
(And, a quick fix, along with a clear and complete explanation, without any derailments found everywhere else out there… just, thank you.)
– Where I encountered it: clipboard manager Ditto stopped dragging / pasting clips into a text editor window. No Windows updates involved, out of nowhere – Win7.
Magic! It worked! Thank you!
Dell XPS laptop, Windows 10,Home
Thank you ! The solution worked for me_Saved my working day ☺
This is worked on windows 7
thank you sir !
Happy to help.
Worked for me! I ended up throwing away my other mouse due to this, what a niglet I am!
The hold Left Click on a file + ESC solution worked like a charm! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Drag & Drop stop functioning properly without any error messages (even in event viewer). This issue happened after the automatic upgrade to W10 b2004 last week. THANK YOU! The simple Escape key solution seems to have done the trick. I wish I found your article first. I literally spent days on MSFT Forum getting lame advice.
This was spot on advice, thank you!
Thanks. This works perfectly.
I’m having the same issue while running VM on VMware Workstation.
Worked like magic. thank you so much
None of this worked… 🙁
Thank you, after searching everywhere for a solution this worked perfect
I have no idea why this worked but THANK YOU. I was going nuts.
This is the strangest thing! Your solution worked for me but It’s so weird why did that happen in the first place, and how did this fix it? Thanks for the fix.
How can’t do the same with an Android phone??
Is it possible to drag and drop files in Android browser.. Plzz response
Thanks very much.
Thanks! Fixed drag n drop issue immediately!
this actually did the trick, thank you! 🙂
Thanks for the tip. I noticed that you said you ran into this while working on a virtual machine. I ran into it while I had a Remote Desktop session open from a Windows 7 machine to a Windows 10 machine, and several RDP and Remote Console sessions open from there.
Drag and Drop worked everywhere EXCEPT the Windows 7 machine at the top of the chain.
I suspect it’s got something to do with a screwed up pointer in the shared clip board somewhere along the line. The system thinks it already has a hook into some other content, so it declines to grab the new content. By pressing ESC you are effectively clearing the screwed up pointer or buffer.
You may be correct. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks, the problem was fixed.
this is extremely bizarre that this works! thank you – I’ve had the issue for a while now and thought my laptop was going bad. so glad to be able to drag and drop again!!!
Holy cow! It’s the first thing that worked. I’ve had big issues with drag and drop automated tests on UI of application. These problems happened only on virtual machine, where the tests were done by Jenkins. Anyone searching for this annoying issue and solution to it – try this!
Worked like a charm!
Thank god for this website, this has been driving me mad and I consider myself pretty techy! Thank you!!
How did anyone ever figure this out? It worked like magic!!
OMG! I think I love you! Thank you!
First one worked. First I hold click and pressed ESC. then Nothing happened. I did it again and It is working now. Thank you very much.
Very useful, it solves my frequently happening problem.
Thank you very much
worked like a charm
THIS WORKS!
I wonder how you came up with this solution!
It worked fine for me. Thanks a lot!
Thanks – right click plus Esc worked like a charm. Drag and drop failure emerged immediately after this week’s Win7 update. Glad your solution is #1 on Google search for this problem.
I worked
Thanks for this… pressing ESC worked perfectly for me.
This worked like a charm. First result on Google too. Just to add, the drag-drop not working bug carries over to the ENTIRE environment when it’s in force (not just windows explorer).
I couldn’t drag-drop emails into folders in Outlook. I then tested drag-drop moving text in Word – still nada. Finally checked in Windows Explorer and found it buggy too. That’s when I Googled it and found your fix.
Thanks for sharing the additional context.
thanks!!! That was amazing. I was going crazy. mouse will now drive and I am not driven loco. much appreciated!!
Thank you. Have been having trouble dragging and dropping text in
Word. Used the method suggested here and it worked! Magic.
This problem was really frustrating me, but this fixed it perfectly first try. Thanks!
This worked for me! Thank you!
This worked! Thanks so much.
thank you very much! it worked!
Worked!
Perfect solution!
The first step solved it – massive thanks (2019)
Thanks so much. I first looked at a bunch of other “solutions” that were complicated and occasionally dangerous. But just as I was throwing up my hands altogether, I saw your fix. It worked. Like the others here, I have no idea why it worked, but I’m very grateful that it did.
How did you happen to stumble upon it, since no one seems to know why it works?
The [Esc] key trick worked like a charm. Thank you!
Yes, it worked for me. Thanks a ton!!
This worked for me. Thanks!
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Nice the escape solution works.
omg this actually worked
thanks
Perfect! Thank you! (How did you discover this fix..?)
By accident. Really! :)))
I was so frustrated and I started pushing random keys out of despair with the problem. Luckily, I hit Escape and the problem went away. The next time it happened, I pressed Escape again and confirmed that it works. :)) Then I wrote this tutorial.
Thank you very much! it worked! I’m so glad
worked thanks
I was baffled with the mouse not dragging problem since long. Tried all possible cures, cleaned mouse wheel, reinstalled drivers etc etc. The problem never went. It crippled the pleasure of working in Excel that I uses a lot.
At last, I am successful with your trick. The headache gone Thanks a lot
3 hours trying to fix this drag and drop and your few seconds fix is a done deal. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
Happy to help. 😉
Thank you very much. Worked like a charm. If just M$ developers could give value for their salaries and remove this black-magic bug/feature.
I searched all over in Windows and could not find the solution for my drag and drop not working, even after restarting the computer. You were able to help me in less than 2 minutes after finding your tip. Much thanks.
Thank you so much for posting this!!!
This has been plaguing me regularly for several years. The only way I’ve found to reliably fix it is to reboot (sometimes lock > unlock works). Obviously, that’s a big interruption when you have a lot of apps open / work in progress. I just tried your LEFT CLICK + ESC trick, and it worked great (Windows 7, VMware Workstation 12.5).
Thanks again!
Thank you so much! This happened to me after a Windows update, but the Escape button trick fixed it immediately.
First solution worked like a charm! Thanks for the help!! Issue was VERY annoying.
I’ve used system restore to go back to before updates were installed. The updates seem to hinder and stop drag’n’drop. For some reason Windows Explorer stops and has to restart. I’m running Windows 7 home. My other PC with Windows 7 professional doesn’t have this problem
F***ing genius! It worked!
Thank you!!! It worked!
My problem with dragging panels using malti screens is, the panel will drag ok with the mouse, but as soon as I release the mouse the content of the panel goes blank just leaving the outline of the panel.
Escape key solution worked instantly. Brilliant!
Worked!!! Thank You!!!
That worked, thank you 🙂
Perfect solution to an annoying problem. Thank you.
This is incredible XD it worked perfectly hahaha, tks a lot
You are AWESOME!!!! I had my profile rebuilt 2 days ago and everything went wonky. This fixed my mouse issue immediately. Thanks for restoring some of my sanity!
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I had the same problem and I eventually realized it was a mouse problem, not anything to do with the laptop. Its easy to check if its a mouse problem. Just go to hardware settings (mouse) and click on the option to make the right click your primary function rather than your left click. If you can now highlight and drag using right click you can continue using right click or get a new mouse!
Worked for me..thanks!
Got to: Control PanelHardware and SoundPower OptionsEdit Plan Settings
Be sure that Plugged in setting: ” Put the computer to sleep is set to “never”
Worked like a charm! Thank you!
Thank you!!! Fixed!!!
Worked perfectly
Left click plus Esc key worked. Thank you!
Simply pressing the Escape key worked for me! I didn’t have to do it while the left mouse button was pressed. Just pressing the Escape key all by itself seemed to work for me! THANK YOU SO MUCH! :))
It worked at first attempt!! and took 2 seconds!!
after losing so much time looking for solutions!!
Just brilliant and genius
Thank you so much!!
it Works. thanks
Oh thank goodness for this fix! Don’t know how you ever found it but it worked great.
It works! Thank you! Don’t know why this all of a sudden wouldn’t work but your fix worked perfectly.
Son of a gun this worked like magic for me. I drag alot of URL’s from the address bar to make them my favorites in an ever growing list but for some reason my ability to Left Click Drag just topped for some reason. After reading this article and doing what you suggested I was immediately ably to once again Left Click Drag the address bars URL’s. Thank you very much! I am not sure if this was the cause but earlier I had pressed the FN-esc to bring up the system information so pressing the FN key and esc might have been the cause. Thank you again!
It is a weird bug, and we do not know the cause either. We found the solution by accident, tried it a few times, it worked, and we wrote about it.
very very helpfull i was very upset since three months, was decided to re-format the hard disc to recover it, but by this help full pages i discover the problem thank you.
Thanks!!!
No joy, but thanks anyway.
I cannot TELL you how grateful I am for this article. i’ve had this problem on both my pc’s with Windows 10 for years – drag and drop both in Windows Explorer and inside office works for about 15 minutes after a restart, and then stops again. Hitting escape after right clicking not only lets me move that file or text but restores functionality completely! What a wonderful citizen this site is.
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Don’t know how or why but hold left click and clicking escape worked for me on Windows 7, thanks 🙂
Had this problem of not being able to drag objects in Serif Draw Plus X8. The solution you give of holding left mouse button and pressing Esc solves this too.
Wow its working.
How awesome was that! Quickest fix. Worked! Thank you for saving me the frustration!
Very helpful thanks! That was an instant fix.
Perfect, I don’t know how you figured this out or how it works, but it worked for me!
Yes I was facing this issue while connected to a virtual machine
Thank you very much! That fix worked immediately.
Worked perfectly with Win 10. Thank you so much 🙂
the escape key worked! 🙂 thanks mucho as this has been nagging me for a week or so and had affected chrome as well
Worked the first time I tried it. Thanks for the help.
thanks! What a strange bug! Worked immediately!
The solution with the Esc key solved the issue for me. Thanks a lot.
Problem solved! Thanks a lot!
Fix worked perfectly.
Thanks.
Holy crap I think this actually worked! I’m both confused and amazing… I was almost ready to go out and buy a new mouse. Cheers for the help!
You are welcome. 😉
thanks it works.. 🙂
Thanks so much! Very weird, but your solution worked perfectly.
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Wow, this worked! But why did it work?
Thank you, this was exactly what I needed to know and has done more than you might imagine for my stress levels!
Wow, didn’t expect that to work but it did! Thanks
Thanks m8, quick and easy fix x)
This worked perfectly for me. I have this issue all the time when I’m trying to drag files into Moodle (I’m an educator). Such a pain but now my pain is relieved! Thank you…
OMG this worked!!
One of my users had this issue. Not even closing Outlook or even a restart of the laptop resolved the issue. The only thing that worked was this left-click and escape key procedure. Thanks a bunch for posting this fix!!!!
Wonder how he disabled the drag & drop feature. I can see this being a good prank on someone. :p
Restart didn’t work for me either in Windows 7 Pro, and neither did Ctrl+c and Ctrl+v work. The right-click drag drop (to the same folder to make a copy wouldn’t bring up the context menu.
Left-click Esc did and if I recall, I had to do it to the folder.
Once it was working I tried left-click + Esc to see if it would toggle back to not working but couldn’t get that to happen. (The thought was in case that’s what caused my problem in the first place.)
This worked like a charm. Thanks!
that worked!! thank you so much !
Fixed my problem instantly!!! thankyou
Very helpful! This worked for me!
Thanks. It helped me.
Worked for me, Thanks!
thank you
Thanks. The 1st one worked.
Fantastic, fixed, been driving me nuts!
Worked just fine!!! Thanks!!!
Yes! Thank you
Although rebooting is recomended, just logging off is enough…. go ahead n try.
Thanks! This worked perfectly.
Fricking thank you!!! I’ve had this problem for waaay too long, and the solution was that simple. THANK YOU!
Thank you. That worked for me without having to reboot. Most appreciated.
Fantastic! Other ‘fixes’ didn’t help, including those suggested by Microsoft. Sadly this annoying problem is cropping up more and more frequently – I have now had it on all my 4 different computers in the last week alone. Fix works like a charm.
It is a bug we encounter often too.
Brilliant! Not sure why this worked, but it did. There were a few situations where drag-and-drop wasn’t working for me in Windows 10: files and dragging text and images within editing programs. I tried this fix in File Explorer and it fixed the other drag-and-drop issues as well. Thanks 🙂
My drag and drop was not working correctly in a few different programs. Best solution I have discovered: Open Task Manager, click on Processes, right click on explorer and end process tree (finish reading instructions before you do this because once do above step you won’t be able to read this). Now (in task manager) go to File, New Task and type in “Explorer” Worked for me.
This took care of the problem the very first time. Thanks Tom
Huh. I never imagined such an easy solution. Thanks!
This super-simple fix will prove to be a huge time and frustration saver! I’ve been annoyed whenever this problem appeared in either Outlook or Windows Explorer and normally suffer with it most of the day before biting the bullet to restart. Thanks for posting this easy/effective solution!
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Did not expect this work; assume surprise that it does.
Worked for me
Love a quick fix (can nice clear instructions). Thanks!
An easy fix. I wonder what the cause is, and how this fixes it…?
Thank you! The right-click + escape key solution worked.
Absolutely brilliant! the escape key solution was 100% perfect!
Thanks a ton!!!
Brilliant! The right-click + escape key solution worked. Thank you so much!!!
It worked with the “escape key” solution. Thank you.
Excellent. Happy to help!
…but why is this necessary in the first place? It is now twice I have had to revert to hitting the “Esc” key to enable drag-and-drop feature in Windows 7. I imagine some process is inhibiting this in the background. I have never needed to hit “Esc” in order to drag-and-drop items before.
These solutions didn’t work for me. Then i tried and cleared temporary files as well as Prefetch files and guess what! Drag and drop started working again.
After installing the Windows 10 Creators Update on this computer I had this unwelcome side effect. I tried this solution with the “Escape” key and it worked like a charm. Thanks for the tip.