While I’ve become quite enamored with using Aero Snap and my simulated dual-pane file manager technique, when copying and moving files and folders from one location to another, there are times when I reach back and use one of the tried-and-true techniques from Windows days gone by. Of course, I’m talking about the good old Send To command and the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands.
I happened to mention these old commands to a friend of mine, and she looked at me with a surprised expression and exclaimed that she had all but forgotten about those commands. She then told me that she always uses the Copy/Cut and Paste commands when it comes to copying and moving files. I asked around and discovered that she isn’t the only one.
As such, for this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I decided to put together a little refresher course on the Send To command and the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands.
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Send To
To access the Send To command, simply right-click a file or a folder and select the Send To command from the context menu, as shown in Figure A. When you do, the selected file or folder will be copied to whatever destination you select.
Figure A
You can right-click on a file or folder and access the Send To command’s menu of destinations.
As you can see, on this example system, there are five destinations on the Send To command’s menu:
- Compressed (zipped) Folder: Creates a compressed folder (a.k.a. a Zip file) and copies the selected files or folders to it all in one step.
- Desktop (create shortcut): Allows you to instantly create a shortcut on the desktop to a file or folder.
- Documents: Copies the selected file or folder to the Documents folder.
- Fax Recipient: Allows you to easily send the file as a fax via the Windows Fax and Scan tool.
- Mail Recipient: Allows you to easily attach a file to an e-mail message.
Depending on your system configuration, there may be other destinations on the Send To command’s menu. For example, you might have a CD/DVD RW drive, a USB drive, or a mapped network drive on the Send To menu.
Fortunately, you can configure the Send To command to send files to other destinations, such as a specific folder, or even to an executable file, such as WordPad, simply by adding shortcuts to those destinations to the Send To command’s folder. To do this, you must use the Shell: command. The reason being that the Send To command’s folder is referenced by the operating system as a Junction Point or a Symbolic Link.
Click the Start button and type shell:sendto in the Start Search box. When you do, you’ll see the results panel and can press [Enter] or click shell:sendto. Either way, you’ll see the SendTo folder, like the one in Figure B. You can then use the Create Shortcut Wizard to create shortcuts to specific destinations or executable files.
Figure B
The actual SendTo folder is revealed by using the Shell: command.
Copy To Folder and Move To Folder
The Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands are hidden away on the Edit menu in Windows Explorer and Computer. Further masking their existence is the fact that the Menu bar is hidden by default in both Windows Explorer and Computer.
In order to access the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands, you first have to make the Menu Bar visible. The quick way to access the Menu Bar is to press the [Alt] key.
If you want to be able to readily access the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands, you’d probably rather have the Menu Bar visible all the time. To make it so, just click the arrow next to the Organize icon on the toolbar, open the Layout submenu, and select Menu Bar.
Now you can easily access and pull down the Edit menu to reveal the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands, as shown in Figure C. (Keep in mind that the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands will be available only if you have a file or a folder selected. If you don’t, the commands will be grayed out and unavailable.)
Figure C
You’ll find the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands on the Edit menu.
Using the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands is easy. For example, if you want to copy a file from one location to another, you first select the file or files that you want to copy. Then you pull down the Edit menu and select the Copy To Folder command. When you do, you’ll see the Copy Items dialog box, shown in Figure D, which as you can see is a standard Browse dialog box.
Figure D
The Copy Items dialog box works just like a standard Browse dialog box.
You can just navigate the tree to select between drives, folders, and even network resources. If after you select your destination, you want to copy the files to a brand-new folder, you can click the Make New Folder button and a new folder will appear. Once you give the folder a name, just click the Copy button.
What’s your take?
The good old Send To command and the Copy To Folder and Move To Folder commands are alive and well in Windows 7. Do you think that you will use them? As always, if you have comments or information to share about this topic, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublic Community Forums and let us hear from you.
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