How to use Ctrl and Shift to select multiple files and folders with precision

You can combine Ctrl and Shift with mouse clicks to select items you want to move, copy, or delete.

Windows is full of small things that can make your life easier. You don’t have to know these things, but if you do, you can save a ton of time with repetitive tasks which can be done a lot faster.

One example is the selection of files and folders in File Explorer. A long time ago I assumed File Explorer was just too simple to be useful, and maybe this was true back in the Windows XP days, but now it has evolved to a very decent file manager. And it did so without complicating the user interface.

But I digress, so let’s get back on track.

Let’s assume you have a folder open in File Explorer with a bunch of items. You want to move, copy, or delete some of this stuff, but not everything. 

You have the:

• Really slow option: select one item by clicking it, perform the action, repeat for the other item(s).

• Lucky option: the items you want are all grouped together, so you click on the first one, press and hold Shift, then click the last item in the list to select them all in one go.

• Tedious option: press and hold Ctrl, then click each item, until you’re done.

Tip: if you need to select all items in a folder just open the folder and then press Ctrl + A. This will extend the selection to all items stored in the current folder.

But there’s a fourth option which is the focus of this post. Using both Ctrl and Shift.

What you do is the following: 

1. Click an item, then press and keep Ctrl pressed.

2. Click another item to add it to the selection or press Shift, then click to also select all items in between.

3. Repeat until you have added all needed items to your selection.

4. Finally, release Ctrl.

I made a video to show you how it’s done:

If you want to make it easier to remember, just imagine that Ctrl is used to select one item at a time, no matter where it’s located, while Shift is used to select all items between two positions, including the two positions. Remember that the same behavior also applies to selecting text and moving inside a document.

Where does it work? Besides File Explorer, this trick should work in pretty much any Windows file manager. I only have Total Commander to try and I’m happy to report it works very well. Oh, and Windows 10 is also supported, as well as the newer Windows 11.

And that’s it, you can now copy, paste the items you have selected using shortcuts, or you can drag the items using the right click method, for more options.

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