Personalization Change Drag and Drop Sensitivity in Windows 11


  • Staff
Maximize_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to change the drag and drop sensitivity to what you want for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

By default in Windows, if you drag an item by a distance of 4 pixels and leave it, it will result in a drag and drop operation.

When you drag and drop files and folders in Windows, they will get moved or copied by default based on the source and destination locations.

Many people find that it is way too easy for them to inadvertently drag and drop files from one folder to another with a default distance of 4 pixels.

If you increase the distance to say 50 pixels, then you will have to drag items (ex: text, files, folders, windows, etc...) by at least 50 pixels before it can drop. This can be helpful if you have a high display resolution (ex: 4K UHD).



Here's How:

1 Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe).

2 Navigate to the registry key below in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Drag_and_Drop_sensitivity-1.png

3 In the right pane of the Desktop key, double click/tap on the DragHeight string (REG_SZ) value to modify it. (see screenshot below step 2)

4 Enter a number for how many pixels you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

The default value is 4 pixels.

If you set the value too high (ex: 1000), you won't be able to drag anything (ex: files, folders, windows).


Drag_and_Drop_sensitivity-2.png

5 In the right pane of the Desktop key, double click/tap on the DragWidth string (REG_SZ) value to modify it. (see screenshot below step 2)

6 Enter the same value you used for DragHeight from step 4, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

Drag_and_Drop_sensitivity-3.png

7 When finished, close Registry Editor.

8 Sign out and sign in, or restart the computer to apply.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

Attachments

  • maximize.png
    maximize.png
    2.2 KB · Views: 20
Very handy, thanks
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.3374
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    4 x LG 23MP75 1 x 24" LG M38H 1 x 32" LF6300 TV Monitor 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    2 x WD something Something 8TB HDD's / 2 x WD something Something 4TB HDD's / 1 x EVO 1TB SSD / 2 x QVO 1TB SSD's / 1 x EVO 250 GB SSD / 2 x QVO 1TB (External Hub) / 1 x EVO 1TB (Portable Backup Case)
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Full Tower
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    100/40Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 22621.2215
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Graphics processor is an Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
Hi Brink,
Thank you so much for this tutorial.
İ like win11 but because i am mouse person and i click almost i do not look the icon, sort click-drag action distance in win11 makes impossible to start a program at a single click until i used your method.
This also solves click-drag action distance problem as explained below.
Thanks again

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel
Hi Brink,
Thank you so much for this tutorial.
İ like win11 but because i am mouse person and i click almost i do not look the icon, sort click-drag action distance in win11 makes impossible to start a program at a single click until i used your method.
This also solves click-drag action distance problem as explained below.
Thanks again

Hello, and welcome.

Glad it could help. :shawn:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium

Latest Support Threads

Back
Top Bottom