How to Select Multiple Files in Windows 10 and 11?

The selection of multiple files in Windows 10 and 11 is quite similar. Well, Microsoft hasn’t brought major changes to this feature. Thus, if you’re familiar with selecting multiple files on Windows 10, you shouldn’t have any problems with Windows 11.

Here, we will explain all the possible methods of selecting more than one document at once. 

Select Particular Files Using Ctrl Key

Pressing the Ctrl key helps to select particular files all at once. Follow these general steps to learn how you can do that:

1. Firstly, open the window consisting of the documents you wish to select.
2. Select one of your desired files.
3. Now, hold the Ctrl button and choose your other desired folder.
   
4. Keep pressing the Ctrl button and select all your files one by one.
5. Once you select all your files, you can release the Ctrl button.
6. Finally, right-click on any document chosen and perform whatever action you need. 

Select Series of Files Using Shift Key

If you wish to select multiple files arranged in the right order, you do not need to select them one by one. Instead, using the shift key allows you to choose the entire library as per your choice.

Suppose you want to select the items from Folder to Note. Here is the basic guideline on how you can pick them using the Shift key:

1. First of all, select the first item (Folder) or the last item (Note).
2. Now, hold your Shift button and press on the last item. For example, if you selected Folder in the beginning, click on the Note item.
3. Upon completion, release the Shift key. This doesn’t just select the two files we chose. Instead, all the files in between them are also selected.
   
4. Finally, right-click on any selected item and perform your desired task.

Alternatively, you can use the Shift and arrow keys for selection. Simply click on your first desired item. Now, hold the Shift button and move your selection using the arrow keys.  

Select All Files Using Ctrl + A

Whether selecting multiple texts or folders, Ctrl + A will select everything. If you plan to choose all the items, here’s what you need to do:

1. Make sure you are in the right directory. To confirm this, simply click on the empty area. 
2. Next, hold the Ctrl key and press A.
   
3. Check your screen to confirm all the items are selected.
4. Now, you can move, delete, or zip them as per your need. 

Select Multiple Files by Click and Drag

Some of us find it convenient to use a mouse or touchpad over a keyboard. Therefore, click-and-drag should be the easiest technique to select multiple files on Windows 10 and 11.

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. First of all, hold your left mouse/touchpad button.
2. Then, move your mouse/touchpad and create a selection area.
   
3. Keep dragging to select the list of items on your window.
4. Once your desired files are selected, release the left button.
5. Now, you’re ready to do your tasks.

Select All Files From The Toolbar 

Windows 11 File Explorer has certain changes to that of Windows 10. Nevertheless, we can use the same technique for selecting multiple files in both versions. There are just basic tweaks on the toolbars that we will explore in this section. 

Very few know that using Ctrl + A is not the only way of selecting all your files. Well, it is possible from the File Explorer toolbar too.

This feature applies to those whose keyboard/keypad doesn’t work. Here, we will explore how to select all files on both versions of Windows.

On Windows 10

1. Open the folder consisting of all the files you need to select.
2. On the toolbar, choose Home.
3. Under the Select section, choose Select All. 
   
4. Check your screen to confirm all your items are selected.
5. To deselect the files, you can pick the Select none option. 

On Windows 11

1. On the Ribbon menu, click on the meatball icon.
2. Now, choose Select All.
   
3. Finally, make sure all the items are selected.

Select Particular Files Using Checkboxes

If you wish to select particular files, you can use the checkboxes available in File Explorer. This feature is available on both Windows 10 and 11. Follow these steps for selecting multiple files one by one:

1. Firstly, make sure to enable the feature check box for selected items.
2. Drag the pointer to the item you wish to pick.
3. You will see a checkbox appearing left to the file. Simply tick-mark the button.
   
4. Repeat the process for all your desired documents to select them.

Select Multiple Files From Different Folders

You can open two separate windows to select files from two different folders. However, you won’t be able to take action on them simultaneously.

Nonetheless, there’s a tricky solution to this. Get to know how you can select multiple files from different folders from the steps below:

1. Search for the items on the File Explorer search bar.
   
2. Select them using any of the methods we discussed above. 
3. Now, you can copy, cut, view, delete, or perform any action on them.

If you want to select all the files from different folders, type * on the search bar. This command will show all the items in your selected drive or folder.