Moving Excel files without opening them

StephenUK · #1 06-05-2008, 05:51 AM

I am finding in v3.5 that as soon as I move to an Excel file in the Data Explorer pane it opens externally (with a consequent delay). I am happy for my Excel documents to open externally.

However, I find it difficult actually to MOVE an Excel file in the tree because as soon as I select it, it instead opens.

Is there a way to select a file for moving etc without opening the file?

I seem to remember this problem was resolved before, so maybe I have just had a settings change whilst upgrading to v3.5.

kinook · #2 06-05-2008, 08:17 AM

That is not new or different in v3.5. When you select an item (left-click and release mouse button or select via keyboard), the other panes will be loaded with that item's info.

But you can move an item without selecting or loading it -- left-click and hold the mouse button down, then drag to another location and release mouse button to drop/move.

Or hold down the Alt key when selecting the item (when releasing left mouse button) to prevent the document from being loaded internally in the detail pane.

If you don't want Excel documents to ever be loaded internally when selected, remove .xls or .xlsx from 'Tools | Options | Browser | File extensions to display in internal browser view' or add it to 'Tools | Options | Documents | File extensions to edit/view externally.'

StephenUK · #3 06-05-2008, 08:54 AM

Kinook, many thanks for that very helpful and speedy reply.

I like to use the keyboard without the mouse, so the Alt routine is very handy and mainly solves the problem.

Just in case it's possible, if ever there were some way to have the Alt setting as the default I think I would prefer that. The problem is that as I run up and down the tree I might forget the need to apply the Alt key, and then, bingo, I will have to wait while Excel loads (painfully slowly) and I will get stuck in the tree while it does so.

Nonetheless, much appreciated. By the way, I like the way that having used Alt one can then release the Alt key and the effect remains so as to do another operation such as move.