Can you move items on the desktop with the keyboard only?

Question

Is it possible to move icons (files) on the desktop of Windows XP without touching the mouse, using the keyboard only?

EDIT: I am specifically interested in an answer that does not involve simply emulating the mouse.

Answer 1

No it is not possible.

The only way to move windows using your keyboard only is to use the "Move" command in the context menu on the title bar or task bar button. There is no "Move" command in the context menu of an icon on the desktop, neither is there an "Arrange Icons By" option.

Answer 2

You can do a very inefficient trick!

You'll need to know that SHIFT+F10 allows you to open right-click context menu (call it CM for short). For best effect you'll need the following options to be set like so:

• Uncheck "CM > View > Auto arrange icons"
• Check "CM > View > Align icons to grid"

Now follow this series of steps, mix it up, add in some delete steps until you get the desired the result:

1. Put an item on the desktop (e.g. "CM > New > Text Document", hopefully the icon you want to move is already there.)
2. Select a random item using Down-Arrow key, then navigate to the item you want to move using arrow keys.
3. Push CTRL+C to copy the item onto your clipboard.
4. Push CTRL+V several times to fill up your desktop with that icon.
5. Locate the icon at the location you want, then delete the others.
6. Rename the file you want to keep ("CM > Rename")

Basically you can treat the desktop as a table of icons. After filling it, you delete the cells that you don't want.

You can re-select the desktop after having an item selected by deleting something. You should copy something then delete it to use this trick.

Answer 3

Another Superuser thread shows the steps for Windows 7 - checking Windows XP Accessibility should cover any differences for XP.

Steps from other thread pasted below:

1. Open Ease of Access Center by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Ease of Access, and then clicking Ease of Access Center.
2. Click Make the mouse easier to use.
3. Under Control the mouse with the keyboard, select the Turn on Mouse Keys check box.
4. Use the keys on the numeric keypad to move the mouse.
5. To move the mouse pointer: Press the arrow keys on the numeric keypad to move the pointer up, down, left, and right. Press the Home, PgUp, End, and PgDn keys to move the pointer diagonally.
6. To drag an item: Move the pointer over the item you want to drag, and then pres Ins. Use the direction keys to move the item, and then press Del to drop the item where you want it to go.
7. To click an item: Move the pointer over the item you want to click, and then press 5. To double-click an item, press the plus sign (+). To right-click an item, press the minus sign (-).

_{PS: You can also turn on Mouse Keys by pressing Left Alt+Left Shift+Num Lock.}