Managing files and drag and drop

Explorer file commands work on SVG files on disk, not the elements inside the Editor document. Review destinations carefully: filesystem operations are not part of Editor Undo.

Creating a folder

Choose New Folder in the header or New Folder… in an Explorer context menu. The context command always creates inside the currently open Explorer folder, even when you right-click a child folder or SVG file. Enter one direct child name in the themed dialog; Enter accepts and Escape cancels. The name field initially has focus so an offered default name can be replaced immediately.

Names may contain Unicode characters and spaces. IconVectors rejects an empty name, . or .., separators or a nested/absolute path, invalid Windows filename characters, trailing dots or spaces, reserved device names, and a name already used by a file or folder. A precise validation error leaves the dialog open for correction. Cancel creates nothing.

After creating the direct child, Explorer remains in the accepted parent folder. It clears the current filter so the child is visible, refreshes the parent, and selects, activates, and reveals only the new folder. The created child is promoted in Recent Folders, but this operation does not append or move the navigation history. If creation itself fails, Explorer state remains unchanged. If a refresh cannot start immediately, IconVectors may retry it once; it never deletes an already-created child or reports the physical creation as failed merely because the refresh was delayed.

Dragging files and folders

You can drag selected SVG files between folders inside Icon Explorer. Dropping on a folder moves files on the same drive and copies them between drives by default. Hold Ctrl to request a copy or Shift to request a move. A drop into the same folder does nothing unless Ctrl requests duplicate copies. The insertion and target indicators show where the drop will occur, and the grid scrolls when you hold the drag near its upper or lower edge. Hovering during a drag never opens a folder: child folders, .., drive buttons, Documents, and Element Library remain drop targets without changing the displayed folder. Dropping onto one of these targets transfers the files there while keeping the current Explorer folder open. To use a deeper destination, navigate there before dragging files in, or open the destination in another Explorer window.

You can also drag SVG files between Icon Explorer and Windows File Explorer. Files dragged into IconVectors are copied into the active folder or target folder; files dragged out use the normal Windows copy or move semantics. Folders are valid destinations but are not copied or moved by these operations.

Use Group in Folder… to create a direct child folder from the selected SVG files. Copy is the default; select Move icons into this folder only when the source files should be removed. After the transaction commits, Explorer opens the new child through normal child-folder navigation. If navigation fails, the grouped files remain committed and Explorer refreshes the parent to reconcile it. Moving is blocked when the selection contains the document currently open in Editor.

When you drag SVG files onto the Editor, IconVectors imports them as editable groups in one undoable operation. Dropping one SVG into an empty Editor opens it as a document; dropping several lets you choose how to proceed. An unsaved Editor document is protected from a source-file move.

Copying, pasting, and duplicating SVG files

Explorer reuses the standard Edit command routes contextually:

  • Ctrl+C copies every selected canonical SVG file path to the Windows file clipboard, including selected files hidden by the current filter. The accessible status reports the exact count. Copy does not change or refresh the folder.

  • Ctrl+V reads regular .svg file paths from the Windows file clipboard and copies the eligible files into the active folder. Other file types are skipped and reported.

  • Ctrl+D duplicates every selected SVG file in the active folder.

Paste and Duplicate never overwrite an existing file. Paste assigns a deterministic available destination name. Duplicate uses name-copy.svg, then name-copy-2.svg, name-copy-3.svg, and the first later available suffix. Files are processed in deterministic order; output is staged and validated before commit, with rollback or a truthful recoverable error if a commit cannot finish. After a successful Duplicate, the new files are selected and the first duplicate is active. Preview, counts, accessibility focus, thumbnails, and watcher reconciliation then follow the refreshed identities.

These operations accept SVG files only. They do not copy or move folders, Cut, overwrite, paste recursively, or reinterpret the Editor clipboard. Switching back to Editor restores its existing element and document meanings for Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, and Ctrl+D.

Renaming and deleting files or folders

Select one visible SVG file or one direct-child folder, then choose Explorer ‣ Rename (Ctrl+Shift+R) to enter a new name. With two or more eligible visible SVG files, the same command opens Batch Rename. Choose Explorer ‣ Delete (Delete) to remove one or more selected visible SVG files, or one eligible empty folder. F2 continues to open Preferences. These commands are unavailable while the folder is being scanned or refreshed, while an Explorer file is being opened, or when an SVG selection contains the document currently open in the Editor.

Rename accepts a filename in the same folder with an .svg extension. It rejects invalid names and does not overwrite another file. After a successful rename, Explorer refreshes the folder and keeps the renamed file selected.

Folder Rename accepts one valid direct-child name and uses the same Unicode, reserved-name, collision, containment, and stale-target protections as New Folder. Batch Rename remains SVG-only.

With two or more eligible visible selections, Batch Rename uses the current visible grid order and always numbers from 1. Enter a base name without .svg. Use -N numbering chooses Base-1.svg instead of Base1.svg. Pad numbers with leading zeros uses the digit count of the selected total, for example Base-01.svg through Base-12.svg for 12 files and Base-001.svg through Base-100.svg for 100 files. Explorer validates the complete plan before changing any file and attempts to roll the whole set back if a rename fails. If an original name cannot be restored, the error is reported and Explorer refreshes to reconcile the actual folder state. Hidden selected files are not included.

The base name and both numbering options are saved as valid edits are made, including when you cancel. Batch Rename has no separate preview dialog; see Remembering batch options and returning from preview for settings shared between instances.

Delete permanently removes files; this version does not use the operating system’s Trash or Recycle Bin. IconVectors always asks for confirmation. A single-file confirmation names the file; a multi-file confirmation states the exact number of visible selected files in the deletion set. Hidden selected files are not included. Multi-file deletion validates the complete set and stages every source under a private same-folder name before committing the deletions. It restores all remaining staged files if a failure occurs and reports any already-deleted files truthfully before refreshing Explorer. If a file was moved, replaced, linked, or changed after selection, Rename or Delete rejects the stale target instead of acting on a different file. Cancel makes no filesystem or Explorer-model change.

Delete Folder is available only for one ordinary direct-child folder whose direct-entry count has finished and is zero. IconVectors rechecks that the folder is still the same direct child and still empty, asks for confirmation, and then performs one non-recursive empty-folder removal. Any file or subfolder blocks deletion. Folder deletion is permanent and has no IconVectors undo or Recycle Bin restoration.