Suppose you want to select files in a folder that are randomly arranged, you press CTRL and then click on the files you want to select, to perform the operation. Now this is the old trick and the most common method. With windows vista and windows 7 you can do the same operation in a much easier way using the checkbox method. This feature is not enabled by default so follow these steps to enable the same.

1. Go to start menu and type "fol" and press Enter. A folder option box will open up like this.

2. Click on the view tab and scroll down the Advanced options list and check the “Use Check boxes to select items” and click OK.

3. Thats all. Now when you hover over any file or folder, a checkbox will appear in the upper left corner of the file/folder, click on that to select the files/folders. The files will remain selected until you remove the check or close the window.