Starting with the release of Internet Explorer 7 in 2006, Microsoft removed the extremely handy drag-and-drop FTP feature that was seamlessly integrated into IE6.
Previously, you could create desktop shortcuts that directly opened remote folders via FTP—no extra steps needed. Once open, FTP folders functioned just like local ones, making file management a breeze.
This article shows you how to restore this lost functionality with one simple trick.
Understanding the Problem
Drag-and-drop FTP windows rely on an extended FTP URL syntax that includes a username, an optional password, and the server’s address.
ftp://user:pass@ftpsite.com/directoryHowever, in newer versions of Internet Explorer, entering an extended FTP URL results in a read-only folder listing. To enable full file management, Microsoft forces you to:
- Click the Page menu
- Choose Open FTP Site in Windows Explorer
- Re-enter the FTP URL manually since IE fails to pass along credentials
This cumbersome process defeats the purpose of having a quick FTP shortcut.
The Workaround: Use Windows Explorer
Instead of relying on Internet Explorer, we can bypass it entirely and open FTP sites directly in Windows Explorer (the file navigation system).
Steps to Create a Drag-and-Drop FTP Shortcut
-
Create a new shortcut on your desktop
- Right-click on the desktop and choose New > Shortcut
-
Enter the following in the location field:
%WinDir%\explorer.exe "ftp://user:pass@ftpsite.com/directory"- Replace
user:pass@ftpsite.com/directorywith your actual FTP details - Be sure to include quotes around the FTP URL
- Replace
-
Click “Next”, name your shortcut, and click Finish
-
Open the shortcut
- It may take a few seconds, but the FTP site will eventually open in a fully functional Windows Explorer window
For security-conscious users, omit the password (:pass) in the URL, and you’ll be prompted to enter it when connecting.
Additional Notes
Handling Windows File System Errors
- Always enclose the FTP URL in quotes to prevent Windows from misinterpreting parts of the address.
Windows 7 and Directory Issues
- If including a directory in the FTP URL doesn’t work, remove it and navigate manually after connecting.
Fixing “FTP Folder Error” Messages
If you encounter an error like:
“An error occurred opening that folder on the FTP Server…”
It could be due to incorrect Internet settings. To fix this:
- Open Internet Options in Internet Explorer (or run
inetcpl.cplin a command prompt) - Go to the Advanced tab
- Uncheck “Use Passive FTP (for firewall and DSL modem compatibility)”
- Click Apply and try reconnecting
If the problem persists, you can re-enable the Passive FTP setting.
Conclusion
Restoring drag-and-drop FTP functionality is as simple as prefixing FTP URLs with %WinDir%\explorer.exe. Since this method avoids using a web browser entirely, it works regardless of whether you have Internet Explorer set as your default browser.
Now, you can enjoy the same seamless FTP experience that Microsoft took away!
I am able to open my ftp site's folders using windows explorer, but when I click a shortcut inside one of those folders, it opens IE and asks if I want to open or save. The shortcut points to another folder in the directory. Normally I would edit where this file points, but when you right click the properties, it says that the server does not support changing file permissions. I am using Filezilla as the server. I am able to do this across a vpn just fine, but I cannot do this through ftp.
This is a limitation of file transfer protocol (ftp). It is really only designed to send and receive files (GET and PUT commands), and to a limited extent change permissions on the file entry on the server (CHMOD, if the server allows it). Actually changing the contents of a file (e.g., making a Windows shortcut point somewhere else) is only possible by changing the shortcut within Windows and then uploading the revised shortcut file to your FTP server to replace the old one. Now if by "shortcut on the server" you're actually talking about a symbolic link supported by a Unix-based server, that's something you would need to change using a shell connection to the server.
This is a great tip. Is there a way that a link or shortcut like this could be placed into an email message as a clickable link. I've been struggling with this when I send out links to users. Even though we tell them to copy and paste the link into WINDOWS Explorer and not INTERNET Explorer, they will click the link anyway. Very frustrating.
You can put an FTP link to a file into an email like any URL. Clicking it will launch a browser and start the download of the file. But for a secured user connection to an FTP server, resulting in opening a folder in the desktop that leads to an FTP directory, that is something that has to happen through the Window's Explorer interface. For that, you would need a shortcut (such as described in this page). Unfortunately, most modern email programs filter out shortcut attachments for security reasons. So as far as I know, there is no way to do this via an email message.