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Yesterday I seem to have copied something and put my laptop to sleep. Now this morning I get the option on every right click (I mean in Windows Explorer and on the desktop) to "Undo Copy", but I don't remember what I had copied and don't know what it will undo.

Any way to find out?

Note: I did not right click on the file and select "Copy", which would have then given the option to Paste. Instead, I had dragged the file and selected "Copy Here".

I am on Windows 10, 2018-04-10 Update (version 1803).

Does anyone know where does windows store this info ?

David Kent
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    It looks like you're trying to create a problem where one doesn't exists. – HazardousGlitch Nov 20 '19 at 13:46
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    @gronostaj Maybe I won't be interested in undoing it, but I am curious to learn as to where does windows have this information stored. – David Kent Nov 24 '19 at 05:57
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    I never thought that people here would post such comments that WHY you want to know, WHY does it matter, YOU are creating a PROBLEM !!...its just a question.. if you can help then help if you can't then move on. – David Kent Nov 24 '19 at 05:59
  • @hamzahdar People oftentimes come here to have their problems solved, but ask wrong questions. So when I see an unusual question I always try to understand what's the issue behind it so I can help them solve the problem instead of posting an unhelpful answer to a wrong question. Your question is a great example of this phenomenon: you wanted to know where Windows stores this information and no answer actually answered this question because you've asked a different one (how to find out what operation would be undone). – gronostaj Nov 24 '19 at 10:27

4 Answers4

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  1. Install TreeSize Free.

  2. Index your C drive and take a screenshot of the total number of files in various directories.

  3. Undo the copy action in question

  4. Re-index your C drive.

  5. Compare the number of files and folders from before and after and see which location contains a discrepancy.

  6. Once you find it, do a couple of undo/redos to identify the contents that were added with the copy action in question.

enter image description here

What to do if a drive is no longer available?

If the following message appears when attempting to undo the copy, then re-map or reconnect the drive in question first before clicking Try Again:

enter image description here

Do not click Cancel as that would remove the Undo Copy option from your context menu and you would not be able to reattempt the undo action.

Mr Ethernet
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  • That's fine if you copied to your C drive. – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 20 '19 at 13:31
  • This would actually work with mapped drives or other local drives too. He could just make a note of the total number of files in each drive (again using TreeSize because it's faster than using Explorer here), then take a screenshot for each drive letter's results before the undo and see which one changed afterwards. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 14:59
  • You specifically said C drive. Also the drive the file was copied to may not be available any more. Network or virtual drives being the most obvious example. – Lightness Races in Orbit Nov 20 '19 at 15:04
  • I've updated my answer to cover the possibility of different drives being the destination. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 15:10
  • @LightnessRaceswithMonica I was actually working with multiple external drives as I was organizing my data, so could be that as well. – David Kent Nov 24 '19 at 05:32
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    @MrEthernet Thanks a lot for your time and help...though this is the only possible solution right now I could use to find out ....it is a pretty long process and a lot of comparisons....I just wish there was a simpler way to find out where does windows save the path for that undo action...anyways i'll accept your answer if I could not get a way to find it out in windows itself. Thank you again. – David Kent Nov 24 '19 at 05:37
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If you see that "undo copy" menu, whatever you have copied is still in the clipboard.

An easy way to find out what's in there is to create an empty new folder, go into the folder, then paste.

Community
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SparedWhisle
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    Although that would tell him what he copied, it wouldn't tell him where he pasted it. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 04:31
  • Great !! Because of you its gone now and now it shows "Undo New" and now i will never know what could have been "Undo copy". I should not have even tried this. This was not a clipboard type of action like print screen, this was a file explorer action. – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 04:34
  • @MrEthernet No there was never any option that would allow "Paste" – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 04:34
  • **It's not too late**. Undo the new folder creation. You will then see "Undo copy" again! – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 04:37
  • "No there was never any option that would allow "Paste" You can copy a file in Explorer by right click dragging it, then choosing `Copy here`. That would copy it directly without ever putting anything on the clipboard, so you would get an "Undo copy" command despite having no Paste option in the context menu. You can still undo and redo that copy the same way. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 04:40
  • @MrEthernet Exactly...but I don't think I got any option to "Undo Copy" again but for the sake of knowing I shall again replicate things for testing – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 04:51
  • You need to undo twice. The first will undo the last action (Create new folder). The second undo will undo the action the occurred before that (Undo copy). There's a sequence of actions that Windows remembers, not just the most recent one. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 04:58
  • "If you see that "undo copy" menu, whatever you have copied is still in the clipboard." Not necessarily. Try copying something by using the context menu when you drag it using the right mouse button. You'll get an "undo copy" option despite not having a "paste" option. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 15:08
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After some research, and according to How to view file explorer operations history? , seems that currently no a simple enough solution ...

Better than nothing, "hovering on the undo/redo buttons inside Quick Access Toolbar" would be a barely working workaround, in many cases.

laoyb
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We know it's somewhere in Explorer, so that helps to narrow it down at least.

You could try switching between undoing and redoing the last action while looking at your desktop.

Undo = Control+Z

Redo = Control+Y

If you see no change, go to another folder you were working in and see if you see any files disappear when you perform the undo.

I don't know of a better way but this trial-and-error method is a starting point at least.

Mr Ethernet
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  • Issue is yesterday I was organizing my data so I worked in a LOT of drives and folders so this still wont help me – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 05:30
  • Maybe you have clipboard history enabled still. Try pressing Windows + V and seeing if anything shows up. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 05:55
  • Windows 10 v1803 does not have a clipboard history option, That option was released in windows 10 v1809 and it is not enabled by default – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 06:04
  • Okay. Well I have v1909 but with Clipboard History disabled. It still allows me to redo multiple actions, so I think you're okay. Try creating a new folder, then pasting into that folder. That will give you the name of your file and the contents will help you to recognize it if there are multiple files with the same name. Then do a search for files of that name on your PC and see what matches. Then do a few undos until you find the event that caused the file/folder to be pasted there. I can't remember if you still have a paste option or not: if not, this won't work. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 06:07
  • I already told you, there is no paste option I had copied by dragging the file (I always do like this) – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 06:12
  • I recommend updating your Windows 10 and getting the Clipboard History feature if having a history of your clipboard is vitally important. There are more sophisticated third-party solutions but this would be a good starting point. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 06:12
  • Yes I do need to update but I doubt this is something that clipboard would save (because of the dragging and copying) – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 06:19
  • Good point. I have an idea for a different answer! – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 06:23
  • Event viewer may help – Broly LSSJ Nov 20 '19 at 06:31
  • @BrolyLSSJ Could you elaborate on that as to what should I look for in Event Viewer ? – David Kent Nov 20 '19 at 06:34
  • I don't think it will be in Event Viewer. That level of detailed auditing isn't enabled by default. – Mr Ethernet Nov 20 '19 at 07:45