How to add Dropbox, Google Drive, or SkyDrive to Windows' send-to menu

Dragging and dropping isn't always the fastest way to handle file operations. Either you have to open and arrange two windows, or you have to navigate Explorer's folder tree, which many users find confusing.

Sometimes it's just easier to right-click a file, then choose its destination from Windows' Send to menu.

By default, that menu includes such destinations as Desktop, Mail Recipient, and Compressed Folder. Wouldn't it be great if you could add Dropbox, Google Drive, SugarSync, SkyDrive, or another cloud service to that menu? You can; here's how:

1. Open Windows Explorer. (Just to clarify, that's Windows Explorer, not Internet Explorer.)

2. Select the following text, then copy it to the clipboard by pressing Ctrl-C.

%APPDATA%/Microsoft/Windows/SendTo

3. In Explorer, click in an empty area inside the address bar. Doing so should highlight everything in there (meaning the currently displayed folder location).

4. Press Ctrl-V to paste in that previously copied text, then press Enter. Now you should be looking at the folder containing Windows' send-to shortcuts.

5. Now you need to find the Windows shortcut to Dropbox, SkyDrive, or whatever. This may require opening another Explorer window, or you may have a shortcut on your desktop. Either way, right-click it and choose Copy.

6. Back in the original Explorer window, the one displaying SendTo, right-click an open area and choose Paste. Presto: Your shortcut appears. Close the window and you're done.

Now, whenever you right-click any file or folder and mouse over Send to, you should see your cloud service among the options. Click to send the document(s) winging their way skyward.