Basic File Move creates Copy

Hello,
There seems to be different behavior moving files.
I just want to simply move them to a new space, not make an entire copy of them.
Example,
Moving files from desktop to a System/Document folder in the Finder.
After the move, the files are always copied from Desktop vs a simple move.
Is there a system preference that controls this by choice?
Thanks,
Phil
All updates current regardless what the profile says below.

Hello Barney,
I just did an experiment having two Finder windows open.
Moving a folder or file from one window to another makes a straight move w/o a copy.
So the action of moving a Desktop file/folder to the Finder's system of folders automatically makes a copy for the new spot, and leaves original behind on Desktop.
Not sure what's meant 'Where You cannot Delete", when the source is the same machine.
Back in the day of using a PC, 6-years or so,
there was always the option for a direct move, or copy.
Thanks

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Basic file movement question?

I'm on DW CS4. Have a very basic question regarding file movement that I can't seem to resolve. In the files panel on the right I have created a folder. Within that folder I have saved a bunch of files with the same name but different numbers after them. When I go into the folder to access one of the files they never stay in the numeric order I have assigned to them. I try and drag the numbered files up or down to get them back into numeric order but it doesn't seem to work. Can someone please explain this basic step in file management to get the files to line up where I want them in the file category on the right? Thanks for your time.

Besided sorting, when using numbers as part of the file name, you need to make sure you have at least two digits if your are going to have more than ten files. Start numbering with 01, 02, 03, 04 and so on. If not, the files will sort like the following:
file1
file10
file2
file20
file21
file3
file32
file4
And if you have more than a hundred, you will need to start with 001.
Hope this makes sense.

File movement and copying

Here where i work we use a software, whose files are stored on the server. But we also have a local copy of these files so that we can use the software when not in the office. Or when the server is down. The problem is, that many of my co workers are not very computer literate and the constant copying back and forth of files confuses them.
So I am trying to write an updater application. Basically all they would have to do is click a button, it would tell them whether there had been any important changes, and allow them to update by pressing a single other button.
I have the gui written, I have all the checks done, but i cannot figure out how to make Java take files in one place and copy them to another place. I would think this would be something that java is capable of. But as of this moment I am drawing a blank.
Any ideas?

Quick and dirty method is to use Runtime.exec() to execute the copy/move commands directly, though this is platform dependant.
Another way is to use InputStream and OutputStream to read the original file and write out the copy of the file.

Can no longer move or copy files between drives (not a newbie issue!)

Copying and moving files between internal and external devices, and external to external devices is no longer working.
*For the first time in my life, I get a "Circle with a Bar through it" when attempting to move or copy files.*
This doesn't happen between the two internal drives at all (though I'm worried it might start). It happens between two HFS+J devices as well as HFS+J and FAT32 devices. I can delete files, create folders, and in some instances where things are acting funny, copy to, but not from the device. A noticed side effect that is now happening is that I can no longer move drive icons (CDs, DVDs, HDs) to their upper-right hand corner position on the desktop, if they didn't start there. They don't drop there, just staying where they originally sat (under a list of desktop shortcuts and files). It does not matter if the drives are USB or Firewire, and this never happened previous to about a month ago.
I have done all the basic stuff -- verify/repair drives, reboot multiple times, mount & dismount, change connection ports, backed up-reformatted-and restored the smallest drive, fixed preferences (not at all relevant), Disk Warrior repair the devices, set all permissions to R/W, check all device related infos, researched on-line for a week... Nothing. I have even taken the devices to PCs, where they work perfectly, and as expected.
This issue is apparently either a corruption, or a bug induced by Software Update, in the part of the system that handles files and file structures, or possibly the _USB and Firewire_ interfaces.
I just need to know where all those relevant parts are in the system folders, so I can attempt to restore them from a backup previous to the last "Software Update," (to be sure. And to bring this one step closer to being solved).
A system restore really is not an option, as that would require nearly two weeks of re-tweaking everything from the system to every piece of software included (updating the system about 10 times via software update, reinstalling 90% of the actual software packages... and then updating those multiple times, looking-up all the serials that get killed, etc.)
I have to correct this fast, as we need to move the files from the work drives to the archive drives before we run out of room. So any help would be very appreciated... even if you only know where a few of the system components are located (it just might be one of those, causing the issue).
---TIA

{The last link in this post is most relevant, except for your recent finding.}
The reference was to the User permissions, per each; as when these
become corrupted, the simple 'repair disk permissions' and other
basic duties do not find an error with them. That is because there is
nothing really wrong with them from that standpoint.
Another odd error can happen if one is resizing partitions in an Intel
based Mac, and also if one has or had a BootCamp partition and
wanted to reclaim space. But not always. Thankfully, the only time
I tried Windows on a Mac, the media install disc was corrupted so
it just didn't happen. That was Virtual PC and Windows on PPC.
Tiger brought with it the ability to non-destructively resize partitions.
However, it was not thought to be successful in non-Intel based Macs.
The discussion on that matter came up a few years ago, so someone
has undoubtably tried that in a PPC and reported findings online.
When file sharing between user-account created content runs amok,
then the system(s) will not allow the content to be moved or shared.
So, if any shared user-account created content (including drives
initialized or handled without permissions ignored, clones wrong,
etc) are not the problem, then how does one explain these wrong
ful action circles-with-lines, or action disallowed warning symbols?
There must be a simpler answer. Do you have cats which have
access to your computers in the off-hours? They do keyboard.
Some have been thought to have technical skills outside of the
usual coy and cute play-acting people think they are limited to.
I'm sticking to the cats theory for now; the time is 3:21AM here
and I only am up to get a drink and look outside at +5°F. calm.
Mac OS X 10.4 Help: I can't move or copy a file or folder
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh194.html
• _Rearranging Files (and renaming them)_ InformIT: Mac OS X unleashed
http://www.informit.com/library/content.aspx?b=MacOS_XUnleashed&seqNum=122
It is good to have a backup for the backup; plus a backup Mac.
Good luck & happy computing!
{ edited: was distracted }

Not allowed to move (only copy) files within Shared Folder (yes, permissions are set to Read/Write)

I have moved my media (Music, Movies, Pictures) to the Users/Shared folder. As I'm doing some cleanup in these folders, I am trying to move several folders/files at once, all within the same Shared folder. I have confirmed that the permissions settings under "Get Info" are set to "Read/Write" and I have verified and repaired permissions with Disk Utility. However, every move I try to do is a copy. I have tried the Command-Drag method, but I'm still left with the green plus sign indicating a copy.
On smaller files/folders, this wouldn't matter so much as I would copy, then just delete the original. But I'm dealing with many, many gigs of music and my HD doesn't have space for holding copies, even if the originals will be deleted.
Very frustrating to have to spend so much time to figure out what would seem to be a very basic file management feature.
I've searched and read and searched some more, but I'm stuck. Thanks to any who can help.

Do have file sharing and remote login checked
When on Betty's computer, Sign into Bob's computer with Bob's username & Bob's Password, instead of Betty's.
BINGO!!!! Problem solved. Many thanks!!!

When trying to move file and use command and drag, it doesn't move the file just creates a short cut.

When trying to move file and use command and drag, it doesn't move the file just creates a short cut.

Using command creates a copy.
If you want to just move a file, click on it, hold it and drag it to the new location.

MW64, cs6 bridge when I move or copy files the context menu does not retain recent folder destinations after I close the program

W64, cs6 bridge when I move or copy files the context menu does not retain recent folder destinations after I close the program. The context options that show are the ones from original install. The workspace I set up is also gone. I have every explorer box and cleaner checked to save recent. Had to disable nivedia desktop software because of weird display conflict. Have Dell pro support and they cannot fix. Any ideas to help me with this would be appreciated.

Self-solved! I work in column view in Finder so get there in a Finder window with folders and files appearing.
There really is no problem, just select an ITEM in the COLUMN before right-clicking!
The "old" context menu will appear. If you click in the white space in that column (or anywhere in a Finder window) and then place the cursor over a folder or file WITHOUT selecting it and right-click you will bring up the secondary context menu - Open, Copy, Duplicate, View Options and a greyed out Labels option. No "Move to Trash".

How can I copy part of a larger PDF file and create a smaller one?

How can I copy part of a larger PDF file and create a smaller one?

Hi,
Copy the content of PDF file in Adobe Reader and paset it to MS Word then create PDF file from the Word file.
This may not work for all PDF files as some PDF files are not created correctly or some content cannot be copied.
Acrobat XI Pro has features to extract/delete/crop pages in PDF files and you can download it from www.adobe.com(Trial version- 30 days free). Or you can upgrade your subscription to Acrobat Plus and see more information at https://www.acrobat.com/acrobatplus/en/home.html
Hisami

Double-click automatically creates copy of a file

today my MacBook started automatically making copies of files when I double-click on them. So if I double-click a file on my desktop (such as a photo) rather than just opening the file, which is what i want to happen, it opens the file and creates a copy of the file on the desktop. this is annoying! it happens with files of all types. is there some setting that i can change? or is something wrong with the machine?

It is expected behavior, sir. This is what keeps DFSR from being too "chatty", or otherwise keeping replication traffic to an efficient minimum.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askds/archive/2008/12/17/understanding-file-date-time-behavior-in-dfsr-replication-and-better-ways-of-knowing-that-a-file-has-replicated.aspx
Another option could be to schedule a robocopy instead, customizing the switches that fit your use case:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145.aspx
Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope this helps.

New user...how do you drag or move or copy a file or folder from the desktop to an external drive? I have tried dragging and copy/pasting.

new user...how do you drag or move or copy a file or folder from the desktop to an external drive? I have tried dragging and copy/pasting.

My guess the problem you are running into is the drive is formatted for a PC as NTFS. OS X can read files from NTFS however it cannot write to it. Check the formatting on the drive, if it's NTFS then it should be reformatted to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), you can use Disk Utility to do this.
If you still have a PC and want to share the EHD with the PC and Mac please read MacWorld's Share an external drive between a Mac and a PC article.

Is there a way to move (not copy/paste) files between HDs w/out command?

I use external HDs a lot, so I move files from the Mac HD to to these external HDS but I always have to delete the source file after the copy/paste process is done I know I can push the command key and move them but I use my mouse more then anything and I would like to not use the command key. I've tried to use automator but for some reason the action quits working after while so I need to redo it-which gets annoying, but so does having to constantly copy/paste everything. So is there a way to achieve move with out copy/paste and automator? If there is, could let me know what that little delightful technique is?

I use the following 3rd party cut/paste apps - CopyPaste Pro & iClip. Both you can use either the mouse or key commands.

Saving Movie creates multiple files

It seems that every time i save a movie project a new file is created.
I now have three project files, for the same project.
Am I doing something wrong?
Should I be continually throwing out files?

Matti,
I was looking at the project properties in get info & I must have accidently ticked "lock". After that When I tried to save the project a message appeared telling I could not save because I didn't have access to the file. I can't recall exactly if it offered to save in another location or whether it did it autimatically .
Any how later on I noticed I had multiple projects & to test this I pressed save & observed a new project file appear. As this was all happening in the middle of any & eveything that could go wrong (at the time) I just took it to be 1 more exposed problem. So I retraced my steps & sure enough the project had a lock icon attached. so that was easily fixed!
I could delete all the following project files because I had not made any changes . Also it was only a test project to bring out problems.
Mark

In case of Control File Failure, Create Control File cmd how get scn?

The following lines i picked from the
http://asktom.oracle.com/pls/asktom/f?p=100:11:0::::P11_QUESTION_ID:5033895918209
======================================================
1. We can use the 'alter database rename ' at mount stage to rename any datafile. Or is it not possible to rename the system datafile like this? Why?
2. What happens to the SCN information in the controlfile when a controlfile is recreated? How will the database sync the SCN with that of the datafiles?
If I issue a 'backup controlfile to <file>' at 8 am and then restore that controlfile binary backup at 10 am and try to open the database, it will give me a control file old error. I understand that it is because the SCN is not in sync. But if I issue a 'backup controlfile to trace' at 8 am and use that script to recreate a new controlfile at 10 am, why doesn't I get the error? Where does it get the SCN information then?
So what is the use of taking a binary copy of the controlfile. Looks like having a 'backup controlfile to trace' script is better than a binary backup. Do you agree? Why/whynot?
Followup August 16, 2002 - 2pm US/Eastern:
1) you could but I just always did it with the create controlfile statement.
When moving system -- I do it that way
When moving ANY OTHER tablespace -- i just offline it, move the files, rename the files online it.
2) it just happens.
The control file you create will read the files to figure out what is up.
I agree, I've never used a binary controlfile backup myself.
=========================================================
My Question- In the Point2 above "Where does it get the SCN information and how control file do SCN Sync with data files?
"

1. The CREATE CONTROLFILE reads SCNs from the DataFiles. If the
database was last shutdown, all the datafiles are "non-fuzzy" and have the same
SCN (as of the shutdown checkpoint), If the database or some of the files are from
are hot backup, you cannot open the database because the SCN of some files is
older (lower) than others -- that is why a RECOVER (DATABASE or DATAFILE) is
required.
See http://web.singnet.com.sg/~hkchital/Incomplete_Recovery_with_BackupControlfile.doc
2. I'm not sure I agree with Tom Kyte's response
"I agree, I've never used a binary controlfile backup myself. "
to the question
"So what is the use of taking a binary copy of the controlfile. Looks like having a 'backup controlfile to trace' script is better than a binary backup. Do you agree? Why/whynot?"
If you have lost your database (storage/filesystem failure) and all your datafiles are lost,
you cannot simply do a CREATE CONTROLFILE from a Trace -- because the
CREATE CONTROLFILE has to read and verify all the datafiles specified in the
CREATE statement. If you have an RMAN Repository, you can use that to restore
your database files but otherwise, the RMAN information about backups and backupsets
are in the binary controlfile.
That is why it is important to take binary controlfile backups either manually or
using RMAN or using CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON.

file was not copied to the iPod because it cannot be played on this iPod

Hi,
   I'm a complete newb with the first generation iPod Touch. It's my wife's and I don't use it but I wanted to experiement with giving her access to some movies. As an experiment I've encoded 1 chapter of a movie on my Linux box using Handbrake using the iPhone & iPod Touch preset. The file is about 7MB. It plays fine on the Linux box. I've copied it over to my Windows machine, have my wife's iPod Touch hooked up and it's visible in iTunes. I select the video directory for the iPod in iTunes and then try dragging the video file into iTunes. At this point I'm presented the message:
<file> was not copied to the iPod <iPod name> because it cannot be played on this iPod.
   In searching the forums it seems that one potential solution is to choose Advanced->Create iPod or iPhone version which unfortunately is grayed out an unselectable. I suspect that this is because I don't have the video file inside of iTunes, but I'm not sure about that.
   When I choose Library->Movies I just get a few options about renting and downloading that take me to the iTunes store.
   How do I get this video into iTunes so that I can try to get it onto the iPod?
Thanks,
Mark

As a follow-up I talked to my son who has an iPod and he tells me that, assuming I understood him correctly, when I open iTunes and choose Library->Movies I should see something like a file browser, and that when I drag the video from my desktop into iTunes I should see it there in the browser.
I currently am not seeing anything that looks like a file browser, but something more like an adversitisement for capabilities of iTunes and the iTunes store. I've got a green shopping bag that has some text to the right saying 'Download movies' and to the right of that some green tickets to the right with text that says 'Rent movies'.
I understand that I want to use the iTunes converter in the advanced menu, but I haven't figured out how to use that on a random file like the m4v file on my desktop.
Thanks

In 10.7, I No longer have permissions to files I created in 10.6

I upgraded to Lion back in 2012 from Snow Leopard on my Macpro 1,1 (Because it can't go any higher than 10.7)
And to Mountain Lion from Snow Leopard on my Macbook Pro 5,5.
One EXTREMELY ANNOYING change that was made (and continuing in Mountain Lion) is that I no longer have permissions to my files that once belonged to me in Snow Leopard.
And when upgrading from 10.5 to 10.6, this was never a problem.
If I created files or folders within Snow Leopard, once I upgraded to Lion (and Subsequently Mountain Lion on my Newer Macbook Pro), I have lost my rights to those files.
For example:
When I try to delete files off my system, I have to enter the password for my Snow Leopard OS (the password on the OS when the file was created). Luckily I didn't change it. If I didn't know the password, I would not be able to delete the file from my computer.
When I try to move a file or folder, instead of just Moving the location of the item, it creates a Copy instead, which takes up twice the space (Yes I know there are work arounds for this such as moving to the trash then recopying, but that still takes a lot of time).
What are the fixes to this?
Adjusting Share & Permissions in Info does not work.
Fixing Permission within Disk utility does not work.
Holding down the Command key also does nothing.
The OS is saying I do not own the file so I have to have the password from the true owner to do anything to it.
Please help. This is extrememly cumbersome.

Event Video Guy wrote:
Could you further elaborate on this Migration Assistant?
See How do I set up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC? for an explanation of the difference between Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant and links to the gory details of each.
Using Migration Assistant instead of Setup Assistant usualliy causes permissions problems, as detailed in the pink box in Problems after using Migration Assistant.
But you didn't use either; you just copied things from one user account to a different one (it may have had the same name, but a different UID), resulting in the same problem.
I created a file using OSX Leopard. I used a different password. Then I saved the file as I detailed above to the external drive.
I upgraded back to Mountain Lion and dragged the file back to my computer. When I tried to move or delete the file, once again, it asked me for a password before I could delete the file.
This time, it would only accept the password from my system, when the file was created.
If I tried to type in my current Admin password, it would not move or delete.
The version of OSX doesn't matter. You must have used two different user accounts -- they might have had the same name, but different UIDs.
One user, even an Admin user, doesn't normally have permission to a different user's files.
This is very frustrating.
No doubt. Since you won't read the links that would fix the problem, you're not going to understand or be able to fix it.
Again: One user, even an Admin user, doesn't normally have permission to a different user's files.
Last time -- there are two very different things:
• Repair Disk Permissions via Disk Utility works on files installed by OSX or the OSX installer; not files you created, and not files on a disk that doesn't have OSX installed. See About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature.
• Resetting Password and/or Home Folder Permissions sets the permissions on files in a home folder to the defaults.

Basic File Move creates Copy

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