hotwheels 22

Q: Finder (or other) replace with newer file functionality?!

i just realized that i think i have been pretty much willy-nilly overwriting same name files with other same name files without the benefit of having a "do you want to overwrite this OLDER file with this NEWER file" prompt or alternatively a "do you /really/ want to overwrite this NEWER file with this OLDER file prompt".

 

i realize i have a lot of data and that my doing this has been somewhat hasty but i guess i have been used to this functionality existing in MS OS explorer for so long i did not think twice about it.

 

these files are long under the bridge and it is possible that they exist elsewhere on my HD but can anyone that has experience with "dual use" or major experience with Mac OS help me out there? does this functionality not exist? can i get it with some kind of App?

 

i cannot reasonably expect to compare files one to one when sorting my HD so any advice here on automating this in a way that does not involve lots of steps or heavy scripting would also be great.


TIA

Posted on Jun 20, 2014 9:51 AM

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Q: Finder (or other) replace with newer file functionality?!

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  • by CT,

    CT CT Jun 20, 2014 10:01 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 6 (17,882 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 20, 2014 10:01 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    It is not clear to me exactly what you are asking.  Are you saying that you are able to save a file with the file name (and location) of an existing file and you get no warning about overwriting the existing file?  This should never happen. Normally, if you don't see a warning, then you have not overwritten anything. How are you "overwriting" the files?  Which application are you using to do it?

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 Jun 20, 2014 10:04 AM in response to CT
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 20, 2014 10:04 AM in response to CT

    sorry. what i meant to say was that i don't believe finder is giving me a prompt that tells me which file is /older/ or /newer/. i could be wrong about this as i am using ML and Mavericks and i tend to work very fast but i am remembering this as being a core part of explorer - it gives me a prompt that tells asks me if i want to overwrite but it tells me whether the file is older or newer -  which is so helpful i am having a hard time understanding how this is not a core part of mac os if in fact it does not exist….

  • by CT,

    CT CT Jun 20, 2014 10:14 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 6 (17,882 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 20, 2014 10:14 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    As I said, you should always be asked to confirm whether you want to over-write a file.  Please describe precisely what you do to over-write a file without getting a message.

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 Jun 20, 2014 10:25 AM in response to CT
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 20, 2014 10:25 AM in response to CT

    hi. this is even worse than i thought. hopefully a mac technician or expert will chime in here.

     

    if you are about to overwrite a newer FOLDER mac os will prompt to let you know if it the "overwriting" file is older (presumably it will also prompt if the overwriting folder is newer but who knows since i did not test it) but if you are about to overwrite a newer FILE it will not give you a prompt.

     

    to test this you can create a folder on your desktop called "test".

    1. drag and drop a random FILE into this folder.

    2. create an untitled folder on your desktop

    3. create an untitled folder in this test folder.

    4. copy the FILE into the test folder

    5. then copy the untitled folder into the test folder.

     

    in one case you get a prompt telling you that the overwriting folder is older and in the other case with the FILE you don't get a prompt.

     

    unless i mixed up the order of creating and copying files this seems like a pretty hair-brained scheme to have for an OS.

     

    maybe i am missing something.

     

    BTW i am testing on my desktop which can only go to ML OS.

    Screen Shot 2014-06-20 at PM.12.17.27.pngScreen Shot 2014-06-20 at PM.12.17.13.png

  • by CT,

    CT CT Jun 20, 2014 10:41 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 6 (17,882 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 20, 2014 10:41 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    I am still confused. In step 1 you put the FILE into the Test folder. How can I then copy the file into the test folder in step 4.  Do you mean just duplicate it?  I get no warning, but the copied file is renamed.  Both files are kept.  In step 5 I get the folder replace confirmation that you get.  The first confirmation dialog you show is appropriate.  What is the problem? 

     

    Probably we should wait for a mac technician or expert to chime in.

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 Jun 20, 2014 10:49 AM in response to CT
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 20, 2014 10:49 AM in response to CT

    hi. thanks.

     

    it could be good to get the behavior with two users.

     

    so in step 4 you should just be able to right click on the file and select COPY and then right click on the test folder and select PASTE. i have to assume that this will give you the same prompt as /dragging/ the file over the test folder but i haven't tested this.

     

    maybe you can test the right click copy method for the file and test the drag and drop method and see if you get the same prompt as i get (i.e. one that DOES NOT tell you if the over-writing file is /older/ than the one you are replacing…)?

     

    i mean, it would be great if it told you it is older in BOTH cases since i deal with very large multiple selections of files but even a handful of files are going to be hard to compare manually...

  • by hotwheels 22,

    hotwheels 22 hotwheels 22 Jun 24, 2014 9:36 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 24, 2014 9:36 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    ran into some information on this while looking at Forklift.

     

    apparently mac OS treats folders as "packages" and really has no way of getting in there and discerning if there are new or old files in relation to some other folder with the same name. so not only do you not get an option to MERGE data within the folder so also (apparently) are not getting even a prompt that says that one is older than the other when you rewrite over one (though why it cannot report even the age of the folders seems like just an oversight and not a core programming issue).

     

    i now understand why i have always had to open two folders and copy or move the CONTENTS and deal with the global prompt to overwrite or click through each individual report for each individual file...

     

    anyway, i am going to take a look at Araxis Merge to see if it will help with this problem as it would be helpful to get better prompts when moving or overwriting folders.

  • by trexaurus,

    trexaurus trexaurus Aug 7, 2016 1:07 AM in response to hotwheels 22
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 7, 2016 1:07 AM in response to hotwheels 22

    I think you were a Windows user who used to benefit from the descriptive dialog boxes / prompts which helped us decide which files to overwrite and which don't. I'm facing the same issue. I really don't like Mac not providing descriptive info about both the files (the files that are being copied and the files that are a match / to-be-overwritten files). I don't know how to compare each file in a similar kind of directory where so many files with same name but different modified dates, file sizes exist

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Aug 7, 2016 8:53 AM in response to trexaurus
    Level 9 (69,813 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 7, 2016 8:53 AM in response to trexaurus

    Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem or a suggestion for improvement. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem/suggested change solved sooner.

     

    Feedback