Allow files being copied to merge with existing files instead of replacing

Hi,
In Mac OS X you can't have two files or folder of the same name in the same directory that's why it asks you whether you would like to replace it.
What you can do is to double click on folder A of drive 1 select folders B and C (you can do this by the keyboard shortcut A) and drag them on folder A of drive 2.

Tidal,

As one poster has already stated, OS X is not Windows. Further, if it worked just like Windows, it would be.... Windows!

There are things you can do in OS X that you cannot do in Windows, and vice versa. There are conventions in place in OS X that are not present in Windows, and vice versa. In the end, IMO, there are many more things one can do in OS X.

This isn't to say that the "way of doing things" is better in one OS or another, merely that they are different. Get over it, and adapt. Really.

The simple answer to your question is to open said folder, select the contents, then drag that to the new destination. If necessary, create a new folder, named however you like, to store the items you intend to drag. Or just drag them to an existing folder, being aware of the fact that OS X will not typically allow you to "bloat" things by copying over what will be assumed are duplicates, by virtue of the fact that they have the same name.

There are things about this or that version of OS X that really bug even (some of) those that dearly love OS X, and wouldn't want to use anything else, but there's nothing that warrants getting as steamed as you seem to be over this. Especially when the solution, or in this case the adaptation required, is so simple.

Scott

Ok now what if I have A1 through A99999999999. I don't want to have to go into each A folder to copy the contents to the other hard drive.

You don't need to go into each A folders, just copy A1 through A99999999999 by the keyboard shortcut (A) and drag them to folder A of drive 2.
Since this is a different operating system you need to do things a little different way. I can bet that once you get used to the system, you are gonna love it.

Is funny to see people saying that MAcOs is not windows 🙂

If we talk about the fact that the 2 os are totally different because they work in a different way is one thing; while if we say that the UI (that's what finder is...a UI, same for IE on Windows...you can call it AERO or whatever you like, but is IE in the end) is totally different we are going to say something that is incorrect.

The left click is left click on any OS, same for the right one that calls the contextual menu...these are things that were set up as default by almost all the modern os that has a UI instead of being textual; so if MacOs wanna replace instead of merge is a problem for who use Unix/solaris/bsd/linux, Windows, Beos, AmigaOs and others.

The point is not that me, the user, adapt to the os, but is the OS that must do what i want, because i am the one that use it; so would make more sense to add features like every other os does, and make happy the users, instead of delivering this software ultra simplified (except the pro apps) that simply says "this is what i wanna give you, use it, adapt to it and don't try to do something else except what i let you to do"....are we free to operate an os in the way that we want? The answer is no 😉

Doesn't cost too much to do operations in a way or another, or get used to an os or another, but in the end the lack of a replace (like the lack of a move instead of copying) is something that surprise me...seems that Apple while writing functionality, decide that some has to be cut off...probably because they have no clue how to resolve an issue or being lazy (somebody said the issue with the duplicates in Itunes, or the impossible management of more than one library without loosing ratings and playcounts?).

No offense, but if something can be done with AmigaOs, that is based on Unix (like MacOs) and more than 15 years old, i can't really understand why MacOs has to bother users in this way without giving choices to decide how they wanna copy their folders 🙂

an example above all: i have poser, a lot of material come in zip files where the runtime folder is zipped, so on pc is enough to decompress the zip file and copy it into the main poser directory, so the files inside the runtime folder will merge (we are talking of 10-20 folder nested in each other...takes 10 minutes to do the operation by hand as suggested ); I tried the same on MAc and the result was that i lost an afternoon installing stuff without realizing that i was not merging but replacing LOL

If any of you has poser he knows what i am talking about....and the solution? launch bootcamp or parallels and then copy the runtime folder from the pc drive to mac drive 🙂

Tidal...long story short.....get parallels and organize the files with Windows, then copy the folder on Mac and replace it

Message was edited by: darshie76

or use the console:

mv [drag the folder to copy in the terminal window] [type the destination folder]

and you will merge the content instead of replacing it'

Good job Apple! think different and use the terminal LOL

I am a longtime Mac user. I have photo files using the date of the photos as the filenames. I am trying to merge these files using the date and don't want to replace them, which will delete the some of the files. Could you help a non-programmer to use the Terminal to accomplish the merge. I have read your above comment and I am still lost.
WJSMD

Well, for one, Apple's OS X is not Windows...