10.6.6 - Finder: edit -> cut disabled

Thank you so much scigeek64hd . I never bothered to login to the support pages to post a reply, but this was so annoying and your simple answer made me so happy, I actually setup a ApplID just to say thanks. Loosing data, bad practice; sorry guys: that is BS, never lost a file with cut and paste in 20 year of Windows, for the simple reason one cannot loose data over this as the cut will not happen if the paste doesn't succeed.

OS X's Copy>Move ( cmd + C, cmd + alt + V) actually works a bit differently from Windows' Cut>Paste.

On Windows, the file that you cut will simply be copied to the clipboard, and ctrl + V will simply paste it and delete the original file. The file remains in the clipboard, so you can paste copies of it again as many times as you want.

However, cmd + alt + V on OS X will just keep moving the file. It will not create copies after the first move. You can, though, create copies if you switch to cmd + V after the first cmd + alt + V.

I find the OS X version more intuitive and consistent, since I sometimes move files from one location in Windows, and then change my mind. Normally, I'd have to re-cut the file, or just paste it and then come back and delete the file, whereas with OS X, I just press cmd + alt + V again.

This hint just kept me from returning my new MBP! Thanks!

I almost couldnt believe there was no CUT in OS X!

And now I cannot believe that Level 7 and above people dont mention this solution directly and explain why CUT is 'dangerous'.

😕

Cheers,

Tim

BananaCode wrote:

So, I guess you retract your previous ridiculous statement that cutting and pasting is dangerous now that apple has it implemented?

No, because Apple did not implement it in the same way that people on this topic wanted it to work. They implemented it in a different way, which is both safe and consistent with the user interface.

People who don't like losing their files do.

When you cut files/folders in the manner Windows does, it removes them from the list immediately. If you accidentally do another cut before doing anything with the previous cut, they're lost.

Apple's method helps to prevent that. The cut command only acts after you've marked selections to copy. Accidentally marking another group to copy before doing the cut command doesn't cause the previously marked items to disappear.

I take it you never used windows before. When you cut files/folder in windows, they are marked as cut but not removed from the list. If you accidentally cut an other file/folder, the previously marked cut item is unmarked and remains in the list and is not lost.

Now if we are talking about cutting text from a text file, then yeah, that gets lost. However, you can then simply press Undo and the lost text magically appears again.

Please inform yourself next time before spreading misinformation like that. Thanks.

I've used Windows for years. Long before moving to the Mac. That's the way it worked for a long time. However, I almost never use cut in Windows. It's much safer to copy, then delete the items from the first folder.

BananaCode wrote:

What goes on behind the scenes, nobody really cared.

This is not behind the scenes, it's the way the user interface works. If you don't think that consistency and attention to detail in the user interface are important, I would suggest that you're using the wrong system. That's the way Microsoft does things.

Did you need something here, or were you just posting to a very old topic to pick a fight with someone online?

Sorry Kurt, you're wrong about that. Going back *at least* as far as Windows XP (2001), cutting files and folders does nothing until they are pasted somewhere. Cutting files and folders in Windows is therefore no less safe than copying and then manually removing the originals.

Personally, while I recognise the inconsistency in Windows' implementation of "cut" between text and files/folders, I like that it provides an obvious alternative to using drag & drop for moving objects, because I like keyboard shortcuts, and don't like being forced to open a 2nd file window or return to the source location to manually remove the original objects. I do move operations all the time, so I can't believe Apple didn't provide *any* way of doing it without drag & drop until recently! OSX is known for its usability, so I find it perturbing when I discover that it forces a particular way of performing a common operation that Windows and/or Linux provides a choice of methods for.

Reading through again, I do have to admit I can't be as sure of that as I thought I was. What I likely remember is watching the source folder contents disappear after the move had been initiated. I still almost never used cut in Windows, though. Too dangerous. Any brown out, black out, or child turning the computer's power switch off (happened more than once to me), and one or multiple files would be permanently lost.

Kurt Lang wrote:

Reading through again, I do have to admit I can't be as sure of that as I thought I was. What I likely remember is watching the source folder contents disappear after the move had been initiated. I still almost never used cut in Windows, though. Too dangerous. Any brown out, black out, or child turning the computer's power switch off (happened more than once to me), and one or multiple files would be permanently lost.

No it doesn't loose file even in the face of sudden power outage. Actually inside the same volume if you move files between folders the safest action is move. A move will either move the file or simply fail to do anything and you will never have a partial copy. If you do a copy first and there is sudden power outage you can actually have a corrupted copy which I find is dangerous. If you actually move across volumes then as far as I recall it will be internally be a copy followed by delete so no risk there.

So no there is no technical reason to not have a move. It just that for some reason Apple decided it's either not worth implementing (earlier) or not be easily accessible (currently). Finder do make everything to do with keyboard difficult so it's apple's way of emphasising Apps as a mechanism to work with files (iTunes/Photo for example) than finder.

I have cut and pasted thousands and thousands of files and never lost one single piece of data. I cannot for the life of me understand why someone would not want to use cut and paste versus copy, paste and then delete.

Agree, you need to trust your OS will do the right thing.

By the way, why use option-CMD-V for "cut paste", it's such an awful combination of fingers IMO. Especially for users who are still using MS keyboards, while your thumb is already conditioned to press the cmd(Window) key for u all the time.

Shift-CMD-V would be a much easier combination. Apple please consider.

Thunder_66

(Windows user since MS Windows 2.0 to Win7, switched to OSX 2 month ago, and u know....)

In fact, from usability perspective, I don't really agree with the Opt-CMD-V methodology. Which determines what happens to the source file after you find a location for it and starting to paste.

As you select the source file, you should already decide whether you want to make a copy of it somewhere else, or you want it out of this current location. The MS way seems much more intuitive to me.

thomas_r. wrote:

WHAT??? there is a "cut" option under edit menu, it's just grayed out.. why did they include it if it doesn't work at all???????

It does work just fine, just not for what you want to do with it. Cutting files is dangerous if done wrong and inconsistent with all other cutting if done safely. That wouldn't bother a company that doesn't give a crap about their OS's interface, but that company ain't Apple.

sorry, this is ********...

Watch yourself there, pal... that is not a word that anyone with half a brain uses as an insult. Your choice of words makes you sound like an ignorant and self-absorbed teenager.

How is cutting files dangerous and how is it done "the wrong way"?