Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

10.6.6 - Finder: edit -> cut disabled

why is 'cut' disabled under edit? how do I move files from one location to another? (10.6.6)

(when you right-click on a file only "move" option is "move to Trash"...;-)

can I config OS to fix this? it's really not very practical...

thank you...

iMac

Posted on Mar 28, 2011 2:13 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 1, 2011 10:49 PM

the short answer is that it is not disabled because it doesn't exist.

now, let's get some things straight. firstly let me just say that i have been a mac user for years, and i have never even owned a computer that ran windows 7.

having said that, with all due respect, it seems as though some of you folks have never even used windows before.

_*1. if you cut A and then cut B, it will NOT lead to data loss, you will NOT lose A.*_

what happens when you Cut:
i. file/folder is copied to the clipboard.
original item is NOT deleted.

what happens when you Paste after Cut:
i. item is copied to the destination.
ii. original item is deleted.

this means that if you perform 2 successive cuts, there will not be any 'unnecessary data loss'. in such a case, the first item will be restored its original position.

the ONLY exception to this is when you are cutting text from a text field. however, every discussion i have come across, including this one, is with regards to Finder, in which case it is not an issue. +*ironically, Cut is possible in mac when editing text fields.*+

again, i am not trying to offend anyone when i say that anyone who has a decent understanding of how windows works would know this.

_*2. You cannot move files between disks.*_

that is right, you cannot move files between disks. all you can do is copy them. rather than upgrade the hard disk on my macbook i for one connect it to a total of 3TB of external storage, which makes sense because that capacity does not even exist for laptop hard disk drives.

anyway, in the event that you try to drag and drop (i am not a fan of the whole keyboard dance thing, read below) files between HDDs, the file is only copied, not moved. this is in contrast to when the origin and destination are on the same disk, and the file is moved.

clearly, for someone like myself who transfers large amounts of data between disks, it becomes a hassle. if i dont move data out of my macbook HD it would get filled and i would have a problem.

on a side note, i am not a fan of the whole keyboard fingerdance simply because it is not intuitive. it is something that needs to be trained. to perform a shortcut you actually need to first recall what the shortcut is. you do not need to remember what a click is. even if it isn't a single step, all i need to perform are a succession of clicks, each prompting the next.

obviously, you can't stop someone like me; i use Path Finder.
48 replies

Apr 4, 2015 8:27 AM in response to BananaCode

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.

Apr 4, 2015 9:44 AM in response to BananaCode

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.

Apr 4, 2015 9:55 AM in response to Kurt Lang

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.

Apr 4, 2015 10:32 AM in response to BananaCode

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?

May 27, 2015 4:53 AM in response to Kurt Lang

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.

May 27, 2015 6:39 AM in response to rhythmace1

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.

Oct 9, 2015 9:29 AM in response to Kurt Lang

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.

Sep 2, 2016 12:18 AM in response to haneyt

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....)

10.6.6 - Finder: edit -> cut disabled

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.