drag file to CD or DVD, alias instead of copy

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drag file to CD or DVD, alias instead of copy

I am very surprised at the fact that in Tiger dragging files to a CD or DVD image (yet to be burned) creates aliases of the files instead of copying the files. By option-dragging you can make a copy.
If you didn't notice thisfeature, you should have a look at your backup disks to find out if you have actual data or just aliases to the stuff you threw out after burning the backup.

I am having a hard time getting my head around why Apple made this change in Tiger, and why has it not been discussed yeton these forums?

Am I being a silly person by missing something obvious, or is this a major flaw? If I am please let me know!

Matt

G5 DP2000 DDR, Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Posted on Mar 30, 2006 1:50 PM

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Answer 1

Matt Harter1 Author

Level 1

5 points

Mar 30, 2006 2:24 PM in response to Matt Harter1

Reply to myself:

The Finder in Tiger creates aliases on the disk image but copies the original files over when the burn is started. This saves time and hard disk space I assume.

I talked with both users that experienced the loss of files and the following situations seem to have occured:

1. The user dragged her files to the disk before burning and then dragged them back to the hard drive. She overwrote actual files with aliases by doing so, destroying the original data.

2. The second situation is more mysterious, but I suspect that the removable volume that the files were on was jected before the disk was burned, so only aliases were created on the CD.

I think it is wise for all of us Tiger users to understand the process behind the smooth interface when burning disks using Finder. Things are not what they seem, so your actions may have a different effect than you think!

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