Cut & Paste in Finder

Can somebody explain how to use cut and paste in macOS Sierra? I'm new to the Mac and used to things like working shortcuts and menu options. On Ubuntu the keyboard shortcut is Ctrl-X to cut, Ctrl-V to paste. Or right-click in the finder and choose "Cut" or "Paste" as needed.

I'm trying to move a folder of music files from ~/Music to ~/Downloads. It's just plain old music files. I created them and have all the permissions.

On my iMac and MacBook the usual cut and paste methods don't work at all. Command-X gives a bing-bing sound, right-click gives a greyed-out menu with Cut and Paste made inaccessible.

Is there a secret or trick to making it cut and paste or am I doomed to copy/paste and delete every time I want to move a folder or file?

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS Sierra (10.12), null

Posted on Sep 30, 2016 10:20 AM

Top-ranking reply

ste.kelly

Level 1

14 points

Posted on Feb 2, 2017 10:46 PM

This is a bug.

I have the same system as you (5K Retina iMac with Sierra) and sometimes all Finder menu commands (including cut/paste) are greyed out - they are greyed out in the Menu bar and when you right-click. Other times all Finder commands are available and work as they are supposed to. (CMD C should copy a file, CMD V pastes a copy, ALT CMD V moves the file). I also find that when this happens the Finder window close and zoom buttons stop working too, so I can't even close a Finder window.

The quickest workaround for me is to open Force Quit from the main Apple menu, select Finder in the list and click the Relaunch button. The Finder relaunches and works OK again.

I've never run into this particular problem before, only since using Sierra (Sierra has many bugs). I haven't found the root cause of the bug yet, still looking. You should give Apple feedback on this bug and they'll hopefully correct it in the next update.

Hope that helps

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18 replies

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,502 points

Apr 13, 2017 7:31 PM in response to hank3333

Your method was correct. Select the items to move, press Command+C, click on the target folder, press Command+Option+V.

While it's not how I normally move files, I have tested it quite a few times, and it does work. I can't explain getting nothing in the target folder.

hank3333

Level 1

9 points

Apr 13, 2017 8:07 PM in response to Kurt Lang

I appreciate your help.I found that when I click once on the folder and command-alt-v, the file goes below that folder and all of its contents. If I double-click on the folder to open it in another window, then the file goes into that folder like I wanted. Don't know why the extra steps are necessary.

Cronist

Level 1

4 points

Feb 1, 2017 2:01 PM in response to canadia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=842ddJSpILw

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Cut & Paste in Finder