Copying Vs Moving Files On a Mac

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Windows guy who just added a Mac to the workflow. Moving files (not copying) on a Mac has been my last annoying mystery on the Mac Thanks for clearing that up!

[@meeluanistyn1644]

Clear, well-structured and with a helpful diagram. I've yet to find another Channel where the presenters match what you provide. Thank you.

[@blindadvocate]

As a person who is blind this was great as the instructions were clear and concise, people who are blind and use screen readers like voice over on the mac have to commit every key command to memory so you can see this can lead to memorising hundreds of key commands/short cut keys so well done .

[@macmost]

I've been trying to get better at my descriptions. Thanks.

[@pixels1497]

Oh Gary, you saved me. I watched a few others before I found you and was totally confused by them. Your explanation for a new Mac user was just brilliant as I am finding it a hole new learning phase from 30 years of Windows. Subscribed.

[@deannamelchert5083]

I appreciate your teaching style SO MUCH!! You get to the point, you know exactly what you are going to say before you hit record so you aren't having to go slow, deal with mishaps, correct yourself, I am SO HAPPY to have found you!!! LIFESAVER!!!

[@robertofinali2495]

immensely useful! You can't imagine how much time I spent looking for this precise feature of moving instead of pasting without success, until I found this video. Great job!

[@GMPO3]

It never fails. Whenever I think I already know a subject and don't need to watch the video but watch it anyway, I learn a lot of new things!

[@CarlosvanH]

whatever doubt that comes acorss, there's always some Gary's video to save the day. YOU ARE THE BEST MY FRIEND. Thanks!!

[@davidandhometech]

Thanks for pointing these out in your usual clear and concise manner. For me some of the choices Apple has made here are confusing especially with the move away from local to cloud storage. As you point out, going back to the basics and remembering that you can achieve the desired action in multiple ways is helpful. For me, knowing that there's a difference in functionality depending on the From vs To location, the optional Option or Command keys are the thing to try to remember. Another 6+ minutes well spent, thank you!

[@macmost]

It isn't just Apple moving to cloud storage. The whole industry is doing it. It makes sense since almost all people now have more than one device, and it is better to have all of your data and files available across those devices.

[@qwincyq6412]

@@macmost it makes sense but not when there’s no access to the cloud storage. Then one is left incapable of using the files. Perhaps one is on the road, or as just happened here, a severe storm left residents without internet access for up to two days.

[@macmost]

@@qwincyq6412 If you have "Optimize" turned off, then ALL of your files are available even if you are offline. That's the way to go if you think you may be offline some of the time. If you have "Optimize" turned on, you still have recent and frequently-accessed files available as space allows.

[@haralddoerr]

Gary - This is pure Gold Nugget. Thanks for the great Information - as usual. Harald from Germany

[@aliceitty]

3:20 - Thanks, regarding moving files.

[@MacLamar]

You always have such straight forward easy to understand videos that always give me the exact answer to my questions. Thanks so much. 👍

[@peteallennh]

Gary, thanks so much for these videos. You are doing a huge service to the Mac community!

[@rupertbeehsley1680]

From a Newb, thanks a million, clear and concise.

This was so helpful. I was trying to MOVE a file from one folder on my extral harddrive to another folder still on that same external harddrive, but it kept coping. Because it was a large fiiles It would take so long to copy and and eat up valuabe storage room. The trick to hold command while moving the file has saved me so much frustration. Thank you!

[@TheWaqaspuri]

Using the Shortcut App : how to make select file get selected(from anywhere) and 1-click move to the specific folder . Select File -> Move To > MyFolder

[@carolinebarlow4795]

Thanks very much, Gary, for this excellent clarification of move/copy commands for files. Very helpful!

[@AsiaAlexander]

This was very helpful! I want to move video files from my Macbook to my external so I can free up space on my Mac. But you brought up a good point about having a backup in case the external hard drive fails or is lost.

[@wawanbalik]

One of the most confusing operations in MacOS for someone coming from Windows. Thank you!

[@CreativeFilms2003]

Perfectly clear and straight to the point. Thanks so much!

[@jerryrounds8586]

Simple file management made easy. Thanks Gary.

[@rickzabala6020]

Got it, thank you. It was a vague memory come to light.

[@Alexa-zr6rc]

Thank you, Gary! I was so stuck on how to do this.

[@rherteux]

Great video with very clear explanations, thank you! As others have mentioned, this is one of the most confusing/frustrating things for somebody coming from the Windows world. Wish Mac OS had a right click copy and right click paste option, not sure why they don't. Unless you use the keyboard shortcuts frequently you're not likely to remember them...Mac OS seems very reliant on keyboard shortcuts vs Windows.

[@macmost]

You can right click copy and paste in the Finder, sure. Right click on a file, choose Copy. Then, with a file in the clipboard you can right click on a folder (or a blank space in a Finder window) and choose Paste Item.

[@rherteux]

@@macmost The problem is that it doesn't move the file like it does in Windows if it's on the same drive, as I recall. I know there's a keyboard command for that but as with all things Mac, unless I use it frequently I forget.

[@macmost]

@@rherteux Hold Option down to toggle between "paste" and "move" and which one you are doing is clearly named in the context menu command at any point. Mac is not Windows, Windows in not Mac. Not everything in either system is going to be exactly how you like it.

[@rherteux]

@@macmost I understand they're not the same nor do I expect them to be, it just makes it hard for someone coming from a Windows machine or in my case, using Windows for work stuff most of the day then Mac for personal stuff on weekends. I wish someone came out with a Windows Explorer for Mac app. If Apple just implemented a "Cut" command like Windows, this problem would be solved. At any rate, I figured out how to do it...right click Copy then Option-right click-"Move item here". I just have to Google this every time I want to do file management on my Mac. Anyhow, I appreciate your helpful videos and for taking the time out of your day to reply to my whining. :)

[@Oldnose63]

@@rherteuxTotally agree with you. It is very confusing and frustrating. Finder and setting up a good archive is so weird and makes you go mad coming from windows. It’s impossible to understand or not intuitive for me. It’s the dealbreaker for me.

[@shampoo398]

Thank you so much, Clear and easy to follow.

[@joecrak249]

ABSOLUTELY GREAT CONTENT SUBSCRIBED!!! thank you very much for your in-depth and educational content that you take the time to creat and provide to the pc community

[@EmmanuelFonte]

You are simply the best!

[@b.griffin317]

Very helpful. Thank you Gary.

[@qwincyq6412]

It’s curious how the commands are so contextual, ie it’s command or alt depending upon if it’s a local drive or external etc. It’s like six ways to Sunday with so many variables to remember. Thanks for the chart I may have to memorize it or print it out.

[@nevenkofilipek]

Hi, I have a specific situation. I have a folder with subfolders that have jpg files in. On windows i could search for jpg files and then copy jpg files from another folder to this search folder and replace the jpg-s in all subfolders. On a mac I cannot do that because it wont let me paste files in search window. Is there any solution for that? Thank you.

[@thesagniksaha]

I cant believe I actually had to watch this video to deal with my new mac

[@housestompin]

Great video, thank you for this.

[@PW-72648]

Super helpful, thanks!

[@koushikbhattacharya832]

Thanx...its vey helpful

[@nailem642]

perfect just what i needed

[@moghni93]

Thank you so much that was very helpful !

[@EricNicolai]

Hi Gary, I love your channel. Do you know how to fix the error -36 prompt? It happens every time I try to copy a folder, any folder, to an external hard disk, any external HD. I have hundreds of folders, and none of them will copy. I tried signing in and out of my Apple ID. It seems to work at first , but then failed. The only way it works if I change user. Any ideas?

[@macmost]

Sorry, I can't say for sure. Hard to diagnose a problem like that from afar with just comments back and forth. Maybe call Apple Support so you can work with someone directly.

[@bobbyoctaviano2661]

Great explanations again Sir. Best... B :) :) :)

[@thomaspolk4229]

Right on, thank you.

[@anish7173]

Please make a video about tap click and force click. which is better.

[@macmost]

It is just personal preference.

[@cmbertrand7960]

Here's all the details...My 1TB Photos library is home on a 2017 4TB LaCie Rugged Mac format OS Extended (Journaled) to a 2023 to a 4TB SanDisk SSD formatted APFS. Does the difference in formatting present a problem? On 2021 MacBook Apple M1, 16GB, Ventura 13.3.1 Thanks!

[@macmost]

No, those formats are both fine. Why, are you having an issue?

[@farrukhshafiq8387]

Very Useful Many thanks.

[@scottparis6355]

If you have 2 finder windows open, and you drag and drop a file from one to the other, the Mac will sometimes (not always, I think) suddenly move the from folder towards the middle of the screen. It does this after you've started dragging and sometimes for me results in dropping the file into the same folder it's coming from. I think the Mac is trying to help, but I find it annoying. I want the folders to stay where they are unless I move them. Is there any way to tell the Mac not to do this?

[@macmost]

I don't think I've ever seen that. I would try to experiment and isolate when this happens -- remove the "will sometimes (not always, I think)" from the equation to begin to figure it out.

[@cabernetguy2000]

Good video, but it's only if you have a Mac. How about moving, and I really mean moving, not copying, photos from camera roll to a specific folder in the camera roll section on the IPhone? I know we can hide photos, but in this instance I just want to move (again, really move) certain photos to new folder(s). The IPhone (latest IOS version 16.1.2) doesn't really move photos, it just copies them / creates links in the new folder while the original stays in camera roll. Am I missing something or is this totally not feasible?? Thanks!!

[@macmost]

Haven't used a "Camera Roll" in a while (not relevant when you are using iCloud Photos). But typically everything is in the "Library" and albums are just like playlists of those photos. You can't remove something from the Library as everything is in the Library by definition.

[@RobSandstromDesigns]

I am trying to clean up many files. Several times when I am "copying files" from one hard drive to another the "skip" option doesn't show up if there will be a duplicate folder. Only Stop Keep Both and Replace, none of which I want. Ho can I get the skip option to show up?

[@macmost]

Not sure of your situation. Just use Keep Both and then remove one later if you want.

[@RobSandstromDesigns]

@@macmostI knew I could just delete the duplicate but was trying to avoid making them to begin with. You add so much value I need to get myself over and give some donations on your Patreon page - I keep intending to and just forget. BTW watched another video of ours and saw you say if I hit "Option" when that message comes up it may show me the "Skip" button. Will try this next time it happens.

[@macmost]

@@RobSandstromDesigns Thanks!

[@loisskiathitis8926]

A very useful and informative video tutorial today! Thank you, Gary! 👏❤️

[@yajlemag1]

Unfortunatly, Monterey 12.4 will not move files from Desktop to Documents on the same drive. It will copy, every time, and no key combination alters that. Any ideas?

[@macmost]

Not sure what you are experiencing there. Should move without an issue. Are these in the home folder or in iCloud Drive?

[@JS-vk7ek]

All good, but a simple dropdown "move to" would be so much simpler and years in the "wanting".

[@TiliaCitrus]

Thank you so much !

[@LP-nf2fu]

thank you! I have followed your advise, however, when I want to delete the files that I moved from my HD, once I moved them to EXT HD, they seems to disappear from my EXT. HD, why? any help would be appreciated - thanks!

[@macmost]

Not sure what you are asking here. Are you moving FROM or TO your external drive. How are you deleting them? Are you saying that you have a copy on your internal and a copy on your external and when you delete one the other also is gone?

[@LP-nf2fu]

@@macmost Thank you for your prompt reply. So I moved old Iphone back ups from my HD to external HD to gain some space. Then moved the back ups from my HD to the bin, because now I have them safely on my External HD. However, when I want to empty my bin , the files disappeared. After working on it, back and forth, I now have them nicely on Ext. HD and have gained 114GB of space. Thanks god I found your channel! thank you!!

[@macmost]

@@LP-nf2fu You have 114GB of iPhone backups? Why have them at all? Just use iCloud backup for your iPhone.

[@LP-nf2fu]

@@macmost That would be easy, I am thinking that I might need a copy, close by, not always one can access wifi, also prices have gone up! doing a bit of saving here

[@cottagekeeper]

I need to move files from my local drive on one macbook pro to another without using migration assistant, what is the best way to do this? The files are really large.

[@macmost]

Are they on the same network? Then just use old-fashioned File Sharing across the network. If you don't know how to set that up, then use AirDrop instead.

[@cottagekeeper]

Thank you! Attempting Airdrop it is taking a long time but hopeful it will work 😊

[@letsbefrank3]

Thanks as usual Gary. I share an iCloud drive folder with my wife and when she tries to CMD-C followed by Alt-CMD-V onto her own iCloud Drive folder it won't allow her. She has to physically drag the files between tabs or windows. Is that normal and is that a deliberate decision by Apple for some reason I wonder?

[@macmost]

Not sure. Could be because the file is "shared" or it could be the file isn't downloaded to that Mac. If you see a "cloud" indicator for that file, click it to download first, then maybe it will work.

[@letsbefrank3]

@@macmost Thanks, will try that

[@JenniferKlinger]

Now it makes sense.

[@avnerbenzvi8757]

Thanks what about Synchronize tool (free and part of MACOS) ??

[@macmost]

Not sure what, exactly, you are referring to there. Can you be more precise.

[@RobertKeenanComp-U-Right]

I use a free program called "FreeFileSync" works well.

[@Curlyboi-yq7od]

With big files is it supposed to take long to move from a folder to a sd card?

[@macmost]

Depends on how big, and the speed of the SD card.

[@cmbertrand7960]

I am copying my 1 TB Photos library from one external drive to a new external SanDisk SSD. It's been over 10 hours of "preparing to copy..." Is that normal for this size file or is it stuck?

[@macmost]

Doesn't sound normal. But I don't know the speed of your drives or your connections.

[@lemd49]

But if you use the terminal then mv or cp do precisely what you intend I.e. move or copy

[@macmost]

The vast majority of Mac users are using the Finder to copy or move files, not the Terminal.

[@lemd49]

@@macmost indeed

[@terrymcdaniel958]

EXCELLENT.... DO YOU HAVE A DIRECTORY OF KEYWORDS FOR YOUR VIDEOS, SO I CAN QUICKLY SEARCH ONLY YOUR CONTENT?

[@macmost]

Yes. macmost.com and use the Video Tutorials link in the nav bar, or the Search field at the top of the page.

[@tailzzzzz]

One of the problems I'm encountering when using command A and then dragging to an external is that the next day I'll open a folder, and the folder will be empty. Not always, but sometimes. As you know I've been wanting to have a copy of everything on my computer on two external drives, as well as my time machine backups on another. Sometimes, too, when I drag things to another folder on my computer, things will start piling up in my trash bin. They don't disappear from my computer, so they are being pulled from my external drive to the trash. I'm trying to figure out why this keeps happening. I thought a non-time-machine drive was completely separate from my computer, like a second computer. In my case, whatever I'm doing, the external drive seems to be functioning WITH my computer, simply making it larger. If there's a cloud connection, could this be the reason?

[@macmost]

That is not normal. It sounds like a pretty serious problem and I can't think of anything that would cause files you are moving to disappear or go to the trash instead.

[@Doctaj54]

Thanks for this. Have you seen any issues/solutions for "operation cannot be complete because the item XXXXX is in use" error when trying to copy files/folders? I'm basically upgrading my secondary drive from a Samsung SATA SSD over to an NVME SSD for faster transfers. I have tried restarts, safe mode, changed permissions, disabled SIP, inserted the drive on another mac and still nothing works. I also have a few files that I cannot unlock no matter what I try. I can open some of them just fine but I cannot unlock, copy, or delete them. The drive was previously installed inside a Mac Pro(Mojave) and currently running in a thunderbolt chassis connected to my Mac Studio(Monterey). I've have no issues with the drive up until now that I need to copy over the files to a new SSD.

[@macmost]

Sorry, I don't know what would cause that.

[@Doctaj54]

@@macmost Thanks! Superduper was unsuccessful. I ended up using a Sabrent dual dock to do an offline clone and get the files copied over. I did see a few posts about the same/similar issue on the apple community forums but no solutions. One tech answered another users and said to contact Apple support.

[@depthofshine]

Trying to drag folder from SD card to external drive and wont drop, why is this so hard compared to Windows.

[@macmost]

Perhaps the drive is locked or there is some issue with it? Normally it would work just fine, so there must be some issue with these drives.

[@madmotorcyclist]

You should do a youtube of getting gmail to now accept mac mail after May 30th on older macs (running older OS versions, etc.). Google in their stupidity never notified me of their changes to not allowing what they call less secure apps accept mail from their server. What I did to get around it which shows how stupid their policy is, was to create another gmail account and then forward my mail from my original account to that one and have my mac mail use that one. Essentially what was the point of their change!

[@macmost]

You shouldn't need to do anything special with second gmail accounts or anything like that. See askleo.com/less-secure-apps/

[@MrWelster]

This will work for photos also?

[@macmost]

For files that happen to be images? They are just like any other files.

[@andyntimbane7567]

Greetings all. Please help, I'm looking to automatically transfer or copy media from the SD Cards onto my Mac Mini via card reader, without the use of keyboard and mouse. It needs to be an automated process as soon as the memory card is recognised by Mac. Thank you in advance!

[@macmost]

I can't think of any way to do that. You need to take some action. It can't be automatic.

[@jannmcrock]

Great info

[@DeepPurplethebest]

very usful! thanks

[@napoledsl]

Copy file but the file is locked 🔒 drag copy you get an error message erre code o same code with the command can't copy on the 🔒 file if you want to move the locked file to another place you need to input your password 🔑

[@desertpatient]

Thanks bunches

[@JonBushell]

Really wish I’d have to stuck to windows. Mac stuff is so backwards.

[@roadbike1014]

how do you open 2 finder windows?

[@macmost]

In the Finder you can choose File, New Finder Window to open as many Finder windows as you like.

[@Yasmine91646]

Why tf Apple cant just give you the option to move the file to another folder when you right click on a file and the option to "move" the file is in the menu that pops up when you right click on the file???

[@michaelbucciarelli3141]

You're very good at what you do. Longtime PC user of 30 years. Is that possible? YES! I'm finding some things about the new Mac difficult like Cut n Paste, within a folder, and outside to another folder. But also I can't view my old movies saved as AVI's, or WMV, or MKV. I can't see the Thumbnails in "Finder". I have 1000's of video's. I don't want to set up individual snapshots from a Video, and set 1000's of Thumbnails. Also you can't even do this for AVI's. I want to quickly see all my Thumbnails of ALL video's within a Folder. It's not possible. Is there a 3rd party app?? I called AppleCare, they said I had to do each video thumbnail individually. In Windows Explorer you can see most video thumbnails, within a Folder, in a glance, without doing anything. Any work-arounds this problem Gary?

[@macmost]

You can use an app like VLC or many others to view older Windows video file formats. But you'll never see thumbnails in the Finder of them since macOS natively doesn't use these formats. So you may want to consider using VLC or Handbrake or something else to batch convert the videos to a standard like h264 mp4 files. I could use Apple's Compressor app ($50) to make easy work of it.

[@zeetrain9625]

I tried the Command + move and it always asks for a password to move it?

[@macmost]

Not sure of your situation. From where to where?

[@shadetree1175]

i feel like an idiot. never had to watch a youtube video to move files on window. why does apple make simple things complicated.

[@JH-pt6ih]

Because it's not Steve Jobs Apple anymore. I have a 2008 iMac that I still use occasionally, as well as a PC, but "upgraded" to a new Mac mini 2 years ago and finally decided I have to get rid of it and go over to a PC/Linux setup. Just too many steps to do basic things, and it's way too hard to find a direct answer. This KZbin channel is the only place to get answers simply and quickly. But it's just too much on every turn you have to be a guru or remember commands you might use twice a year. And it's even worse that there is no uniformity between the iPad and desktop so you have to remember two sets of commands to do the same basic functions. Keeping the iPad Pro because I do like it, but ditching the Mac. When it comes time to replace the iPad we will see. Apple completely lost me as a customer.

[@SunnySingh-xj9od]

Cut and paste on windows is much better

[@macmost]

How so?

[@idreadFell365]

What I don’t like is how it’s suddenly changing the dates of a file or photos to today instead of preserving the original time it was taken like it used to.

[@macmost]

Remember the date of the FILE is different than the date of the PHOTO that is inside. The photo's date is stored as metadata (EXIF) inside the file. You can see it in apps like Preview or if you put the photo into the Photos App Library.

[@idreadFell365]

@@macmostbut before, the photos used to preserve their original date when being transferred. Now suddenly it’s changing the dates and I didn’t do anything different than usual. How do I preserve the dates?

[@macmost]

@@idreadFell365 Maybe you changed how you are doing the "transfer?" There are so many ways you can.

[@paulcamalin5236]

I really do not get why apple has made this so complicated and hard to remember and confusing. Why not just right clicking on the first file and make your selection right there copy or cut and go the second location and paste it just like windows.

[@macmost]

Why is that way better than the other? I think the way macOS does it makes more sense to me. And they have to choose one way or the other. At least with this method it is impossible to be interrupted in the middle of the process with undesirable results.

[@paulcamalin5236]

@@macmost I work with both windows and mac everyday. I just feel windows' cut and past is a lot easier. Overall I have found it easier to work with Mac though.

[@ShadraqsVids16]

Command key didnt work

[@macmost]

Didn't work to... what, exactly? I mention the Command key a lot in this video.

[@ShadraqsVids16]

@@macmost haha sorry shoulda specified. Didn't work when trying to "move" files to an SSD I held before the click and after the click and tried at the same time but still just copies.

[@macmost]

@@ShadraqsVids16 So to an external drive? I talk about that in the video. Watch it again and you'll learn about the differences.

[@MissGlow007]

So helpful.. thank you so much 🫶🏾

[@CHRISTIANDUARTE-LifeNeuroCoach]

Gary, I wanted to ask you something. I've got an issue with some screenshots in my desktop which I wanted to move to a folder in order not to have a messy desktop full of screenshots but it indicates "preparing to move to..." but nothing happens! I've restarted my macbook air and shut it down but I'm still unaware of moving the files onto the folder I've created... what could I do? thanks in advance... love your work! Cheers from Madrid, Spain