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Use the trash to move files to another location System
A quick hint here but it will save you time if you need to move and then delete a lot of files, like to a server.

If you move a local group of files to the trash and then drag them to another volume, they move instead of copy. After they all finish moving, the originals are deleted. This means you don't have to wait until your files finish copying and then manually delete them.

This could allow you to be productive right up to the end of the day, and you won't have to worry about the copy finshing after the five o'clock whistle has blown. "You just set it and forget it©"

[robg adds: Strange but true! I tested this both locally (dragging an item from the trash to a disk partition that wasn't the one it started on) and across the network, and it worked exactly as described -- the object was removed from the trash after it showed up at the destination. I'm not sure the extra step of dragging to the trash before dragging to the destination is any faster than just dragging and manually deleting, but it's an interesting behavior nonetheless.]
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Use the trash to move files to another location | 9 comments | Create New Account
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Use the trash to move files to another location
Authored by: lings on Mar 19, '03 10:29:01AM

Or, you could just hold down command while you drag, and it will force a move.



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Use the trash to move files to another location
Authored by: inajar on Mar 19, '03 10:30:40AM

It's even faster just to hold down the Apple key while dragging items between partitions or drives. This moves the files instead of copying them just like dragging the items to the trash instead.



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Drag with Command?
Authored by: jzsimon on Mar 19, '03 10:33:10AM

Doesn't dragging a file to another volume, with the command (apple) key held down, move a file instead of copying it? Sounds like that's what you really want.



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Drag with Command?
Authored by: robg on Mar 19, '03 11:02:39AM

Yes, and we've posted that hint before. However, there have been problem reports with lost files due to network or power interruptions ... I posted this one mainly because I found it interesting more than anything else.

-rob.



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Use the trash to move files to another location
Authored by: Crawfish Jones on Mar 19, '03 12:01:03PM

Or even easier, select the files, Cut them with Cmd-X, navigate to the target folder or volume, and Paste them with Cmd-V.

The problem with relying too much on the original shortcut is that OS X wants to delete files on network volumes immediately, os it only works on local volumes.



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Use the trash to move files to another location
Authored by: ebow on Mar 19, '03 12:09:03PM

As far as I'm aware, you can't *cut* files using cmd-X, you can only copy them. At least, Cut has never been available on the OS X computers I've used.



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Use the trash to move files to another location
Authored by: bogdescu on Mar 20, '03 12:50:38AM

cutting never worked for me either...



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Use the trash to move files to another location
Authored by: pete on Mar 19, '03 01:46:51PM

  I have used 'QuickAccess' for some time now. It is a contextual menu-item for moving or copying to other locations. Works great on files or folders - check it out here...

http://free.abracode.com/cmworkshop/

  They also have a number of other useful utilities.

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one of the things I love about the mac ui
Authored by: krishna on Aug 07, '03 09:54:25PM

I tried using this hint with no success; I tried papillon-drag to drag files to an external drive, but kept screwing it up; it kept copying them over, or deselecting them, or whatever. Then, I tried dragging the files over normally; the little green plus showed up for copy; *then* I hit papillon and the plus disappeared. Release mouse button, voila!

This works (and probably has for years for you mac faithful) for the option key in finder menus too; pull down a menu, then tap option, and watch the menu items change. It seems right that you be able to hit the modifier key any time during an operation instead of only before, get visual feedback that it's being recognized, and be told immediately what you'd get with or without it.

Another gentle reminder for me how developers should be thinking about user interface, and how Apple gets so many things right in this regard.



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