10.6: Create a shortcut to move files in Finder

Feb 03, '11 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: rodneyweston

Snow Leopard only hintMany ex-Windows users are frustrated by the fact that (in a standard Snow Leopard installation), there is no way to move files/folders using only the keyboard. In Windows, this is a Ctrl+X/Ctrl+V keystroke pair. In OS X, the Command+X equivalent is not enabled in the Finder.

I have developed an easy way to get equivalent functionality for free using by creating an Automator service in OS X 10.6.

There are some shareware utilities to enable 'Command+X' -- but for relatively minor functionality, they are big RAM hogs. Besides, I think that cutting and pasting a file is illogical and not directly connected to what the you are doing - you are really moving the file!

My Automator workflow is called 'Move Selected Items.' I have bound it to the keyboard shortcut of Command+Control+M.

To install it and assign the keyboard shortcut:

That's it; you can now move files and folders using only the keyboard, to your heart's content. Don't forget that you can navigate up and down the folder hierarchy using Cmd+Up Arrow; or Cmd+Down Arrow.

To use the service, you: NOTES:
[crarko adds: I tested this, and it works as described.]

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