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cut/copy/paste
- Thread starter lotusteve
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You seem to have a lot of basic questions about Mac OS coming from Windows. While this is a friendly, helpful forum, perhaps reading/watching some of the Apple tutorials might help:
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/
As above, you can copy/ paste/ cut using the Edit menu or Keyboard shortcuts.
You also mention that you cannot do this with your mouse. What type of mouse do you have ? I presume you have a recent model (Magic or Mighty Mouse) with a right button.
If you are like me recent switcher, I seem to remember that you have to enable to right click button first, which gives you the commands you are after on the local mouse menu. Just go to System Preferences and Mouse preferences (under Hardware), then ensure the Secondary Click is enabled for the right.
I found Mac 101 useful to start with as a mac newbie.
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
Also what is handy is the keyboard shortcut guide to get quicker in the workflow - I have it as a shortcut on my desktop.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
Does this answer your question ?
You also mention that you cannot do this with your mouse. What type of mouse do you have ? I presume you have a recent model (Magic or Mighty Mouse) with a right button.
If you are like me recent switcher, I seem to remember that you have to enable to right click button first, which gives you the commands you are after on the local mouse menu. Just go to System Preferences and Mouse preferences (under Hardware), then ensure the Secondary Click is enabled for the right.
I found Mac 101 useful to start with as a mac newbie.
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/
Also what is handy is the keyboard shortcut guide to get quicker in the workflow - I have it as a shortcut on my desktop.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
Does this answer your question ?
Mac OS does not support "cut" of files and folders. Just text and pictures. If you want to move something, you will have to drag, which I admit can often be annoying.
Copy and paste does the same thing as a duplicate and move.
Copy, paste and delete the original (command+delete) is one method of moving a file without duplication, and without having to have both target folders open at once.
EDIT: I assume Apple removed the ability to cut files and folders because if one were to cut two files one after the other without pasting, the first would be completely gone. Not even in the trash. ie. dangerous for losing data.
That's not how cut works in any file system I know of. In Windows when you cut a file it gets a little greyed out and once you paste it the file is moved. If you don't paste it the file just stays where it was.
Yeah, that is how it works. Maybe apple just didnt want to copy microsoft and couldnt think of any other way of doing it?
I'd wager Apple just didn't like the way the metaphor worked. It doesn't make a lot of sense that the file would simply fade out when cut and even less sense that it would stay where it was if it wasn't pasted. However, it would be dangerous for the metaphor to work the logical way.