Copy vs Move File Off Desktop

Discussion in 'macOS' started by brsboarder, Aug 17, 2006.

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  1. brsboarder, Aug 17, 2006

    brsboarder macrumors 6502a

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    #1
    For some reason, whenever I drag a file from my desktop (where I usually save downloads) to my external harddrive, it only copies them, never moving them. I thought it shoudl simply move the file not copy it, how to I ammend this error.
     
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  2. michaelrjohnson, Aug 17, 2006

    michaelrjohnson macrumors 68020

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    #2
    No, this is correct behavior in Mac OS X. When you drag the item, a green "+" should appear on your cursor, indicating that a "Copy" is taking place.

    There is a key that you can hold down to make enable the "Move" function during the same action.
     
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  3. yellow, Aug 17, 2006

    yellow Moderator emeritus

    yellow

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    Portland, OR
    #3
    Addendum.. this is what happens when one moves data to another volume. If one is drag & dropping on the same volume, the data is "Moved". In order to drag & copy data on the same volume, one uses the Option+click+drag. Anyway, drag & copy to another volume is the default behavior. I wasn't aware that there was any way to change this behavior at all, so I'll be interested to see below:

     
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  4. michaelrjohnson, Aug 17, 2006

    michaelrjohnson macrumors 68020

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    #4
    Solution:
    Check out the Mac OS Keyboard Shortcuts from Apple.
    It states that the key command you're looking for is (I believe):
    • Command-Drag (Move to new location without copying)
     
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  5. balamw, Aug 17, 2006

    balamw Moderator

    balamw

    Staff Member

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    Location:
    New England
    #5
    FWIW this is also standard behavious on XP.

    Drag to same volume = move, drag to another volume = copy, shift-drag to another volume = move, control-drag to same volume = copy.

    B
     
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