ok so i recently switch to a MacBook, and i'm just trying to figure somethings out that i still don't get. can someone explain what the difference between the features duplicate, copy, and alias? also is there no way to cut something and paste it else where, like a folder, like you can do in windows? thanks ahead of time.
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Few quick pointers needed.
- Thread starter Zuplar
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Cut in Finder is indeed absent (something most Mac users would like added).
Duplicate: Finder makes an exact copy of a file and put said file in the same location as the old one.
Alias: Like a much more powerful shortcut. If I remember correctly, an alias points to the file location on the hard drive so no matter where you move the file in your folder hierarchy the link always works. More can be done with aliases than with shortcuts (ie. put aliases in your burn folder and the actual files they are pointing to get burned NOT the aliases. Great for saving hard drive space because you only need one instance of a file).
Duplicate: Finder makes an exact copy of a file and put said file in the same location as the old one.
Alias: Like a much more powerful shortcut. If I remember correctly, an alias points to the file location on the hard drive so no matter where you move the file in your folder hierarchy the link always works. More can be done with aliases than with shortcuts (ie. put aliases in your burn folder and the actual files they are pointing to get burned NOT the aliases. Great for saving hard drive space because you only need one instance of a file).
AFAIK, copy puts the file on your clipboard, so you can paste it to another folder. The difference between this and cut-&-paste is that you then have to go back to the original file and delete it (if you want to). Duplicate makes a duplicate of the file in the same location as the original.