Switcher asks: what's 'Folder actions' in OS X??

[XheartcoreboyX]

i got my new mbp(first mac) before couple days..when i ''right click'' on a folder in the menu theres configure/disable/attach folder action..whats a folder action??

and plus: what's the point of not having cut/paste action in osx?!

 

[lancestraz]

i got my new mbp(first mac) before couple days..when i ''right click'' on a folder in the menu theres configure/disable/attach folder action..whats a folder action??

and plus: what's the point of not having cut/paste action in osx?!

You can attach AppleScripts to folders. So, for example, when you drop/open/remove/modify that folder the attached script will run.


As for the cut/paste.....
Say you "cut" a folder you want to move somewhere else. But then without thinking you copy some text to the clipboard. Oops. That folder is now gone.
Maybe instead of moving the file to the clipboard, when you cut something it just moves it to the trash, and then back out again when you past....

 

[XheartcoreboyX]

You can attach AppleScripts to folders. So, for example, when you drop/open/remove/modify that folder the attached script will run.


As for the cut/paste.....
Say you "cut" a folder you want to move somewhere else. But then without thinking you copy some text to the clipboard. Oops. That folder is now gone.
Maybe instead of moving the file to the clipboard, when you cut something it just moves it to the trash, and then back out again when you past....

thanks for clearing it up
btw its wrong what you said about cut-paste..in windows when you cut a file/folder it looks a little bright but its still there until you paste it somewhere else..so you cannot accidently lose anything.
i wish you could do that in os x =(
and i wish you could restore the files you deleted to their original place >_>.

it has flaws but still much better than windows..

 

[polycat33]

Yeah, I second that, the file/folder you "cut" doesn't actually move from its location until it's pasted... if you copy or cut something else, or just forget to paste and move on it doesn't go anywhere.

I miss it a bit too, however you can do a LOT more while dragging something on a Mac than on a PC. First off, instead of cutting you can just drag and drop. If the folder you're going to isn't real close you can navigate to it while still dragging by just hovering your dragged item over the folder - the folder will open and you can continue to do that until you've found where you want to drop it. So you don't even have to have the location you're going to open in another window.

 

[janey]

I miss it a bit too, however you can do a LOT more while dragging something on a Mac than on a PC...

The whole thing involves using a mouse. Huge downside.

fwiw it's a LOT simpler to move files and folders using Terminal, and you don't have to take your hands off the keyboard either.

 

[Cromulent]

The whole thing involves using a mouse. Huge downside.

fwiw it's a LOT simpler to move files and folders using Terminal, and you don't have to take your hands off the keyboard either.

That goes for copying and deleting as well .

 

[XheartcoreboyX]

so,how to do it in the terminal?!

 

[rajfantastic]

if you're not experienced with the terminal, try quicksilver. you can move files around using the keyboard, its a great spotlight replacement, and tons of other amazing things.

 

[janey]

so,how to do it in the terminal?!

mv file1 file2

or, go read the manpage...man is your friend.


Ditto the quicksilver suggestion, but terminal can be nice sometimes

 

[Nermal]

Yeah, I second that, the file/folder you "cut" doesn't actually move from its location until it's pasted...

In other words, it works completely differently on files compared to text, and Apple's trying to keep everything consistent.

 

[gloss]

In other words, it works completely differently on files compared to text, and Apple's trying to keep everything consistent.

Although in this case consistency can screw you.

 

[snickelfritz]

You can use "Automator", provided with OSX, to create custom folder actions.
For example, you can create a folder that will scale and convert to jpeg, any image file that is dropped into it.
With the addition of a simple Applescript, you can create a folder that uploads files to a pre-specified FTP directory. (very handy for quickly uploading screenshots, etc... for posting in forums.)

BTW, I have to agree that cut/paste in Windows is easier than drag'n'drop in many cases.
Again, Applescript can be used to simplify the process of drag'n'drop between directories, by automatically creating a pair of side-by-side windows.