a "cut" function in Finder
 

I really miss the "cut" feature in the finder. It sucks, that you cant just choose the files you like to move somewhere else and then go to that location and then paste them there. Instead of that needing 2 finder windows and having to use drag and drop is just so uncomfortable...

Copy works-just Command-C, Command-Delete, Command Paste where you want it to go. One extra keystroke to get rid of the original, big deal.

Big deal when you move 3 gigabytes of files so you cant copy them, because your hard drive is full. happens quite often to me...

Moving 3GB....
 

...is instantaneous if they're on the same volume. Just drag them from one window to the other. Cut/paste would do nothing to streamline the process, or am I missing something obvious?

From a switchers POV not being able to Cut and Paste files takes a long time to get used to.

Amen, and give me back the ability to put stuff away from the trash.

I agree with slur, using the mouse to drag a file on the same volume is the same as Cut and Paste (or Move in Windows). Only when dragging from one Volume to another does it change to copy and then you have to delete the original if you don't want it.

What do you mean ?

You can highlight one or more items and press Command+Delete and they will move directly to the Trash without opening it.
A press of Shift+Command+Delete will empty the Trash without opening it.

In Windows, I use cut/paste all the time, even to/from locations on the same disk. If you drag/drop between locations, you need 2 Finder windows open prior to moving (unless you like the spring-loaded folder thing). Cut/Paste takes fewer clicks and mouse movements. Having an interface than supports copy but not cut is inconsistent, imo.

I wrote 'put stuff away from the trash,' meaning, something's in the trash that you want to return to its original location. You could do that in OS9, but not X.

I have not really used OS9, so didn't know you could do that.

I think the Drag and Drop is just as much work as Cut and Paste.
Both involving needing two windows open (source & destination), granted with C&P you can open the destination window later, but it still needs to be open to get the files there.
And you only click once to drag the files.

But either way, it comes down to personal preference. I prefer the right-click drag of windows that give me the choose of copy or move or cancel.
But Windows is sitting on the other desk.

Have you tired one of those third party file management apps? Do they let you cut and paste files? I have not tried them myself.

You don't need two windows open at all for cut and paste, the point is it can all be done within the same finder window. Very easy

You can also do it within one finder window by dragging, but it's much much harder navigating through folders mid drag, especially in column view. Plus it takes longer because you have to wait for the springs to kick in.

Try something like Xshelf as an alternative to cutting and pasting.

Or even try XFolders
While is doesn't seem to support Command-X / C / V it does have cut/paste/copy button and has them mapped to the F keys
i.e. F5=copy / F6=mmove / F7=New Folder / F8=Delete / F9=Rename / F10=Exit.

No - actually it is the Windows use of "cut" that is inconsistent. When you "cut" something, it is supposed to get removed from its original location and put on the "clipboard". When you "paste" something, whatever is in the clipboard gets inserted at the current location.
If you do another operation that involves "cut" or "copy", whatever was in the clipboard is lost since it gets overwritten with the most recent thing that was "cut" or "copied".

In Windows, when you "cut" a file, if I recall correctly, it doesn't actually get removed from the original location until you do a "paste".
OS X does not implement "cut" for files in order to avoid this inconsistency - or the likelihood of loss of files if it were to be implemented in a consistent way. (loss when a file in the clipboard is overwritten with some subsequent "cut" or "copy")

In all my years of using Windows and listening to other people who use Windows I've heard many many complaints. However, I have not heard one single person say that the cut/paste and copy/paste functions in explorer and 'inconsistent'....only a Mac user would say such a thing!

It's just 'smart', when you cut a file it goes dimm. If you then go copy something else, it un-dimms and remains where it is. The fact it goes dim lets you know it's been cut, but will remain where it is unless you paste it elsewhere.

The concept and the implementation IMO are hard to argue with. (the Finder, that's what I would call inconsistent)

Agreed. There is a disturbing pattern of threads where perfectly reasonable ideas are denigrated by Mac users as soon as they hear the feature is already present in Windows. I'll bet in a lot of these cases, if Windows was never mentioned, the same Mac users would say "Hey, that's a good idea." If that isn't a sign of an irrational elitist cult of users...

What you are saying is that it is inconsistent, but it works out in practice. I.e. cut/copy/paste for files in Windows Explorer is really a different operation than cut/copy/paste of text or other objects inside files, but it functions similarly so the same names (cut/copy/paste) are used.

When operating on text within a file, a user can (and some do) use "cut" as a way of permanently getting rid of unwanted parts. I.e. it functions as a delete operation (one that happens to keep a temporary copy on the clipboard). It is the lack of this delete functionality that is inconsistent with "cut" in Windows Explorer.

In OS X, cut/copy/paste is the same operation whether applied to text or images in a file, or to files in Finder. Whatever is currently on the clipboard is lost whenever you do a subsequent "cut" or "copy" no matter what.

Going through the switch what I notice is that Mac users will recommend things as solutions that take far longer than the Windows method we want to replicate...example:-

Windows switcher wants to be able to "right click > New Txt File" in Finder, he asks how such a thing is possible.

*Some/alot* of Mac elitists will repy with something like this. "Why would you want to create a blank file? Just open Text Edit, new file and save it to where you want"

Kinda like this thread.

:-)

How clueless does a user have to be to not realise he/she is in Finder, not a text file? seriously, consistency to such a degree is hardly something to shout about.

That's like saying the menu bar isn't consistent because it changes depending on what application is open. :/

or

A certain shortcut key is inconsistent because it does X in one app, Y in another.

Same point you're trying to make.

Indeed. There are lots of trade-offs in user-interface design. Adding functionality is not always a good thing - it increases the complexity of the interface. Increased complexity makes a interface harder to use (for most people); it may also lead to an increased likelihood of errors (user-errors).
The Mac interface in general is optimized for simplicity and ease of use and avoidance of errors even if that means that some operations are less efficient (in terms of number of operations per second).

In other words, if it is possible to achieve a certain task by doing A, B, C, or by the single operation D, it is often better to not provide operation D on the interface since the added complexity would outweigh the benefits. We're talking greatest good for the greatest number here. If it makes 4% of the users 20% more productive, but the added complexity makes the remaining 96% of the users 1% less productive, it is a net loss.

Speed of operation is far less important than avoidance of error.
The same is true when driving an unfamiliar route through the city. If I know the route from A to B and I know the route from B to C, then I might well choose to drive A -> B -> C even if B is a little out of the way. That avoids any possibility of error. Error can introduce catastrophic delays.

I think it is "flamebait" to attribute these sorts of responses to elitism.
The question is a legitimate one. Most people don't see the point of creating an empty text file.

And there are add-ons that let you ctrl-click (right-click) and an added menu item allow creat new file. Chooses are (text,html, word, excel, powerpoint, etc).
Lets face it, Windows is NOT Mac and Mac is not Windows.
Each does things differently than the other. And whenever there are more than one way to do things, people will always say their way is better. Which is true, "there way is better for them" and no one else.

But once you're familiar with the route, going to B becomes a tedious experience. You're an experienced driver now, you know what to do not to make any mistakes.

Which is exactly the reason I did say *some* and not *all*....

Yea, I use one called NuFile. There is a slight issue though, in that you have to click empty space in Finder, this isn't always so easy especially when viewing in column view. Same thing applies to the Right Click > New Folder, but ofcourse this has a shortcut key.

I don't see why you should need to click on empty space to use a contextual menu item.
I haven't tried it (since it's not something I need) but I think this (create empty text file) would be easy to implement using OnMyCommand.
(The command would be: touch name_of_file.txt)

It all depends on how often I go from A to C and the relative amount of extra travel time. Users (or drivers) don't usually like to optimize for time unless it is really necessary. They prefer to optimize for not-having-to-learn-something-new.

And in any case, in user-interface design, even providing the direct route from A to C might be a bad idea for the complexity reasons I explained above. That would be analogous to a road designer opting not to put a direct route from A to C because of other countervailing factors (noise, destruction of green space, etc).

Navigate to a folder that's got lots of files in it in column view. Right click and try to make a new folder in it!

The only space is at the bottom, but if you have so many icons that it makes the column scrollable then it's kinda hard.

Nothing to do with Mac elitists. It's an issue that has always puzzled most Mac users. Why would a user want a blank text file?

It's not that a user would want a blank text file, it's that in Windows the notepad is located on the Start-->All Programs-->Accesories-->Note Pad.
It's much quicker to just right-click and creat new a text file.
You can add a short-cut to the dekstop in Windows or to the Dock in Tiger.
Now that I'm used to the Dock shortcut in Tiger, I don't miss the "creat new empty file"

Switching from Macs to Windows or Windows to Macs is like switching from an Automatic Transmission to a Standard Transmission.
Each has it's benifits and draw backs. You'll also find which ever you learn on first is usually the one you favor more.

Say you have a finder window open, and you decide you want a text file right there, right click > new txt file is far quicker than...

opening textedit and then going therough the save as procedure. Which is far from a 2 step process, especially if you don't have textedit on your dock.
--
The file is only blank for a couple seconds, because as soon as you've created it and named it, you double click it to open it to edit. Then when you wanna save all you gotta do is cmd-s.

You're not really going to make a mountain out of THAT molecule...
are you?

-HI-

What you are talking about is the behaviour of the standard "New Folder" item in the contextual menu - or to be more precise, the fact that this item is only present in the contextual menu when the mouse is clicked over blank space in the Finder window.
That is true, and is a deficit of that standard contextual menu item.

But what I was recommending above is that you should create your own contextual menu item using OnMyCommand - in which case you can make it behave the way you want. It can appear (if you want) whether or not you click over a file or a folder or blank space - you are in control of what it does and when it appears.

I work on a site that has over 40,000 files. In a day I create many txt and php files. So from my POV, the faster I can create those files the better. It all adds up.

You just gotta understand things like cut>paste and right click>new file, although have valid alternatives, those alternatives just aren't as fast and to a user like me it's very important that the OS just lets me do what I wanna do as fast and as efficient as possible.

that sounds good, I'll check it out. thanks.

How about creating a blank file, saving it somewhere and adding it to the "Dock"? Then to "create" a blank one in a given location, ⌘-drag it from the "Dock" to the Finder window, letting go of the ?-key and and pressing the ⌥ (option) key before letting go, to create a copy.

It isn't as easy as using a contextual menu and it uses up "Dock" space, but it doesn't require any additional software, and would work with any file type - blank, or template.

I think what many of the long-time mac users are missing here is the fact that we should be helping switchers transition as painlessly as possible. Scoffing at the way they did things on Windows does very little to make a switcher feel like they made the right choice to change platforms.

I would agree that some of the responses to questions from switchers has been, well, snooty. Get off your high horses. If you don't have a solution, or can't recommend a better Mac solution without looking down your nose, then don't respond. It doesn't solve their problem, and it leaves a bad taste in their mouth.

I've been a Mac user since 1992, and a dual-platformer since 1999, and I can attest that the support and advice I've gotten from Windows people has been a lot kinder and more courteous than I usually see from the Mac end.

And for the record, I think cut would be a great option in the Finder. When I copy, it's 3 steps: copy, paste, then go back and delete my original. Cut would shorten that to two steps. For those of us on tight deadlines, you'd be suprised how we love every bit of efficiency we can squeeze out of our macs.

How about we keep this thread to the topic of the question and leave the evaluations of responders' personalities out of it.

And when -- one day perhaps -- you accidentally cut twice before pasting,
and lose files as a result... how efficiently will your deadline be met then?

"Sorry boss, the OS let me do it".

Command-drag is somewhat safer.

Someone mentioned that this can be done with one window. Let me add to that. If you use the same destination a lot you can drag the destination folder into the sidebar of any finder window. From then on it will be available in all finder windows. You can also drag a window into the area to the right of the view and forward/back buttons in Finder windows.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this is better or preferred to what you are looking for, just that it's available as a workaround.

You can't cut twice in Windows, and we know you can't cut at all in OS X, at least not in Finder.

Doing a second 'cut' negates the first cut in Windows.

You can't double-cut, at least not in Windows. My deadline is safe, and met more efficiently.

It's not so much personalities as it is attitude; but my intent wasn't to demean, just a plea for more kindness to the switchers.

Is there somewhere in the forum where that topic can be discussed (with civility)?

If not, consider the issue dropped.

I am in the process of attempting to switch to Mac as much as possible, with a new MacBook Pro. However, I dont think I will be throwing my PC Laptop out the window any time soon..

I've become more and more impressed with Mac OS in recent years, and felt with the transition to intel chips, the time was right to attempt a switch. Although i've only been at it for a few days, I have to say one of the very first things I missed, was Cut in Finder. Closely followed by Right Click -> New File.

I think several peope in this thread have missed the point of the conversation entirely. No one is enquiring as to your opinion on the validity or usefulness of these functions, they are asking if people are aware of a way to do it.

If you can't accept that there is a need for a function, then you have to accept that others see the need for it. Everyone has their own unique way of operating any type of system, and thats purely down to their own personal tastes and habits. For other users to say "you're doing it wrong" or "thats a stupid way of doing it, why dont you do it my way" is simply shortsighted, and, as others have put it, snooty.

In short, Cut it out. ;) (boom boom!)

Okay, I've just re-read the whole thread and I don't see any instances of people saying that someone is doing things in a "stupid way" or indeed being "snooty".
I think you are misinterpreting what has been said. There is no way to get Finder to do a "cut" operation. So people have been explaining how to get the job done in ways that are supported.

AFACT, this doesnt' work. When I Command+C, Command+Delete a file, it moves to the trash and the Paste option is not available. Gnome, are you using an older version of OS X than 10.4.5? Or am I missing something?

I don't think it would be that hard to write a script that when invoked via Finder would write the currently selected file(s) path(s) to a tmp file. Then using another script that would run 'mv' on the file(s) to the currently selected directory, the files would be moved in a cut/paste fashion.

Problem is that you couldn't assign these to Command+X and Command+V without interrupting the regular Finder behavior for these menu options, so it's not quite the same.

[edit]I'd write up some code for this and post it, but at the moment studying requires my attention and I've distracted myself enough already ;). I'll work on these later if anyone has an interest in them...unless of course someone has already written them.[/edit]

Last Call
 

So, like, did anybody end up writing a script that FIXES Finder?

I want to cut and paste... I don't care if my mouse has two buttons or not, just give me the X! :p

I think you mean did anyone write a script like that described by Quantum0726 - such a script would supply a way to do a "cut" operation via a contextual menu or some other keystroke - it wouldn't "fix Finder" in the sense of making it behave like Windows as to "cut" operations.

The trouble is that such a script has to be written very carefully as there is likelihood of data loss if the script doesn't take account of all the possibilities. So writing such a script is more difficult than usual.

I managed to come up with an Applescript that should emulate the 'Cut' behavior of Windows in Finder.

As hayne said, "there is likelihood of data loss if the script doesn't take account of all the possibilities." I'd like to think I wrote this script very carefully, but I really haven't tested it very well and haven't spent too much time coming up with every possible situation/error trap.

I'll attach the code if anyone wants to try it (md5 sum is 29d46d480b58dee04b59ca053718a00c), but I warn you that there is a possibility that the script won't function properly, and since it uses the 'mv' command, files could easily be moved to the wrong places or deleted altogether. USE WITH CAUTION!

You can also grab the code (and any updates whenever they come) from my site at http://www.kempinger.homelinux.net/p...sinFinder.html.

As always suggestions and bug reports are welcome.

Whoops... Had an error with the moving to the same folder trap. Should be fixed now. Md5 sum is 57e147877076833d03c0c40207a4dec7.

I actually do see where you're coming from. The thing to understand, however, is that your job where you manage over 40,000 files makes you the exception. The vast majority of Mac users, myself included, don't need that functionality. I mean, I do web design (with PHP) and I never find myself saying "You know, I really wish there was a shortcut for creating a new blank text file." Now, when I am on Windows (a rare thing since I left MS) I sometimes use that "New text document" shortcut, but that's just because it's a pain in the ass to navigate the Start menu to Notepad. What I'll usually do instead, though, is just add Notepad to my Quick Launch bar. In the same way, I always add TextEdit to my Dock in OS X. Because when you launch either application, you automatically get a new blank document. Most people save files after they've put something into it. It's not that the way you do things is wrong, it's just that it's not the normal way that people do things.

But here's where Macs are great. See, you have a specific need; one which is easily met on a Mac. Thanks to Script Editor and OS X's UNIX underpinnings, a quick .app file was whipped up that runs in the background (a Dock icon doesn't even appear) and creates a file called "Untitled.txt" in whatever the current folder is via the touch shell command. Just plop the app in your Utilities folder, and then drag it to the Finder's Toolbar, and you have a shortcut you can click at any time to do exactly what you want.
The rest of us, however, don't need to have their GUI cluttered up with an extraneous command that we'll never use. And in fact, doing it this way actually is faster than on Windows: no need to right click and scroll down to the "New" menu and then scroll down to "Text document" and clicking it. Instead, whenever you want to create a new blank text file in the current folder, you just click the button in the Toolbar. :)

And something just as useful as the tools built-in to the OS are the Mac community: I put the app on my .Mac web space for anyone to download. (not like I have much use for it otherwise, since I have my own web server) http://homepage.mac.com/melchizedek/...ewtextfile.zip

As far as moving files in the Finder goes, I usually just Command-drag. Ever since we got spring-loaded folders back in OS X, it's just been the way I do it. It's fast and easy.

-ian

I've been a strict Mac user for more than 2 decades. I admit there are some Mac users that think it is holier than thou. anyway ...

It is a bit of a bummer the Finder doesn't have the cut and paste function of Windows. It would certianly make it a bit easier for Windows users to adapt to the Mac system. I do not expect having the function would be complicated to implement.

If nothng else, try QuickAccess. It offers similar functionality through a contextual menu. It isn't perfect, but it's pretty good.

I've got it under MacOS 8.6 :)

Not just Finder Cut, but also Cut (Append) and Copy (Append) as well as Copy and Paste, of course.

Yeah, 3rd party, of course. (A contextual menu item add-on).

No, my main computer doesn't run 8.6, it runs 10.4.8; but yeah, I really do use the 8.6 box nearly every day at work.

Okay, so, for those of you looking to use a cut function the way it works in windows (in essence, a cut and then a paste, which moves the files) there's really a simple solution I'm surprised nobody's mentioned.

If you grab the files you want and drag them to where you want them to go, and before you drop them, press the command button, and then drop them, instead of copying to the new location, they will be moved there, removing them from the old location.

As has been stated, if you're moving them on teh same volume, this is not needed, as they will move by default, but if you're trying to move them from one volume to another, this is the ideal way to accomplish this.

This works in 10.3 and 10.4... those are the only versions of Mac OS I've used since my original blue monochrome mac plus died and was replaced by a dos5/win3.0 system... ran windows and eventually migrated to linux, and could never afford to get a mac again until recently. Sure glad that the ipod has spawned the second coming of apple so that I could afford a new mac :D

Is there a way to enable the cut/copy/paste in the Finder? How many times I may have put a file in the wroong place, and just to be able to undo such actions, etc, would be awesome.

Would be a great wasy to get PC people converted. Seems like a logical thing to implement.

I wish Apple would just think of the user more often. So many people help with their time to do the most basic things ...

I'm too lasy to read all 3 pages, but you can have one Finder window and drag-and-drop while holding the Option key to copy...

Press Command+Z...

And why has this topic been raised from the dead 3 times?

I would love to see this (a Windows-like Cut-Paste function) in the next version of OS X.

It is pretty much the only thing that I miss from the good ol' PC-days.

My personal way of navigating back then was to use a single windows with detailed list view and the keyboard to manage most of my navigation (Enter & Backspace for folder navigation and Copy-Paste, Cut-Paste for file management).

If not added by Apple, maybe someone skilled could develop such a thing?

You all might want to try http://www.growlichat.com/NuFile.php if your still looking for the right click new blank file action.

Decided to look into this a little, and found commands that will let you do it. I use these through the contextual menu from On My Command:

These commands written By Fredrik Andersson (fan@gaffophone.com), 2003-11-05

Not by me, I'm just passing them along.
My right click menu:
http://www.imagedumpwitheasy.com/uploads/1a93f90384.png

Indeed big deal, be-ing a switcher this is by far the most irritating thing there is. Now i always have to go into terminal do do this, or have to install shareware to do the job.

Apple should just implement it into the next version.


Cutting in the way described below should just works fine and should be very clear to anybody

- I select file, hit APPLE-X
- The file gray's out, but is not deleted (difference with text, but you could delete it and move it into something called 'file clipboard or so..' apple is inventive enough for this).
- If i now move into another folder and hit APPLE-V the file will be copied, and deleted.
- You can't paste twice, as the original file is now moved.

Same goes for folders. This works just fine for all those 100000000's of windows, and unix users.
Now tell me what is the difference between files and text! Everybody works like this with text, so why not with files.

If you overwrite a file, this file should go into the trascan (missing in windows and unix; could be very unique for mac!)

It's a real missing feature in OSX that finder can not cut, and seeing all the shareware that do make this possible it would be very wise voor Apple to put it into there new upcomming OS.

For users of external drives and such, the "cut command" in Windows is very handy. It is truly inconsistent with the traditional and standard definition of "cut" which does remove the selection immediately. But that doesn't matter. It does what it should and I applaud Microsoft for one-upping Apple on that one. My students use this feature with the speed of light and it always amazes me that they can move files from one drive volume to another so quickly and not have to slow themselves down with delete commands.

Incidentally, the base UNIX has this function in it's most consistent style but it is called "move". It is not very fast since it is command line but you just navigate to the directory of the file and type:
mv filename newdirectory

Where "newdirectory" is the place you want the file to go. The file will disappear from its first location and appear in the new location instantaneously. All we need now is a Finder plugin (I'm sure that's not the correct term) that can add this feature to the GUI. Let's hope it becomes an option (default off, if you think it is too scary) for 10.5.

Command-drag between drives moves the file. You can nit pick and find specific situations where the Windows way is better than the Mac way for almost any kind of task, but if you're going to do that, shouldn't you be using Windows?

But the point is (at least for me) to be able to do it with the keyboard NOT the mouse (and keyboard).

CTRL-X + CTRL-V
is just so much faster than:

- grab mouse
- point to file
- hold down modifier key on keyboard
- move mouse
- let go of mouse button
…

Maybe you'd be happier using Windows.

This isn't a case of better or worse. It's just personal taste, and if you prefer the Windows way, use Windows. It isn't like you have some IT department telling you that you are required to use a Mac!

Nope - I'm still happier using a Mac (as I have done since Mac Plus!), but I am also not so stupid as _not_ to want Apple (or a third party if possible) to implement the features from the other OS's that works better than what's included in Apples OS.

It works better for you, and a few switchers. It provides no benefit to most Mac users, because we wouldn't ever think to use it. That's what I mean by it being personal taste and not a matter of one method being better or worse. It's simply not intuitive, although it may feel that way to you because that's what you were trained on.

I'm sorry but you're wrong again.

I am NOT trained on Windows - quite the opposite - BUT I off course want to do what's most efficient, even though that means to like some of the ways Windows works!

- Despite I know that it is a dangerous thing to say in a Mac-forum, as you wrote (apparently knowing better than the rest of us):
I am a Macuser - have been for almost 20 years - and I am thinking of using it.

Just because it is not an appealing way FOR YOU to work like that, how can you then conclude that ALL OTHER Mac users agrees with you…

Just look at the length (word- as well as timewise) of this thread and I am sure you can see that a lot of Mac users miss this functionality ;-D

The fact is that most requests are from Windows switchers, as in the OP:
That tells me that it's not something that Mac users are clamoring for, even if a few might be interested in it.

The length of the thread, or even the frequency of the request is not as significant as who (switchers) is asking for a feature, especially when that feature isn't frequently used and isn't intuitive, even to most Windows users, who generally aren't aware of its existence.

Then let's call the users that miss this feature for "power users" no matter what platform they have spent most of their time on :)

I've already got a name for them: Windows users. :D

As a power user, I miss this functionality as well. As a Mac user... that doesn't change. I agree with TvE. And if Apple didnt want this functionality in Finder, why did they provide a "copy" feature that works?:confused:

My theory is that "features" like this one, and closing a window causing its application to close, for another example, creep into the system because Apple hires its programmers from the same places that everybody else does. Some of the Windows culture will inevitably seep in. :(

You left out that you still have to take the mouse select the file first, cut, and then and move to the new window and click to select it, and then paste.

So you aren't saving all those many steps. It's NOT just a keyboard thing.

Now where the mouse comes in handy is; you have a folder full of files, and you want to select just some of them. So you Command-click the files you want, and drag the whole lot. I drag them to a new folder, then drag that to the destination, and Command-Delete the original.

OS X had a move command for a short time. it was removed with a few other very handy things, not to mention missing features from OS 9 (Remember being able to turn the cursor into a hand to scroll windows (and Safari)?. How about Command clicking disclosure triangles to expand or collapse a whole window full?)

I do think it's a handy thing to have, but Macs don't have it, just as Windows doesn't have a bunch of things Macs have.

That's life!

I see what you mean... but, after visiting several non-windows familiar friends/family using their Macs, I see them leave almost every application they've used that day open (by them only clicking the window closed). It's funny, you can tell them exactly what they did on their computer that day... freak'em out :)

That's fine. It's more efficient to leave them open than to open and close them all day long. No waiting for apps to open!

Or you could just use Quicksilver (freeware), and simply type:

TEXtedit

(tab)

MOve to

(tab)

FOLDERNAME

(return)

Done!

If you want a cut command, open Terminal and enter:

defaults write com.apple.finder AllowCutForItems 1

reboot (or quit and restart finder) and you have a cut command. But be warned, it doesn't work as nicely as the Windows version. In Windows when you select "cut" it just marks the file as cut--it doesn't actually delete the original file until you complete the paste, so if you change your mind after cutting you haven't lost anything. In the Mac version, it cuts the file right away--I have no idea where it vanishes to if you don't complete the paste function.


That being said, I have to say that as a new Mac user one of the things I am finding most irritating is the "if mac doesn't have it then we don't need that feature" attitude as well as the "why don't you go use windows" comment whenever someone asks for a feature that Windows has. Such blind mac zealotry does nobody any good. Mac has adopted many things from Windows over the years--the taskbar, contextual menus, etc. I'm sure there were many conversations back when about how Mac users didn't need such things. There are, in fact, many Windows features that Mac would be well to adopt, and I think sometimes the only reason they don't is simply corporate pride--and that's not to their customers' benefit.

A search for "finder cut" in google will yield you many entries from people who do, in fact, desire such a feature. Just because Mac doesn't have a feature that windows has doesn't automatically make it a worthless feature.

On my machine (PPC - 10.5.1), it enables a cut command.
But the command only moves the selected file(s) to the trash, and doesn't allow to paste them.
I.e., it's only an other way to delete them. Not quite the expected behavior.

I do technical support for a living, and honestly, the thought of cutting files, even temporarily to "paste" them elsewhere scares the hell out of me.

To me, the ability to do an action in the finder (cut), if followed by an action in any other app (copy or cut), causing you to lose said file seems to be a bad thing. I could live with a hold to move command being tied to the same key shortcut and not using the clipboard, where if you forget about it you don't lose your file to oblivion. Personally, I want a shelf :D.

And it isn't a worthy feature just because a significant, vocal minority of Windows switchers want it. The fact is that most Windows users don't even know it exists. It's not intuitive, and the overwhelming majority of Mac users haven't requested it and also don't know it exists. That's what makes it not intuitive! Most people would never think to do it.

The way it works in Windows is non-destructive. Once you cut, nothing happens except the file becomes translucent. Then when you paste it somewhere else, the file gets cut and pasted. If you never do the paste, nothing happens to the original file, it reverts to normal.

As for a shelf, try PathFinder, it features one.

Not true. I've seen many Windows users use the feature. Personally, I find it very intuitive. I figured it out on my own, in fact. As for many users not knowing it exists, what does that have to do with anything? Would you like Apple to remove all their odd shortcuts and hidden features that probably 95% of their users never use or know about?

There is a balance between having core features that are intuitive, but also having more powerful features that power users who seek them out come to love and count on to save time and keystrokes. IMO the Mac is strong on the former, but short on the latter.

In general I find the mac to be slightly more stable and definitely more pleasant looking than windows. But in general the number of features and configurability of Windows Explorer is far superior to Finder. Using the program PathFinder corrects for a lot of that, by the way.

No. I just don't want to see them add features that less than 5% are asking for. You've seen lots of people use it, but I've seen lots more who have no idea it exists. The majority run Office, IE, and maybe some other custom app for their business, never spending more than a few seconds (if any time at all!) in Windows Explorer.

The problem is that MS has implemented the feature in Windows very poorly. If a Windows users cuts text, that text disappears from where it was cut, and only reappears if it is pasted somewhere. That is all well and good, and is how users, Mac or Windows, should expect Cut to work. However, when Windows users cut a file, that file does not disappear until the user pastes it elsewhere. While it may be convenient to have such functionality, it is a UI failure to use Cut/Copy to implement that functionality.

I would love to see a Move command in my OS X contextual menu. I think it would be an excellent addition. However, I would hate to see Apple implement such functionality in the same ill conceived manner in which MS implemented the functionality.

Incidentally, Cmd-drag (press and hold the cmd key prior to releasing the drag) is Move (as opposed to Copy) in OS X, while option-drag is Copy (as opposed to Move). Generally speaking, without any modifier keys, a file is moved when dragged to another location on the same volume, and is copied when dragged to a location on a different volume.

For those looking for a shelf, Xshelf is, in my opinion, an outstanding free utility that returns the NeXT Shelf's functionality to OS X.

One should be careful not to confuse Mac zealotry with experience among Mac users who have already learned that the Mac way is often superior to the Windows way, even if that superiority is not immediately obvious. That certainly does not mean that everything about OS X is golden, and everything about Windows is lousy. However, many switchers often complain about how the Mac way is different from the Windows way before they allow themselves adequate time to try out the Mac way.

This thread is just hilarious. I just have to awake it from the dead.

I'm a switcher myself (2 years ago), still using Windows at work, and cutting/pasting files and folders is probably the #1 feature I've been missing on Mac OS X.

Anybody who feels they are missing it too, please go to http://www.apple.com/feedback and tell apple about it. Maybe someday they'll change their mind - after all, they already added the (greyed out) "cut" menu item in Finder, which gloatingly grins at me whenever I open up the "edit" menu.

They should at least add it as a functionality that could enabled by power users under options - it could be disabled by default.

Highlight some text and you'll find that it's no longer greyed-out. It's there for text-related operations only (i.e. not file/folder related operations).

Pathfinder - http://www.cocoatech.com/ - has finder cut/paste - amongst many other wonderful tools.

one of my favorite features is the 'dual browser' - that saves having 2 finder windows open at the same time.

it's about choice
 

wow !!! 5 pages and no solution.

it's simple, in windows you have 2 options - drag and drop or ctl-x ctl-v. you can CHOOSE what works better for you.

and how do people decide what others need or what others use?? !! just because mac users are restricted by the machine's limitations, they think it's not a handy feature !! sounds funny...just give the option and see what they use. most of the windows users use ctl-x ctl-v over the drag and drop approach. why? (even i started guessing what people use more often) !!

but on a serious note, it's more about having choices.

anyway, as a long time windows user and first time mac user, i'm happy with the cool features of mac...

Like most arguments, it depends what is most important to you. If having a familiar function and choice is more important to you, then you'll cry out for <cut> in the finder.
If GUI consistency is more important to you, then you won't want it.

Although you can point to a number of breaches in GUI consistency in the OS X interface, Apple generally does try to implement a consistent UI. For that reason, you will not see Cut in the Finder; not <Return> to Open a file.

But I still remain staggered by the numbers of posts on this forum that say:
"This computer does X, which is accessed by pressing/clicking Y. I want to access X by pressing/clicking Z instead".
Computers are a tool. You learn the way they work. You then use that to do stuff you want.
Bend like the willow, or snap like the oak! ;)

I know what I'd like more than a "Cut" contextual-menu item: a Move... contextual-menu item. Hierarchical menus would pop out to the side when invoked, the top level choices looking something akin to this:

Recent Folders
Favorite 'Move' Locations
Macintosh HD
External Drive X
External Drive Y
iPod
Mounted SMB Volume Z


Any of the above, once selected, would pop out the next tier of choices in the hierarchy; wherever you release mouse button, that's where it goes. PrefsPane option would let you specify a confirmation dialog or "just do it" mode.


The "Favorite 'Move' Locations" list is something you could manually add folders to, of course. (Or remove from).

Those of you familiar with Default Folder will nod with recognition at the basic organizing principle; essentially it would be the extension of Default Folder to a "move" function rather than a "save dialog".

Now that would be a nice addition - especially if the move actually created new files so that ACL inheritances would kick in.

I would also like to see a "Move" command in the contextual menu (though not a bass ackwards Windowsesque "Cut" command for files).

In the meantime, command-drag moves files, option-drag copies files, and unmodified dragging will either copy or move, depending on the location of the destination relative to the source.