Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
If both locations are on the same drive, is the item is moved.
If the locations are on different drives, is the item is copied.
If you want to alter that default behavior, you can force a copy by holding down Ctrl as you
drag, or you can right-drag (that is, drag with the right mouse button). When you drop after
right-dragging, a menu appears, asking whether you want to move, copy, or create a shortcut.
Be careful not to move a folder that contains a Windows application,
because that application may not work anymore after you move it;
Windows relies on an application staying where it was originally placed.
Table 5.8 summarizes the commands for moving and copying fi les and folders.
TABLE 5.8
Moving and copying files and folders
Operating System
Command/Procedure
Example
Windows (graphical
interface)
To move or copy: Right-drag to the new location,
and then choose Move Here or Copy Here on the
menu that appears.
Alternate method: Select the file, and press Ctrl+C
to copy or Ctrl+X to cut. Then navigate to the new
location and press Ctrl+V to paste.
Mac OS (graphical
interface)
Drag and drop (moves original to new location) or
cut or copy and paste both work.
Linux (graphical
interface)
Varies
To c opy :
copy
You don't need to specify the path for a file in
the current location. Specify the path of the
destination following the filename.
Windows (command
prompt)
copy myfile.txt
c:\newlocation
To move :
copy
and then
del
There is no
move
command in Windows, so you
have to use two separate commands.
copy myfile.txt
c:\newlocation
del myfile.txt
To c opy :
cp
Mac OS and Linux
(command prompt)
cp myfile.txt
/newlocation
Notice that Mac OS and Linux use a slash that is
reversed from the one used by Windows.
To move :
mv
mv myfile.txt
/newlocation
