Which is part of the name of a little application I've been using for years, Move Items X. So let's call it 'Move' instead of 'Cut', gain some functionality, and be done with the discussion. The subsequent argument to that is, 'but that's inconsistent with the convention of 'Cut' in text applications!' True, but it is a safeguard which has no practical downside other than disturbing the purist's sense of semantics. The argument against this has always been, 'what if you get distracted and forget to paste?' Windows answers this by not removing from the current location until the paste is executed. The cut function (however poorly named it might be) allows one to select, cut, and then navigate to the destination directory with no mind to returning to, deleting in, and closing the source directory. One either has to pre-navigate to both the from and to folders in separate windows on a Macintosh, or retrace one's steps to the source folder for deletion. In my limited use of Windows through the years, the ability to move a file in this way is the only behavior I've wished would someday be imported to the Mac OS. My computing experience has been largely Apple-centric since I first sat behind a mouse and keyboard. I've never understood the fierce resistance to this functionality from much of the Mac community. To merge folders, repeat the steps above, moveAddict will show an alert asking if you want to fully replace folders or merge to them.

If you do not want to use keyboard shortcuts, you can click the menu icon to cut and paste.

Navigate to the folder where you want to move the file to.

Select the file you want to move (in a new Finder window or the desktop).

The application will function in a limited mode until registered. You can set the application's preferences from this menu. Follow the on-screen instructions and it will place a menu in the upper right System Menus area of the menu bar. A new (shareware) Mac menu bar application, called moveAddict, provides this function, so you can use Cmd+X and Cmd+V in the Finder.įirst of all, install moveAddict from Kapeli just like any other application. There is finally a way to cut and paste files and merge folders in Snow Leopard.

Merge folders in google drive