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On OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), I don't seem to be able to us the "Cut" command on a file in the Finder, like you can do in Windows Explorer on Microsoft Windows. (In Windows, once you select a file and "cut" it, you can then move to a different directory and "paste" the file to that location.)

The only way I can move a file using keyboard or contextual menu commands is to copy the file to another drive or location and then delete the old version of the file.

In the Finder's 'Edit' menu, 'Cut' is in the list but if a file itself is selected, it is always greyed out. 'Copy' is not. Why is this?

bmike
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Marty
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    Are you going to accept an answer for this question? RobZoikos's is correct and highly-voted, in addition to a plethora of other good answers. One of the key facets of Stack Exchange sites is accepting answers: do your part! – Cajunluke Feb 18 '12 at 04:35
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    I think bmike's answer is better. You can 'move' files/folders by copying with command-C and paste it with command+option+V. It's just like a cut and paste (it's copy and paste with no duplicate). – Denis M. Kitchen Feb 12 '14 at 02:49
  • It is simply not possible because the keyboard shortcut for Cut (⌘X) is not enabled for filesystem items in Finder. You'll need to ask Apple why they have not enabled Cut (⌘X) for filesystem items in Finder. – user3439894 Jul 22 '20 at 23:53

12 Answers12

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Keyboard method: Cmd-C then Opt-Cmd-V does the cut&paste for files on Mac.

Mouse method: Drag the file from one folder to the parent of the target folder (ie, if moving to Documents:Financial, drag to Documents). Hover on the parent folder for a few seconds, and it will spring open. Then you can continue dragging the file to the target folder. (note, the mouse method may result in very long hover times, if you're dragging a huge number of files, eg 1,000 files)

Menu method: It's not part of the Apple menu system to 'cut' files. The menu Cut option is grayed out, and becomes enabled when text is selected. But not files. Here is an in-depth discussion on Apple's discussion forum.

nohillside
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robzolkos
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    Drag and drop s*cks for power users. Lion 'Finally' fixes it with cmd+c --> cmd+option+v, see other answers. – user160917 Oct 21 '11 at 17:44
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    "Command + C" then "Option + Command + v" does the cut\paste on Mac. So you don't need to have 2 Finder windows – Dmitriy Mar 29 '12 at 13:17
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    geotavros Command+C is copy, not cut. – iforce2d Jul 04 '14 at 00:19
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    @iforce2d: No, you are misunderstanding this subtle point. While it is true that Command+C is labeled as COPY, if you follow it with "OPTION+Command+v", the "OPTION" turns it into a MOVE. – ToolmakerSteve May 01 '15 at 21:52
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    I wanted to move 1000 files from one folder to another. When I try to drag them I get the spinning mouse pointer forever. It doesn't work. I had to kill Finder. – intrepidis Mar 05 '16 at 18:58
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    You can also use: right click + Copy then Option + right click + "Move Item Here" – Gabriel Staples Dec 06 '17 at 23:12
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    I just moved from Windows to Mac and hating every minute of it, how can Apple be so deaf to not have an option to cut a file/folder like in every other operating system – Ivan Castellanos Dec 23 '19 at 01:07
  • There is a reason for the lack of a cut feature in macOS, as much as it seems ridiculous to those coming from Windows. If there's a power loss, an external drive is disconnected, or something else happens to disrupt the transfer process, a cut operation can result in (at best) a large number of files now being split between two locations with broken and unfinished transfers on the destination or (at worst) data loss on one or both systems. It's a paradigm shift that can be quite annoying to some, but there is a legitimate reason for it. – Nathan2055 Jul 15 '21 at 14:21
  • Additionally, the APFS file system used in macOS Sierra and newer is a copy-on-write file system, and therefore is designed to handle copy operations a lot more efficiently and safely than move operations (to oversimplify: copying simply adds a reference to the same data on disk to the destination location, a move requires either changing the existing reference or making a new reference and then deleting the old one depending on how Apple implemented it). This is why, even in same-disk operations where the risk is much lower, Apple prefers that you copy files instead of moving them. – Nathan2055 Jul 15 '21 at 14:23
  • Honestly this doesn't answer the question. I came here already knowing that you can't cut but you can use Opt-Cmd-V instead, but what I wanted to know was WHY Apple made this seemingly strange design decision. And the oft-cited response about data loss is clearly unsatisfying because Windows just designed around that problem. The real question is: Why didn't Apple do what Windows did? That's what I think OP was asking. – Jolly Llama Feb 09 '22 at 17:25
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The cut function is implemented in Lion and later as a result of modifying the paste command. If you copy a file and hold down the ⌥ key in addition to the normal paste command.

⌘+⌥+V = paste + cut in macOS

This retroactively cuts the original file(s) and pastes them in the new folder.

You can also use: right click + Copy then Option + right click + "Move Item Here"

On Snow Leopard and earlier, the cut function is not part of Finder.

The thing that seems to be different is that CUT on OS X means it's gone now. Whereas cut on Windows means text goes away and files get copied for cutting on paste. The implementations seem quite similar for filesystem cut/paste operations in practice.

Assuming it's not a "patent thing", one could speculate that this is a "do no harm" design standpoint. Why cut something and then potentially lose or misplace it? Imagine the harm if you selected a few hundred files to copy them (or duplicate them) but inadvertently hit the X key. Instead of forcing you to realize a cat or toddler has cut a whole folder of files, the cut only happens when you paste with the option key held down to paste and then cut in one action.

bmike
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    'Course, there's always ⌘Z... – Tuesday Feb 17 '12 at 21:32
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    Since when do you lose files if you cut them? In windows, if you cut files and never paste, they just stay where they are. Indeed, cut & paste is exactly the same as this copy & "paste special", except the intent to eventually move is specified with the first command (cut) instead of the 2nd. – Claudiu Oct 31 '13 at 00:59
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    @Claudiu On OS X - users expect cut to remove the selection. It's a different implementation, idiom, and thought process/set of assumptions between how windows implements cut and OS X implements cut. – bmike Oct 31 '13 at 11:49
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    @bmike: Oh I see your point. on windows, cutting on text does remove the text, true. on files it just prepares them for moving without actually changing them. i never noticed that as an inconsistency before. i'm pretty sure osx & win do cut exactly the same except with respect to files. – Claudiu Oct 31 '13 at 15:51
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    I still don't see why they couldn't just use ⌘X instead of requiring a three key combo to retroactively cut the thing on the damn paste command. In windows, when you cut a file, it fades a bit, so the feedback is still there and it works beautifully. – Drazen Bjelovuk Oct 09 '14 at 20:11
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    Re "This makes an accidental cut and no subsequent paste event less likely." Huh? For 20 years now Windows has done this correctly: "Cut" (of a file) NEVER DELETES a file -- it has no effect, unless followed by a "Paste" in another folder. – ToolmakerSteve May 01 '15 at 21:44
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    @bmike. Not really. On Windows, users ALSO expect "cut to remove the selection" -- when working with TEXT, where that makes sense. Its a nice touch that in Windows, cutting FILES never results in an accidental deletion. But apparently Apple figures that Mac users are not smart enough to cope with this subtlety. So they force user to do extra work to move files (and FINALLY they got smart and made that extra work just be a triple-key-combination. Still stupid, but at least it exists.) – ToolmakerSteve May 01 '15 at 21:46
  • @ToolmakerSteve ok - toe-may-toe/toe-mah-toe – bmike May 01 '15 at 21:51
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    You can also use: right click + Copy then Option + right click + "Move Item Here" – Gabriel Staples Dec 06 '17 at 23:12
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    To the end user this feels like just another difference to have to memorize. – DaVince Aug 12 '20 at 11:25
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There is no native way to Cut in Finder.
It has always been that way. Why? We don't know.

I believe the Cut you're talking about is either standard on an Edit but it will most likely become available when you rename a file.

Bottom line is, you can't cut & paste files natively in Mac OS X.

Loïc Wolff
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Actually, in Lion, cut is now available as part of the Finder. Copy as usual with ⌘+C and (cut-)Paste with ⌘+⌥+V.

gentmatt
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molle
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As others have mentioned, there is no cutting of files in Finder. However, if you think you're mind is able to handle such a notion, you can use TotalFinder, which I highly recommend. It also sports tabs, showing hidden files, split views and even has the option to add cut-copy-paste buttons in the context menu.

enter image description here

Aram Kocharyan
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    Sadly Apple has locked down so much that TotalFinder has decided to call it quits as of El Capitan.

    Really sad because TotalFinder was my favorite Mac app. Damn you Apple. :-(

     – MikeSchinkel Feb 05 '16 at 11:06
  • That's a shame. You can still run, but it's not advised and the plugin doesn't have a long future. http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/system-integrity-protection. Tabs for me were the biggest need, and that's been in Finder since Mavericks – Aram Kocharyan Feb 06 '16 at 14:32
  • I've had to say goodbye to TotalFinder today since installing Mojave, I tried to convince myself I could be ok without SIP but couldn't risk it. I didn't even know the normal 'cut & paste' method for files wasn't part of the OS! Came here trying to work out where cut went in Mojave! Seems I'm doomed to big clunky tabs, no visor shortcut (Flash Finder helps) and now, stupid option comand v paste to cut. (is this like the press start to shutdown lunacy of windows?) – Daniel Feb 02 '19 at 14:04
  • XtraFinder was a life saver, but that's gone too, as of Catalina 10.15.4 :( – Shiyaz Apr 23 '20 at 11:32
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There's a cool little plugin now for Finder that adds — among other missing features (enter to open file, folders before files, tabs, etc.) — cut'n'paste functionality like we're used to from any other OS.

It's free, actually! I previously used PathFinder which is a paid app, but this time around I really didn't want to install it, as it doesn't integrate very well with OS X (Finder and PathFinder running simultaneously, gesture to reveal desktop giving an empty screen, ...). This one just adds stuff to Finder instead of installing an extra app. You do have to run XtraFinder to configure, though :)

Check it out: http://www.trankynam.com/xtrafinder/

DanielSmedegaardBuus
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If you like cut and paste more than drag and drop I'd recommend to install MoveAddict. It brings cut and paste to the Finder, even with toolbar support. I am using MoveAddict for some time now and I am quite happy with it.

Uwe Honekamp
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The lack of a simple and basic function such as cut n paste of folders and files on the same level as Windows is a damning indictment of Apple and makes a mockery of their supposed "give the people what they want" culture. It cannot be about resources or expertise because clearly it is trivial to implement. We are left to speculate that this is a misguided and stubborn refusal to compromise or be seen as imitating Windows. It is just daft. There are many good things about Apple products but this approach prevents them from being as good as they could be and is just unnecessary.

Guest 2016
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  • Despite there being multiple alternate methods to move files in finder, cut and paste has existed finder for about 6 years now. If you are stuck on 10.6 or earlier - editing into your answer it make it less wrong might make it more useful or less likely to be down voted. – bmike Sep 14 '16 at 00:06
  • bmike forgot to mention that people sometimes prefer other ways of doing something. I don't like the way apple wants me to cut and paste files but I don't have options to change the shortcut. All these shitty "different" alternate methods suck and I totally agree with the "Guest 2016". – Armen Markossyan Sep 29 '16 at 08:13
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    I don't know what's happening, I have no time to read countless posts about such a simple thing. I only notice that the Cut command (with Cmd-X as a shortcut) is clearly present in the finder Edit drop down menu, but it seems to be always greyed out and inaccessible. If the motivation is "not to imitate" windows then basically what they're doing is providing the same functionality then Windows but throwing in one or two bewildering annoyances just so it would be different then windows. – Rolf Nov 07 '16 at 15:50
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    @rolf - I’ll save you a lot of searching - command / option / v is how to copy->cut+paste – bmike Jul 05 '20 at 17:43
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I believe cut in Finder is for cutting text. I don't believe Apple intended it to be for cutting files in that sense - that is purely a Windows paradigm. If you select a file and press enter, and then select edit -> cut - it should now work and no longer be greyed out. So cut does work. But the connotation of moving files from the windows user experience has apparently caused some confusion.

The Yoshter
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Insofar as files are concerned, "cut and paste" is "move" by a different name. With Finder, as you have likely noticed, there is a rule behind its behavior during drag-and-drop operations on files:

if you drag-and-drop to the same volume: move is default.

if you drag-and-drop to a different volume: copy is default.

This is the default behavior. If you want to change the default behavior, here's how to do that:

holding the command key while dragging changes copy to move.

holding the option key while dragging changes move to copy.

I agree with this opinion that this is not intuitive - perhaps even convoluted. But it's been that way for a while now & unlikely to change. The good news is this: If you find it tedious to remember this, one option is to use mv or cp from the CLI.

Seamus
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If you don't want to use Cmd-C and Opt-Cmd-V, check out my free Command X app, which lets you press Cmd-X to cut files and Cmd-V to paste.

Sindre Sorhus
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another way is to use XtraFinder, there are many nice features including "cut"

user179778
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