Inevitably, we all need to move files from one place to another. Some common examples:
- Move a file from one computer to a network location (home folder on a server)
- Get files from a camera’s memory card and bring them over to a computer
- Move a file that you hastily saved on the desktop to a proper place in My Documents
- Transfer a file from one computer to a USB flash drive then to a home computer, etc.
The list could go on and on. The skills needed to perform these common file management tasks are invariably some of the weakest skills of most computer users! It all boils down to File Management. Where did you save the file? What did you call the file? Did you copy the file or move it? All the issues involved in file management goes way beyond the scope of what I want to cover here. This posting is intended to answer one question:
When I move a file from one location, how do I know if it moves the file or if it copies the file?
First, let’s define what we mean by each of these:
Moving a File- this happens when you drag a file from location A to location B. It removes it from location A and relocates it to location B.
Copying a File- this happens when you drag a file from location A to location B. But rather than remove it from location A, it makes a copy of the file so that the file now appears in both location A and location B.
Moving from one folder to another on the same drive:
Dragging a file from one folder to another on the same drive of a computer will move, not copy the file. Notice in the video below that the file is removed from one folder and relocated to the other:
Moving from one folder to another that is on a different drive or drive partition:
In this animation, we are dragging the same file as above, but this time to a folder on a USB flash drive (the F: drive in this case). Instead of a USB drive this could have been any other location like a server, camera, card reader, external hard drive, etc.
Look at the difference! Before the file is dropped into the destination window you see the tiny “plus” symbol, indicating an additional copy is being made:
Pretty cool, huh?
If you wanted to force the computer to copy the file when dragging anywhere, even between two folders on the same hard drive, simply hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard while you drag and drop!
Just one more thing: If the icon you drop onto the new folder shows an arrow, that means you haven’t made a copy of it. Instead you have made a shortcut (link) that when opened goes and looks for the document in the original location and opens it.
If you were trying to backup a file to a server or other hard drive and the arrow is displayed on the icon, you haven’t made a backup of the file- you’ve only created a shortcut. That could be very sad!
