Renaming, Copying, and Deleting

To rename a file or folder in the Finder, click once to select the file, and click a second time on the file's name. The filename will become editable in a few seconds. Alternatively, you can use the Get Info option in the Finder File menu (Command-I) to edit the name in a larger field. (We'll be looking at the Get Info option in depth in just a moment.)

Copying

Copying a file or folder creates an exact duplicate of an original. (Note that this is different from creating an alias to a file, which is just a pointer and not a separate object.) The new file contents and creation/modification dates are identical to those of the original. There are a number of ways to create a copy in Mac OS X:

• Drag a file to a different disk ” Dragging a file to a disk other than the one it is currently stored on creates a copy with the same name as the original.

• Drag a file while holding down the Option key ” If you drag a file to a folder on the same disk it is currently located in while holding down the Option key, a duplicate of that file is created in the new location. The copy has the same name as the original.

• Choose Duplicate from the contextual or Finder menu ” If you want to create an exact duplicate of a file within the same folder, highlight the file to copy, and then choose Duplicate from the Finder's File menu (Command-D), or Ctrl-click the icon and choose Duplicate from the pop-up contextual menu. A new file is created with the word copy appended to the name.

As the file is copied , the Finder displays an alert box in which you can see the progress of the copy operation. If multiple copies are taking place at the same time, the statuses of the operations are shown stacked on one another in the Copy alert box.

If you attempt to copy over existing files, the Finder prompts you and asks whether you want to replace the files. Also, if you attempt to replace existing files to which you don't have access, the copy operation fails.