How do I "cut" a file on OS X?

I'm a newbie on the Mac world and I'd like to know if it's possible to cut a file using a shortcut (like Ctrl+X on Windows).

user4292

Posted 2009-08-28T18:34:25.730

Reputation: 424

4On Lion you can move files after copying them with ⌥⌘V (Move Item Here). – Lri – 2012-05-06T10:32:21.923

Answers

It is possible to cut-paste files/folders in Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)’s Finder (so, since at least 2011), but the Mac OS X way is slightly different from the Windows way. This method works in other versions of Mac OS X as well.

⌘-C (copy first)
⌘-⌥-V (now move to it’s destination)

So, the steps are very similar to copy-paste, but holding ⌥ (option key) moves the file/folder instead of copies it.

You can also have a look in the edit menu after copying a file - press ⌥ while looking to see the difference: “paste” changes to “move item here.”

Joel Purra

Posted 2009-08-28T18:34:25.730

Reputation: 778

2Author, mark it as answer. – Dmitry – 2015-10-08T17:35:56.613

This is mind-numbingly unintuitive to me. Maybe I'm just too "stuck in my ways" or something. – byxor – 2019-10-02T13:06:04.377

I like XtraFinder

It's an enhanced version of Finder. You get Cut & Paste and a bunch of other features.

And it's free.

Ivan Morgillo

Posted 2009-08-28T18:34:25.730

Reputation: 179

The method using ⌘-C and ⌘-⌥-V is by far the easiest and arguably the most efficient way to cut / paste files in the Finder if that's all you want.

If you're going for 3rd party extensions or applications and want an awesome Finder replacement, I'd suggest giving Pathfinder (http://www.cocoatech.com/pathfinder/) a try.

It's the most feature rich Finder replacement out there...

cseder

Posted 2009-08-28T18:34:25.730

Reputation: 111

**⌘-C ** doesn't cut, it copies – pun – 2015-10-23T15:39:03.553

Not when it is followed by ⌘-⌥-V. That's like the whole point. Then it moves e.g. cuts in practice. ⌘-V would do a copy -> paste. – cseder – 2015-10-24T19:40:23.583

If you can't miss ⌘X in macOS, then choose ForkLift 3!

This alternative file manager is better than Mac's native 'finder'. In its Menu entry /Edit you can find the needed command to cut selected files, amongst other relevant shortcuts for file operations.

You can get ForkLift 2 it in the official App Store for free.

gloschtla

Posted 2009-08-28T18:34:25.730

Reputation: 73