I have noticed that on large files move seems to be quicker that cut. I am curious what happens "under the hood". My best guess is that move creates a symbolic link without moving the file, and cut makes a new copy and deletes the old one. Am I anywhere near correct? If not, please explain the process.
Thanks in advance for your replies.
regards,
caffeine
My guess is that Windows OS copies the file to be move into clipboard and marks the file to be deleted when move action complete.
Depends on where you are moving the file to. If on the same partition then it's a simple directory pointer switch, very fast. If it's to another partition or drive then it a copy and delete once the copy completes.
I think Cut/Paste and Move are synonyms for the same action.
I agree with Ztruker, my timing between using 'Cut/Paste' vs.'Move' on very large 60 gigabyte Macrium images found it's almost instantaneous either way. This taking place on the same disk partition of course.
'Copy/Paste' or Copy via a mouse 'Drag and Drop', takes much longer as it involves moving all the data blocks of the file and not just a single Window's file control block FileID, similar to an i-node pointer in Unix
But thanks for bringing up something that all these years I'd never bother to look at - this two step process of Cut / Paste or Copy / Paste.
I think not seeing the Paste option with Cut and Copy in the context menu of a selected file/folder had for all these years been throwing me off, and it never took much back then and certainly takes less now
I'd select context Copy and then sit there thinking, 'Ok, Windows, now what'? I guess I was expecting a dialog box of some sort. Feeling pretty silly about it now obviously.
So until you mentioned this, I'd never spent much time with either 'Cut / Paste' or "Copy / Paste' for that matter, but now I see a real advantage to using these two steps!
Especially on my Laptop's touch pad where dragging and dropping without the mouse has become ever more precarious with a touchy touch pad and less agile fingers. More control this way, so again thanks for bringing it to my attention.
ALSO, here's something I found interesting with this 'Cut' option - it dims the icons of the files you've selected to cut before your Paste step. Oddly though, if you sort a column afterwards this dim indication disappears, and yet the files you've asked to cut are still waiting to be pasted. The only way to cancel is to either select a new 'Cut' or a new 'Copy'.
Cut selected file icons dim
... or close File ExplorerThe only way to cancel is to either select a new 'Cut' or a new 'Copy'.
Rich, I'm not seeing that.
Either after all File Explorer windows are closed. Nor even after the explorer.exe is stopped and restarted.
I can still paste what was selected as 'Cut' or 'Copy'.
Once you apply the 'Cut', the 'Paste' is no longer active.
However if you mark 'Copy', that paste action can be repeated endlessly where the 'Paste' context stays active after the 'Copy' is applied.
What's even more surprising is if you Drag n' Drop either a 'Move' or 'Copy' that action can be repeated with a 'Paste' that stays active afterwards.I was mistaken about this Drag n' Drop paste buffer.
Last edited by Farvatten; 03 Nov 2020 at 13:46.
Hah, didn't know that. I thought once I closed FIle Explore the current Cut action was terminated.
That's a bit scary that it's still active.
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