Mac OS X &Windows XP

Copying, Replacing, & Moving Files/Folders

Overview
Mac OS X and Windows XP are on par with each other in terms of copying and moving files and folders. Both have a "smart copy" feature when moving files into a folder that contains other files with the same names. However, each behaves differently when copying a folder to a location containing another folder with the same name.


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Copying Files
Mac OS X


OS X's Copy dialog

Check "Apply to All" and click Don't Replace to preserve all original duplicates in the destination location. Unfortunately, OS X's dialog doesn't display file dates or sizes. Users may need to compare the file sizes and dates in the Finder prior to initiating the copy.

Windows XP


XP replace file dialog

Displays file sizes and dates modified to help you determine which file to keep. However, the official method of preserving all original duplicates in the destination location is not immediately evident - hold down the Shift key and the No button turns into "No to All."

Replacing Folders
Mac OS X

OS X will simply replace the entire folder with the new one you are copying over.



Windows XP

XP's method of replacing a folder can be considered more like "merging" rather than flat-out replacing. First, it will examine the contents of both folders, and will display its smart copy dialog to help you determine which files you wish to overwrite:



Additionally, if files happen to exist in one folder and not the other, they will be copied over as well. All the other files inside both folders will be merged together.

Moving Files & Folders
Mac OS X

Drag and drop files and folders to move them from one location to another. OS X is capable of moving busy files (files that are currently in use), which is a great feature - you can move something that you're working on without having to close it first. Unfortunately, OS X does not allow "cut" in the Finder.

Windows XP

XP users can move files by either drag and drop or cut and paste. XP does not allow busy files to be moved.


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Conclusion
Both operating system's Copy dialogs are comparable. OS X has an easily discoverable "no to all" function, while XP will show file sizes and dates to help you determine that you're copying over the right file. Regarding replacing folders:
Mac OS X

Works well when you want to replace the contents of one folder with another
Dialog assumes that you realize that replacing a folder also means replacing the entire contents of the folder
Lacks a simple method of merging the contents of two folders
Windows XP

Smart folder replace is an excellent method of "merging" the contents of two folders
While XP's file copying checks time stamps, XP's method of copying folders doesn't seem to take time stamps into account, possibly allowing you to overwrite a newer folder
Dialog does not tell you what will happen to files that do not contain the same name
XP's method does not allow you to completely replace the contents of one folder w/the contents of another. To completely replace one folder with another, you must delete the original folder
One could attribute OS X's default behavior of simply replacing one folder with another to the fact that it is heavily reliant on drag-installs (see Installing & Uninstalling). In such a scenario, replacing the contents of one folder with the contents of another makes more sense, as simply merging the two could result in files from different application versions being mixed, which could cause conflicts. Windows does not use drag-installs, so this method of copying folders is not as appropriate. Either way, both operating systems could benefit from an option letting the user decide whether they wanted to fully replace the contents of one folder with another, or merge the two together.

Both operating systems are equal at moving files and folders. OS X lacks a cut function, but allows moving of busy files; XP lacks the latter, but allows the former.

Mac OS X: 8
Windows XP: 8

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