<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic" style="task"
      id="files-copy">

  <info>
    <revision pkgversion="0.0.1" version="0.0.3" date="2015-01-28" status="draft"/>

    <link type="guide" xref="files"/>
    <desc>Copy or move items to a new directory.</desc>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>Mate Documentation Team</name>
      <years>2015</years>
    </credit>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>Cristopher Thomas</name>
      <years>2011</years>
    </credit>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>Tiffany Antopolski</name>
      <years>2011</years>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
  </info>

<title>Copy or move files and folders</title>

<p>
A file or folder can be copied or moved to a new location by dragging and dropping with the mouse, using the copy and paste commands, or by using keyboard shortcuts.
</p>
<p>
As an example, copying files can be useful when creating a folder which contains files to email to a friend or coworker, or when <link xref="files#backup">backing up</link> individual files to an external disk.
</p>

<steps>
<title>Drag files to copy or move</title>
<item><p><link xref="files-browse">Open the file manager</link> to the folder containing the item you want to copy.</p></item>
<item><p>Click <guiseq><gui>File</gui><gui>New Window</gui></guiseq> (or press <keyseq><key>Ctrl</key><key>N</key></keyseq>) to open a second window. Navigate to the folder where you want to move or copy the item in the new window.</p></item>
<item><p>Click and drag the item from one window to another. By default, dragging an item will <em>move it</em> if the destination is on the same device (i.e. if both folders are on the same hard disk on your computer).</p>
  <p>Dragging will <em>copy it</em> if the destination is on a difference device, such as a USB storage device, however. You can override this:</p>
<list style="compact">
<item><p>To force the file to be copied, hold down the <key>Ctrl</key> key while dragging.</p></item>
<item><p>To force the file to be moved, hold down the <key>Shift</key> key while dragging.</p></item>
</list></item>
</steps>

<steps>
<title>Copy and paste files</title>
<item><p>Select the item you want to copy by clicking on it once.</p></item>
<item><p>Click <guiseq><gui>Edit</gui><gui>Copy</gui></guiseq>, or press <keyseq><key>Ctrl</key><key>C</key></keyseq>.</p></item>
<item><p>Navigate to another folder, where you want to put the copy of the item.</p></item>
<item><p>Click <guiseq><gui>Edit</gui><gui>Paste</gui></guiseq> to finish copying the item, or press <keyseq><key>Ctrl</key><key>V</key></keyseq>. There will now be a copy of the file in the original folder and the other folder.</p></item>
</steps>

<steps>
<title>Cut and paste files (to move them)</title>
<item><p>Select the item you want to move by clicking on it once.</p></item>
<item><p>Click <guiseq><gui>Edit</gui><gui>Cut</gui></guiseq>, or press <keyseq><key>Ctrl</key><key>X</key></keyseq>.</p></item>
<item><p>Navigate to another folder, where you want to move the item.</p></item>
<item><p>Click <guiseq><gui>Edit</gui><gui>Paste</gui></guiseq> to finish moving the item, or press <keyseq><key>Ctrl</key><key>V</key></keyseq>. The file will be taken out of its original folder and moved to the other folder.</p></item>
</steps>

<note>
 <title>Why can't I copy/move a file?</title>
 <p>You can't copy or move a file into a folder that is <em>read-only</em>. Some folders are read-only to prevent you from making changes to their contents. You can change things from being read-only by <link xref="caja-file-properties-permissions">changing file permissions</link>.</p>
</note>

</page>
