Move file not always working

[ichibod]

File moving does not always work, as in the file is not moved, and remains in the original folder.

 

Fails if a file has the same name to the directory

Fails sometimes to another drive

 

Can we get a dialog box to overwrite the file if it exists?

 

Thanks,

Ryan

[Andrew]

File moving does not always work, as in the file is not moved, and remains in the original folder.

 

Fails if a file has the same name to the directory

Fails sometimes to another drive

 

Can we get a dialog box to overwrite the file if it exists?

 

Thanks,

Ryan

 

There are a few shortcomings due to the way AppleScript is operating (i.e. moving to an external drive, AppleScript leaves the original for safety). I aim to improve these for a 2.x release

[mfessler]

+1 to this request - I used Launchbar to do this all the time, when installing new versions of downloaded software. It is extremely useful to highlight a file in my Downloads folder or on a DMG, hit a hot key, tab, then a few letters of the target directory, return, and pick Move

or Copy with a keystroke - getting prompted if I'm overwriting the old version of the file. Right now in Alfred I need to delete the old version before copying/moving the new one in, which is quite irritating.

Here are some common failure modes with "move" to think about: (most apply to copying as well).

-target file exists, so prompt needed to cancel/overwrite/copy with new name.

-authentication needed to write to the target directory or overwrite the target file

- trying to move from a read-only directory (like a locked DMG) - optionally copy instead, rather than fail. (Launchbar doesn't do this right, but Alfred could)

- progress notification for long moves/copies (ditto)

And, more ambitiously:

- Possibility to choose source file, choose target location, then choose action? (Like Launchbar) - options might include move, copy, create alias, create symbolic link, or even "Drag" to get the move-on-same-volume-but-copy-across-volumes" behavior that the Finder uses.

Thanks for your attention - this is my one big friction point in making the jump from Launchbar.

[SBN]

-target file exists, so prompt needed to cancel/overwrite/copy with new name.

 

Just registered to write that...

 

So +1 for this request!

[ebarrere]

+1, would be a great feature!

[Buja]

There are a few shortcomings due to the way AppleScript is operating (i.e. moving to an external drive, AppleScript leaves the original for safety). I aim to improve these for a 2.x release

 

I'm running Alfred 2.2 (243) and when I try to move a file to a location where a file with the same name already exists... nothing happens! Both files remain untouched.

 

Are you planning to fix this sometime Andrew?

 

Thanks

[Mailia]

What's the status on the move to a different drive issue? It's driving me nuts. My computer has four internal drives and one external drive, so the Move to… command is basically a copy command that might once in a blue moon delete the original file.

[Andrew]

With the current architecture (Alfred asking Finder to move the file using AppleScript), Finder chooses to copy instead of move much like when you drag a file to an external drive (without using a modifier key).

 

I plan on overhauling the file interactions, interacting with the filesystem directly rather than using Finder... but as this isn't a trivial task, it's targeted for a major Alfred release rather than a maintenance release.

[ichibod]

I've been using a work around that moves the file to a folder on the same drive, then a hazel rule will actually move the file where I want it to go. Definitely not ideal, but a solution.