01-17-2007, 11:53 PM

On windows, linux etc holding down control and clicking can highlight multiple items. Then clicking and holding down the mouse button on any one of those highlighted let's you drag all of them at once.
It seems to work like that on the mac, with apple button instead of control. That's fine. However, in finder it seems to be weird. It works like that in icons view and columns view, but not in list view. In list view if I highlight various files with apple-click, then I click on any one file (in order to move all selected), it de-selects all the files except that one I am now clicking on!! That is really annoying! The only way I found to do it is by again holding down apple, clicking on one of the selected files ,waiting (in order not to make a double click!), then clicking again and holding it down (while still holding down apple), and only then can I move all the items together.
That seems really bizarre. And it seems to be only in the list view. Bizarre.

Am I doing something wrong? Is this normal?
Help appreciated!
Thank you
Justin

01-18-2007, 12:14 AM

i use list view more than the other two and don't seem to have this issue. maybe i'll try to reproduce what your doing and see if i can get it to reproduce itself on my machine. (when i'm home on my mac, and not at work)

01-18-2007, 05:46 AM

To duplicate or copy files, you have to hold down the Option key as you drag them into another place.

Places where the system already understands you want to copy them somewhere else is obviously dragging your files to an external disk or another partition on your hard drive, for example. But I hold down the Option key anyway, I had read somewhere in the days of pre-OS X that doing so prevented corruption in the files and have been doing it ever since.

Apple-clicking lets you select non-consecutive items as opposed to the Shift-clicking (or again, click-dragging) which makes you select consecutive items.

01-18-2007, 10:19 AM

MacHeadCase, do I believe the timestamp on your last post? It shows up as 4:46 AM here in Texas. That would be 5:46 AM in Montreal. Wow! That is early to even be awake, much less making intelligent commentary in these forums! Amazing!

01-18-2007, 12:10 PM

Thanks muchly for that!

Yeah I get up around 5:00-5:15 a.m. five days a week for school. School starts at 8:00 a.m. but I'm not one that wants to rush as soon as the alarm clock makes me put a foot on the floor in the bedroom. I enjoy taking my time, posting here, checking my email before I leave.

01-19-2007, 09:00 AM

Originally Posted by eric

i use list view more than the other two and don't seem to have this issue. maybe i'll try to reproduce what your doing and see if i can get it to reproduce itself on my machine. (when i'm home on my mac, and not at work)

Woah, okay I have it more sussed now. I have refined the issue. Try this:
Go to column view.
1) Apple-click several items. Now click and hold on any one, clicking on the item name. See if you can move them all. (Should be fine).

2) Now, try exactly the same thing, but clicking off the item name. By this, I mean that apple-clicking an item with highlight it in a blue strip. The item name is within the blue strip, but the blue strip should also continue further than the name, to the right. Click on the part of the blue strip past the name. So, clicking and holding on that, see if you can move all the items. (Should work fine).

Now, go to list view, and repeat steps 1) and 2). You may find that step 2) gives the opposite result than in column view. It doesn't work.

Justin