Finder PASTE grayed out

[Head_Unit]

I Googled quite a bit to no avail. I pick a file in a folder, COPY, point to another folder, cannot PASTE. It is grayed out. I can duplicate the file then move then rename but that is asinine. I've checked permissions are read and write, rebooted, repaired the disk (which was fine), still the same problem. Ideas? This is driving me nuts, and making it a pain to synchronize some files.

 

[chscag]

Why not just hold down your option key, click on the file and then drag and drop it to wherever you wish? (That's how you copy a file from one place to another.) Or is there some reason you prefer using copy and paste?

 

[IWT]

I agree with Admin chscag.

Just for reference, the "rules" are:

Command + Drag = Moves
Option + Drag = Copies
Command + Option + Drag = creates an Alias

Also, built into the OS, just Dragging from one area of the Mac to another = Moves. Whereas just Dragging from an area of the Mac to an External device = Copies (But to be doubly certain, I always prefer doing it as shown above).

As regards the Copy/Paste function, it is Command + C and Command + V (I'm sure you know, but just in case you didn't remember the Command bit).

Ian

 

[toMACsh]

I pick a file in a folder, COPY, point to another folder, cannot PASTE. It is grayed out.

Where are the source and target folders located? I think I could do this in Sierra, but not at my Mac to try right now.

 

[MacInWin]

I think you have to point to the destination folder, not to the folder contents, if that makes sense.

 

[Head_Unit]

Why not just hold down your option key, click on the file and then drag and drop it to wherever you wish? (That's how you copy a file from one place to another.) Or is there some reason you prefer using copy and paste?

Well, should CMD-V work? Why the @#$% doesn't it? Especially since I could indeed COPY.
But thank you and all the deities, bless you bless you bless you, the Option key worked.
Specifically, selected all the source files, Option-drag into the column representing the target folder.
Source files were in a sub-sub-folder on an external drive, target folder a sub-sub-folder in my Dropbox folder (laptop hard drive --> user --> Dropbox). I'm not sure if that particular path has anything to do with it, or if other cases also don't Paste after Copy.
Just a stupid bug? Time to upgrade to Sierra?

 

[MacInWin]

Here is a trick you can use if you want to copy from deep sub folder to deep sub folder: Open the destination deep sub folder and then back up one level, drag the name of the deep sub folder to the sidebar in Finder. Now go to the source sub folder, find the file (or folder) you want to move, click and drag to the folder on the sidebar and you are done. Once finished, you can drag the sub folder off the sidebar to clean things up. Or if you use that destination a lot, leave it there.