How to Merge Folders on Mac OS X Without Losing All Your Files (Seriously)

The default envelope blend conduct in Mac OS X is to delete the current organizer, erasing all its records instead of offering to union them keenly. Windows and Linux document administrators have offered envelope uniting for a considerable length of time, yet Macs still don't. 

There's a concealed union alternative in the Finder, however it just works now and then. Apple additionally incorporates a terminal charge to union organizers an alternate way. In case you're a Windows or Linux client utilizing OS X, this is really shaking.


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The Finder’s Broken, File-Eating Behavior

This issue happens when you attempt to move an organizer into an area where there's an alternate envelope with the same name. On Windows and Linux, document chiefs attempt to handle this astutely. They'll join the documents in the two organizers into a solitary envelope with the same name. 

In the event that there is a record clash, the document chief will ask you what to do with that particular document. On the off chance that you've utilized Windows or Linux, you're likely acquainted with this conduct. You've presumably never pondered it, in light of the fact that it simply meets expectations.

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The Discoverer on Macintosh OS X isn't so keen. Of course, it simply offers two alternatives — Stop or Supplant. Stop doesn't do anything, while Supplant replaces the old organizer with the new envelope. Supplanting the old organizer really erases all records in the old envelope. The Discoverer doesn't offer to union the organizers. 

Yes, you're perusing that privilege — attempt to consolidation an envelope like you would on Windows or Linux and you'll lose all the old organizer's documents on the off chance that you click Supplant without perusing the dialog. We trust you had some late Time Machine reinforcements before you began moving organizers around on Macintosh OS X! 

On the off chance that you ever see this dialog while attempting to move one or more envelopes, you ought to presumably simply click Stop. It presumably won't do what you need it to

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How to Merge Folders in the Finder

The Finder does really have an organizer combining peculiarity, however it doesn't offer it when you may need it. Rather, you have to utilize a mystery handshake to get to it. 

Macintosh OS X 10.7 Lion — discharged in 2011 — included a concealed Merge choice. To get to it, you need to hold down the Option key as you move and customize an envelope into the same area. In the event that you do this, you'll see a dialog with a Merge catch and you can click it to consolidation organizers like you would on Windows or Li

Problems arise when you have files with the same name in each folder. Mac OS X will offer one option to help you manage this — a “Keep Newer” button that overwrites the older versions of the all files with the same name with the newer ones. There’s no way to skip these conflicts or keep the older files, and there’s no helpful tool that will let you compare sizes and other information. It’s all-or-nothing.

The “Keep Newer” option only appears if the folder you’re moving contains the newer files. If the folder you’re moving contains the older files, then the Merge option won’t appear — even if you hold the Option button.

Perhaps the Merge option is so well hidden because it doesn’t work very well. It’s kind of embarrassing.
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How to Merge Folders With the Ditto Command

To help you combine organizers appropriately, Apple added better organizer unite usefulness to a terminal charge called "same." (Why they didn't simply settle the Finder, we're not certain.) The likewise order is an enhanced adaptation of the standard Unix cp summon, which you could likewise utilized in the event that you like. 

Not at all like the Finder, same consequently combines envelopes. As its manual page puts it: 

"In the event that the goal registry as of now exists then the source indexes are consolidated with the past substance of the end." 

To utilize same, you'll have to open a terminal — press Command + Space, sort Terminal into the Spotlight seek dialog, and press Ente

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The likewise charge utilizes the sentence structure same/way/to/source/envelope/way/to/end of the line/organizer. In this way, in our case here, we have an organizer named "Test" put away on our desktop, and an alternate envelope named "Test" put away in our Downloads envelope. We'd run the accompanying summon to union them: 

likewise -V ~/Desktop/Test ~/Downloads/Test 

(The -V piece of the charge is nonobligatory, however it gives us a chance to see what likewise is really doing. Don't hesitate to exclude it.)

Not at all like the Finder, the same charge coercively overwrites the substance of the goal envelope with the substance of the source organizer. Regardless of the fact that the source organizer contains more seasoned records than the goal envelope, the end of the line organizer's clashing documents will be overwritten with these more established documents.

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How to Merge Folders, Windows or Linux Style

You'll require an outsider utility to union envelopes like you would on Windows or Linux, with prompts for every individual document clash and the capacity to settle on decisions about which documents you need to keep. We hunt high and low looking down great, free programming that would hope to measure up document clashes and permit you to pick keenly, however we didn't find any great ones. Kindly leave a remark on the off chance that you discovered a free utility that functions admirably! 

This peculiarity is accessible in paid programming. We tried Cocaotech's Path Finder, a Finder option, and thought that it was offered a blending peculiarity that works like you'd anticipate that it will. At $40, that is an extravagant organizer combining gimmick, however perhaps you'd think that its different gimmicks valuable, as well. We're certain other paid applications offer comparable gimmicks.

You could simply open up both organizers and move the documents inside one organizer to within the other envelope, experiencing document clashes in the Discoverer that way. This won't be a decent alternative in the event that you have a few levels of settled organizers, however — that is a considerable measure of work to do recursively. 

This article was composed about OS X 10.9 Dissidents, so assuredly Apple will include fitting organizer fusing later on. However don't hold your breath — blending organizers is a really confused force client characteristic Apple doesn't appear worried ab

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