Moving files between Mac and Linux
Drag, copy and paste, duplicate, new folders, rename, compress, share.
On this page 4 sections
Drag and drop#
Drag files from Finder, or from anywhere in MSL Files, into a folder — on your Mac or inside an instance.
| Dragging | What happens |
|---|---|
| Within your Mac, or within one instance | Moved, as in Finder |
| Between your Mac and an instance, or between two instances | Copied — the original stays |
| Holding ⌥ | Copied, always |
The rule is the same one Finder uses, and it is not arbitrary: a move is only possible within a single filesystem, and an instance's files are a separate one from your Mac's.
Drop them anywhere in the window: onto a folder to put them inside it, into the empty space to put them in the folder you're looking at, or onto a place in the sidebar — Downloads, Desktop, an instance — to send them there without navigating first. Dropping onto a tag applies the tag instead.
Dropping onto a name that is already taken is refused rather than overwritten, and so is dropping a folder into itself. Places that are read-only won't accept a drop.
Copy and paste#
Select files and press ⌘C, go somewhere else, and press ⌘V — within MSL Files, across the Mac–Linux boundary either way. The Edit menu's Select All Items (⌥⌘A) selects everything in the folder.
Making and changing things#
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| New folder | ⇧⌘N, or the toolbar's folder button |
| New folder containing the selection | ⌃⌘N |
| Rename | Return, or right-click ▸ Rename… |
| Duplicate | ⌘D |
| Compress into a zip | File ▸ Compress |
| Share | the toolbar's share button, or File ▸ Share… |
| Copy the path | ⌥⌘C (File ▸ Copy as Pathname) |
Looking closer#
- Quick Look — Space, or ⌘Y. A preview opens; Done closes it.
- Get Info — ⌘I. The item's thumbnail and name; General (Kind, Size, Where, Created, Modified); and Tags, as colour swatches to click.
- Reveal in Finder — ⌘R shows it in a real Finder window.