I thought I had resolved this, but I am still seeing cases of an image move not actually being a move.
Sometimes I get a move; sometimes a copy; sometimes nothing. Sometimes PL4 accurately reflects the result; sometimes not. I generally have to go out to finder or terminal to confirm.
Is anyone else seeing this behavior?
PL-4 4.0.2 build 45.
Do you have reproducible steps we can try?
No unfortunately, it just happens or it does not. It’s a regular file move. If it means anything, it seems to happen with more than one file selected.
I’ll see if I can narrow the circumstances under which this happens. There might be a specific thing that I’m doing and not seeing. I will keep an eye and report back.
How about a key stroke by key stroke description; that way we can exactly replicate the actions that lead to the problem?
In PhotoLibrary …
Select a file (or multiple) in the right pane
Drag the selected file(s) to another folder in the left pane
While dragging, the file icon(s) shrink and condense into one, and a plus-sign appears
Hover over the target directory, release the mouse
Quite often, PL will leave behind the icon(s) of the moved file(s) in the source directory. Jumping out and back will usually correct that. But this time, I noticed the files were still there, and this was confirmed by terminal, finder, and another attempt at a move. The second attempt actually had PL prompt me “Do you want to replace?”
After playing with it some more, it really seems to happen most often with multiple files selected.
I don’t understand what’s meant by “right” and “left” pane. Could you do a screen shot?
A plus sign means a copy. I did a quick test on Mac which shows that holding the Command key down during the drag removes the plus, making it a move. I would assume on Windows it would be the Control key, though perhaps another modifier.
Ok then! That is probably what is happening. I’ll run it again with the Command key and see what happens. thanks!
On windows, if you drag files from one folder to another on the same physical drive the operation is a MOVE. If the drag is from one physical drive to a different physical drive then the operation is a COPY. Not sure if this is true for Mac.
On windows, if you drag using the right mouse button then when you drop the files you will be presented with a menu to select Copy, Move and a couple of other options. So when in doubt, drag with the right mouse button.
Yes that is also true in general on Mac and PhotoLab seems to follow this rule.
Ok I can close this issue now. File drag-and-drop in the PhotoLibrary seems to be a copy by default, but with the Command key it becomes a move.
I don’t know if this is documented anywhere, but it definitely seems to be a change with the advent of PL 4. The key to understanding this was the comment above by zkarj, who pointed out the plus-sign meant copy.
Thanks everyone!
The + sign goes back a long, long way in GUIs. Quite simply, + means “adding” a file, i.e. copying, not moving, which would leave the total file count the same.