Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition

Working with Files and Directories

The previous pages show you how to navigate your directories using Unix commands. Just perusing your directories isn't particularly productive, however. This section shows you how to do something with the files you see listed—copy, move, create, and delete directories and files.

Tip

You're entering Serious Power territory, where it's theoretically possible to delete a whole directory with a single typo. As a precaution, consider working through this section with administrator privileges turned off for your account (Section 12.1.2), so that you won't be able to change anything outside your home directory—or to be really safe, create a new, test account just for this exercise so even your personal files won't be at risk.

cp (copy)

Using the Unix command cp, you can copy and rename a file in one move. (Try that in the Finder!)

The basic command goes like this: cp path1 path2, where the path placeholders represent the original file and the copy, respectively.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION: The Slash and the Colon

OK, I'm so confused. You say that slashes denote nested directories. But in Mac OS 9, I always read that colons (:) denote the Mac's internal folder notation, and that's why I can't use colons in the names of my icons. What's the story?

At the desktop, the Mac still uses colons as path separators instead of the slash. Therefore, you are allowed to use slashes in file names in the Finder, but not a colon. Conversely, in Terminal, you can use colons in ...