File operations

The source is always the active panel: the selected items or, if nothing is selected, the item under the cursor (Selecting items). The destination for copying and moving is the folder in the other panel. The source and the destination can be a disk, a network share, an archive or an FTP/SFTP server — in any combination.

Copying — F5

Press F5 (or use Edit → Copy, Copy in the context menu, or the F5 Copy button at the bottom of the window).

1. The Copy dialog

The dialog shows what you're copying (“Copy 3 items from: …”) and a field with the destination:

• one item — other_panel_folder/name,

• several items — the other panel's folder.

You can change the destination:

• with one item, type a different name, and the file is copied under that name;

• if the path you type is an existing folder, the item goes inside it.

The Use .ffignore rules option appears when the source or destination folder has .ffignore rules. Enter confirms, Esc cancels.

2. File dates when uploading to a server

When you copy to an FTP/SFTP server, the app asks, “Set the current modification date on copied files?” No (the default) keeps the source files' dates, and Yes leaves the upload date.

3. Checking the destination

Before copying, the app checks which files already exist at the destination and counts how much there is to copy. With servers and network shares this takes longer, so you see the Preparing Transfer window with a counter of checked items and a Cancel button.

4. File conflicts

If some files already exist, the File Conflicts dialog opens with a list (up to five paths plus the number of the rest):

The default button (highlighted, chosen with Enter) is Skip Duplicates; you can change it in Settings. Esc means Cancel.

Folders are merged: a copied folder that already exists at the destination receives the missing files, and conflicts apply to individual files. If a file with the same name is where a folder should go (or the other way around), that item goes on the list of failed items.

5. Progress

The File Transfer window (with servers, when the FTP/SFTP - full details setting is on: FTP / SFTP Transfer) shows:

• the current file (“File 12 of 40: report.pdf”) and its progress,

• the total data transferred and the number of files,

• the speed and the time elapsed.

Cancel or Esc stops the copy. Files already copied stay. A file interrupted mid-copy isn't left half-written on disk — the app writes through a temporary file, so an existing destination file stays untouched. A file interrupted while uploading to a server is deleted from the server.

While copying, the panels and the key bar are locked.

6. Finishing

• The other panel refreshes, and the selection in the source panel is cleared.

• A summary appears in the window title, e.g. “Copied 12 items” or “Copied 10 items, skipped 2 items” (files and created folders are counted).

• With servers, the Transfer Summary window appears: files, folders created, skipped and failed items, data transferred, time and average speed.

• If something couldn't be copied, the Files That Could Not Be Transferred window opens with a list: source, destination and the reason for the error. The Save list to file… button saves it as text. The window also shows the path to the transfer log.

What can't be copied

• A file onto itself (“Cannot copy a file to the same location.”).

• A folder into one of its own subfolders.

• Special files (pipes, sockets, devices) — they are skipped and listed, with a description, among the failed items.

Symbolic links are copied as the content they point to: a link to a file becomes a regular file, and a link to a folder becomes a copy of the folder.

Moving — F6

F6 works like copying, with a few differences:

• Within one disk, moving just changes the item's location, which is instant even for large folders — as long as the destination doesn't already have an item with that name and no .ffignore rules apply. Otherwise, the app copies and deletes.

• Between disks, into an archive or to a server, the app copies and then deletes the source. A source folder disappears only once everything in it has been moved — a folder that still holds a file that couldn't be moved stays.

• There's no date question and no .ffignore option — the rules are applied automatically according to the folder settings.

• When the move finishes, both panels refresh, and the cursor in the source panel stays at the same position in the list.

Tip: You can move a single item under a new name by typing that name in the destination dialog. To rename an item within the same folder, Shift+F6 is more convenient.

Renaming — Shift+F6

Shift+F6 (or Rename in the context menu) opens an edit box in place of the name. The name without the extension is selected, so you can start typing right away.

• Enter or clicking elsewhere confirms, Esc cancels.

• The name can't be empty, can't contain / or \, and can't be . or ...

• If an item with that name exists, you get an error. Changing only the letter case (report → Report) is allowed.

New folder — F7

F7 asks for a name and creates a folder in the active panel's current folder. The cursor moves to the new folder. The name can't contain / or \, so you can't create several levels at once.

New text file — Shift+F4

Shift+F4 asks for a name, creates an empty file and opens it in the editor right away. If a file with that name already exists, you get an error.

Deleting — F8

F8 asks “Delete 3 items?” and lists the names (up to ten).

Warning: F8 deletes permanently, without moving anything to the system Trash. The default answer is No — pressing Enter alone deletes nothing. To confirm, move to Yes with an arrow key and press Enter, or click Yes.

Folders are deleted together with their contents (including hidden files). For folders and on servers, you see a progress window with a Cancel button, which stops before the next item — whatever has already been deleted doesn't come back.

Move to Trash

The context menu of an item on a local disk has Move to Trash. It works without asking, and the item goes to the system Trash (the Recycle Bin on Windows), from where you can restore it. This command isn't available on servers or in archives.

Opening in other apps

In the context menu of a file on a local disk:

• Open with System Application — the system's default app; if there isn't one, you get a message;

• Open With — a list of apps the system associates with this file type;

• Show in File Manager — selects the file in Finder or File Explorer.

Windows: On Windows 11, the Open With list doesn't include Store apps, such as the new Notepad.

Copy link

Copy link in the context menu puts the item's full path on the clipboard. With a selection, each path goes on a separate line. For a server or an archive, the path has the form shown in the panel's path field.

Context menu

Right-clicking an item (or an empty part of the list) opens the menu. The commands depend on where you click:

Commands that act on files follow the selection rule.

macOS metadata files

On USB drives, network drives and servers, macOS creates .DS_Store and ._name files. In Settings you can turn on After copy/move, remove macOS metadata files. The app then deletes them in the destination folders after every copy, move and folder creation. This is useful when people on Windows or Linux use those drives.

Transfer log

The app records the course of transfers and any errors in the logs/transfers.log file in the settings folder (Settings). When you report a copying problem, it helps to include an excerpt from it — passwords are masked in the log.