Move, copy, and link files
Drag files for quick spatial moves, or use Cut, Copy, and Paste when the destination is not visible. Phials refreshes affected Explorer tabs after the operation.
Drag to move or copy
Drag selected items to any of these destinations:
- A folder in File, Grid, or Columns view
- The open folder’s background
- A location in the Navigator
- A folder in the breadcrumb path
- Another Explorer tab
A drag that starts in Phials moves items by default. To copy instead, hold Option on macOS or Ctrl on Windows and Linux while you drop. A drag from another app into Phials always copies.
If the destination contains items with the same names, Phials asks you to choose Replace existing files, Skip these files, or Keep both (auto-rename). Replacing moves the existing destination items to Trash before writing the incoming items.
Phials prevents a folder from being moved into itself or one of its descendants.
Use Cut, Copy, and Paste
- Select the items and choose Cut or Copy.
- Open the destination folder.
- Choose Paste.
If one folder is selected when you paste, Phials uses that folder as the destination. Otherwise, it uses the folder you are browsing. Name conflicts from clipboard paste are kept as auto-renamed copies.
Moving items from within Phials updates Favorites that point to them. Moves between Workspace Folders also reconcile the affected Workspace Folder data after the files arrive.
Create symbolic links
A symbolic link points to the original file or folder without copying its contents.
- Select one or more source items.
- Choose Copy as symlink from the context menu.
- Open the destination folder and choose Paste.
Phials creates absolute links with the same names as the source items. If a name is already present, the new link is auto-renamed. The link stops resolving if the original item later moves or is removed outside an operation that updates the link.
On Windows, creating symbolic links can require permission from the operating system. If the paste fails, enable the Windows setting or privilege that allows your account to create symbolic links, then try again.