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. You can also drag files with the mouse.

Working in separate sessions

Start FTP/FTPS/SFTP copying, moving or deleting with “In a separate session” in the confirmation window. Each task has its own connections and progress window with Cancel, leaving the main window free for more operations. Conflict questions affect only that session. ↗

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. Dates of files copied over FTP/SFTP

Copying to and from an FTP/SFTP server, including paired computers, preserves source modification dates by default, without asking. Since 1.7.3 this also covers downloads; earlier, the setting applied only to uploads. In Settings → Network connections, Modification date of files copied over FTP/SFTP offers the source date, the date and time of copying, or a prompt on every copy. With the prompt, No keeps source dates and Yes uses the current date.

Fast FTP/SFTP does not preserve dates and disables this list. For uploads, the server must support setting dates. For downloads, FTP reads the exact time with MDTM; if the server does not support it, the app uses the listing date, which may be less precise. This setting applies to copying, not moving.

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

After copying or moving, the progress window stays open while macOS metadata files (._*, .DS_Store) are removed and the panels refresh. It shows the current step and folder; Cancel stops only the cleanup and keeps copied files. Cancellation is disabled during the refresh. The summary appears after these steps finish.

The preparation and progress windows show the operation, items and destination at the top, for example “Moving: 3 items → /Volumes/Share/Projects”. The FTP/SFTP transcript shows the last 500 lines; the full transcript remains in the transfer log.

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.

For a copy started with OK, the panels and key bar are locked. With In a separate session, they stay available for other tasks.

The usual preparation and progress windows have no title bar; the separate session window has a standard title bar and can be minimized. You move them by dragging the text, the progress bar or an empty spot in the window with the mouse; the same goes for the FTP/SFTP server connection window and the window for downloading a file from a server.

6. Finishing

• The other panel refreshes, and the selection in the source panel is cleared. When both panels show the same folder (e.g. a copy of a file under a different name next to the original), both refresh.

• 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.”) — also when the destination is the same file under a different path (Same location).

• A folder into itself or 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. A link that points to the destination folder or to the folder it sits in itself (a loop) goes on the list of failed items — the app doesn't copy a folder into itself.

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.

• A link to a folder moved within one disk stays a link (as long as the destination has no item with that name). Moved to another disk, to a server or into an archive, it becomes a regular folder with a copy of the contents at the destination, and at the source only the link itself disappears — and only if everything succeeded. The folder the link points to stays untouched.

• On a disk that doesn't distinguish letter case (usually on macOS and Windows), a move that only changes the letter case of a name (report.txt → Report.txt) is refused with the “same location” error (Same location). To change the letter case, rename the item.

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.

Same location

Copying and moving never write a file onto itself. The app checks this before it starts and refuses with the message “Cannot copy a file to the same location.” (in the Copy Error or Move Error window). Nothing changes, and the file stays where it was.

The same file can be visible under different paths. On a disk, the app recognizes it by its identity in the file system, not by the text of the path, so it also refuses when:

• on macOS, one path starts with /tmp and the other with /private/tmp — Finder passes the longer one when you drag;

• the paths differ only in letter case (Report.txt and report.txt), and the disk doesn't distinguish it;

• a folder along the way is seen through a symbolic link (on Windows also through a junction);

• on Windows, the same network share is open as drive Z: and under the server address (\\server\share), or a local disk as C:\ and as \\localhost\C$.

The same goes for folders: a folder copied or moved into itself or into one of its own subfolders — also through such an alias — ends with the message “Cannot place 'Project' into itself or one of its subdirectories.”

On FTP/SFTP servers and in archives, the app compares only the paths.

Warning: On macOS, the app sees the same network share mounted twice (two entries in /Volumes) as two different disks and won't recognize that it's the same file. Don't copy or move files from one such mount to the same place on the other.

Drag and drop

Press the left mouse button on a file or folder and move the pointer. If the row you grabbed is selected, you drag the whole selection. If it isn't, you drag only that row, and the selection stays untouched, even after a move (Selecting with the mouse). The /.. row can't be grabbed.

Where the files go:

• dropped on a folder — into it, and on /.. — into the parent folder; the row gets a frame;

• dropped anywhere else in the panel (on a file, on an empty part of the list, on the header, on the path field) — into the panel's current folder; the whole list gets a frame.

Near the top and bottom edges, the list scrolls by itself. In the panel you drag from, rows become drop targets only once you've moved the pointer by the height of a row — a twitch of the hand while clicking won't move a file into the neighboring folder. Esc cancels the drag.

Copy or move:

• into the other panel, dragging copies, and within one panel (onto a subfolder or /..) it moves;

• Option / Ctrl held down while dragging forces a copy, and Shift forces a move; both at once copy.

macOS: Cmd doesn't work while dragging. The bar below the panel then reminds you: “⌘ does not work while dragging: Shift moves, Option copies”.

The info bar below the panel the pointer is over tells you what will happen when you drop, e.g. “Copy: 3 items → /Users/me/Documents (Shift — move)”. The parentheses hold the key that changes the operation. When you can't drop, the mouse pointer shows it, and the bar says why:

Dropping opens the Copy or Move dialog with the drop folder as the destination (with one item — folder/name). Above the question there's a Copy / Move switch, so you can still change the operation. From then on, everything goes as with F5 and F6: file conflicts, the file dates when copying to or from a server, progress with a Cancel button and the list of failed items. At the end, the panel you dropped the files in refreshes, and so does every panel that shows the drop folder; after a move, also the source panel and every panel that shows the folder the files came from.

You turn the dialog off with the Show the copy or move window after dragging files option in Settings, on the Copying and moving tab. The operation then starts as soon as you drop.

If the folder you dropped files on has disappeared in the meantime (e.g. another app deleted it), the app doesn't create it again: the window title says “The folder … no longer exists”, and the panel refreshes.

Between the panels, dragging works in every combination, just like F5 and F6: from a disk to an FTP/SFTP server, from a server to a disk, into an archive and out of one. Files dropped in a panel connected to a server are uploaded to the server, and files dropped in a panel with an open archive are added to the archive, which is saved when you leave it (Changing an archive). Files dragged from another app end up there the same way. From a read-only archive, dragging always copies.

Files from a server or an archive can be dragged only between the panels — they won't go out to Finder, File Explorer or the desktop. Copy them to a disk first.

Files and folders on a disk (a mounted network share included) can be dragged to Finder, File Explorer, the desktop or another app. That app then decides whether to copy or move: Finder moves on the same disk and copies with Option; File Explorer copies and moves with Shift. After such a drag, panels with files on a disk refresh by themselves.

Files dragged from Finder, File Explorer or a Linux file manager and dropped in a panel are copied. On Windows and Linux, Shift moves them; on macOS, you move them with the Move switch in the dialog that opens after the drop. FlyingFiles always does the moving itself, just as with F6; the app the files came from doesn't delete anything. The panel you dropped the files in becomes active.

Several files with the same name at once (e.g. from Finder search results) are rejected with the message “Several dropped files have the same name: … Drag them separately.”

macOS: With the dialog after dropping turned off, files from Finder can only be copied.

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.

• Renaming a link to a folder renames only the link; the folder it points to stays unchanged.

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.

Pasting from the clipboard — Cmd/Ctrl+V

Cmd+V on macOS or Ctrl+V on Windows and Linux — with the cursor in the file list — saves the clipboard contents as a new file in the current folder of the active panel. Edit → Paste from Clipboard… and the Paste from Clipboard… item in the context menu do the same. The folder can be on a disk, on an FTP/SFTP server or inside an archive.

The Paste from Clipboard window has two fields:

• Save as — the forms in which the clipboard holds the content: Text (.txt), PNG image (.png), HTML page (.html), Rich text RTF (.rtf) or PDF document (.pdf); the file size is shown below the list. Editors and spreadsheets put text on the clipboard together with an image of it — the app then suggests the text, and after “Copy Image” in a browser, the image. An image is always saved as PNG.

• File name — the suggestion is “clipboard.txt”, and when such a file already exists, “clipboard (2).txt” and so on. Choosing another form changes the extension.

If a file with the given name already exists, the app asks whether to replace it (the default is No). Saving to a server or into an archive shows a progress window with a Cancel button. After saving, the cursor lands on the new file.

Files copied in Finder, File Explorer or Nautilus are pasted as copies: the app shows the destination window as with F5 and copies them to the current folder — it always copies, even after Cut in File Explorer. Files that are already in that folder are skipped. An empty clipboard, or content that can't be saved as a file, ends with a message telling you what can be pasted.

The shortcut works only when the file list has focus — in the path field and in dialogs, Cmd/Ctrl+V pastes text as usual. You can give the Paste from Clipboard… action a shortcut of your own in the Keyboard Shortcuts window.

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, or the /.. row) 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.