When moving/cutting files, pictures, text, or basically anything, Windows users have the Control + X shortcut. Linux distributions work just the same. In macOS, you can use Command + X to cut text and images, too, but not with files in Finder. Well, that changes now.
Command X Gives Finder a Much Needed File Moving Shortcut
Courtesy of renowned macOS utilities developer Sindre Sorhus, Command X does exactly what it implies. Once installed, the app simply enables a Command + X shortcut on your Mac to move files in Finder. It’s that simple.
Can’t I Just Use Command + Option + V Instead?
Yes, you can. But that’s not the point here. In any other operating system, copying, and moving/cutting are different actions. Pasting, however, is the same.
In macOS, things are reversed: you copy a file and, only when pasting, decide whether you’ll copy or move it. So, if you use any other computer, you’ll be used to the thought process of cutting or copying, and then pasting.
To make things worse, even in other macOS apps this works like everywhere else. Let’s say you want to move text from a place to another, instead of copying. You select the excerpt, hit Command + X, and then paste it with Command + V. You don’t have to copy the text with Command + X, then use Command + Option + V to move it instead.
This is a classical example of Apple doing things its own way, and forcing everyone else — including customers — to adapt. However, in this case, the very inconsistency of the behavior inside macOS makes the concept even worse.
Using Command X in Finder: Limitations
There are some limitations in the app, though fixing them is beyond the developer’s reach. These are limitations imposed by Apple on the way macOS works.
Firstly, Command X works by overriding keyboard shortcuts in Finder. Because of that, it also disables the default Command + X shortcut function in Finder’s text fields. Therefore, using Command + X to cut text won’t work when renaming a file or using the search function. However, cutting text from a different app to paste into Finder still works.
The second limitation is that, unlike in other OSes, the file and folder icons you’re moving won’t be translucent. That’s because Command X makes no changes to Finder itself.
You’ll also be unable to paste files inside a folder by clicking (without opening) the folder, then pressing Command + V. This is a Finder limitation, and doesn’t work even when copying files.
Similarly to the above, it doesn’t work to paste files inside an expanded (but not opened) folder in List view. That’s a macOS bug, and doesn’t work even when using the Command + C and Command + Option + V combination.
Lastly, you can’t move files by pressing Command + X, then paste them clicking Edit > Paste in the menu bar. Since Command X only actually works when you press Command + V, this limitation can’t be circumvented.
Download Command X or Its More Powerful Version, Supercharge
You can download Command X on the Mac App Store. As with most of Sindre’s utilities, the app is completely free.
The developer also makes Supercharge, a set of quality-of-life improvements for macOS that includes the Command + X shortcut. This one is a paid app, costing $16 for a lifetime license, and it’s also available on Setapp.
Other Apps With Command + X Functionality
There are a couple of other apps that provide similar functionalities. Most of them are similar to Supercharge, toolsets that include the Command + X file move shortcut for Finder, among many other features.
One of them is TotalFinder, by BinaryAge, which has been one of my favorite macOS apps for a long time. It added tabs to Finder years before Apple, for instance, and allows you to display all folders before other files.
There’s also XtraFinder, by Tran Ky Nam. It has features like pressing Return to open (instead of renaming) files and folders, and a file copy/move queue.
While Apple’s “think different” motto is great for lots of things, it may be a hindrance for others. That’s the case, in my opinion, for the lack of a native Command + X shortcut in Finder. Judging by the number of apps created to fix it, it seems to be the opinion of lots of people.
