Moving folder contents on a server...

[dorayme]

I would appreciate any advice on how best to move the contents of
a folder up one or two levels on a server. Not something I much
do. I did it by deleting the whole thing and then going up a
level and uploading the files from my local machine, loose to
that level... but I suspect there is more intelligent, not
needing to reload them all up. Unix server, normal sort of FTP
program as far as I can tell. Perhaps I better read the FTP
program manual on these things again... but I cannot resist
pestering you lot to see if I get lucky first...

 

[Steven Saunderson]

I would appreciate any advice on how best to move the contents of
a folder up one or two levels on a server. Not something I much
do. I did it by deleting the whole thing and then going up a
level and uploading the files from my local machine, loose to
that level... but I suspect there is more intelligent, not
needing to reload them all up. Unix server, normal sort of FTP
program as far as I can tell. Perhaps I better read the FTP
program manual on these things again... but I cannot resist
pestering you lot to see if I get lucky first...

FileZilla <http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla> has a file move
facility. Using this with the remote tree display activated it is
possible to move files from one directory to another.

 

[Sym]

If you have access to telnet or ssh on the host then the mv command
will work very well....

 

[dorayme]

FileZilla <http://sourceforge.net/projects/filezilla> has a file move
facility. Using this with the remote tree display activated it is
possible to move files from one directory to another.

I am on a Mac. Was looking for some general advice on what
commands to look out for in such software.... am seriously
thinking of looking up my manual on Cyberduck. Seriously... maybe
tomorrow... it might be two more years before I ever need to do
this moving again... so, Steven, you have time on your side and I
am tempted to say that I expect every man to do his duty.

 

[dorayme]

If you have access to telnet or ssh on the host then the mv command
will work very well....

My present FTP program is Cyberduck...."Cyberduck is a open
source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser"

mv eh? Care to rub a couple more words together... don't be shy
now. I will go to bed and keep repeating mv, mv... and some of
this might begin to mean something tomorrow or the next day...

Anyway, sounds like what I am wanting is not silly or impossible
or very very difficult...

(btw, mate, best not to top post here...)

 

[Jonathan N. Little]

My present FTP program is Cyberduck...."Cyberduck is a open
source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser"

mv eh? Care to rub a couple more words together... don't be shy
now. I will go to bed and keep repeating mv, mv... and some of
this might begin to mean something tomorrow or the next day...

Usage: mv [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST
or: mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
or: mv [OPTION]... --target-directory=DIRECTORY SOURCE...
Rename SOURCE to DEST, or move SOURCE(s) to DIRECTORY.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.
--backup[=CONTROL] make a backup of each existing
destination file
-b like --backup but does not accept an
argument
-f, --force do not prompt before overwriting
(equivalent to --reply=yes)
-i, --interactive prompt before overwrite
(equivalent to --reply=query)
--reply={yes,no,query} specify how to handle the prompt about an
existing destination file
--strip-trailing-slashes remove any trailing slashes from each SOURCE
argument
-S, --suffix=SUFFIX override the usual backup suffix
--target-directory=DIRECTORY move all SOURCE arguments into
DIRECTORY
-u, --update move only when the SOURCE file is newer
than the destination file or when the
destination file is missing
-v, --verbose explain what is being done
--help display this help and exit
--version output version information and exit

The backup suffix is `~', unless set with --suffix or SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX.
The version control method may be selected via the --backup option or
through
the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the values:

none, off never make backups (even if --backup is given)
numbered, t make numbered backups
existing, nil numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise
simple, never always make simple backups

You should slap together a development Linux server, the experience can
be most invaluable ;-)

 

[Sym]

My present FTP program is Cyberduck...."Cyberduck is a open
source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser"

mv eh? Care to rub a couple more words together... don't be shy
now. I will go to bed and keep repeating mv, mv... and some of
this might begin to mean something tomorrow or the next day...

Sounds like you dont have telnet or ssh access. Telnet or ssh would
give you a command terminal, much like cmd on windows. from there
moving, copying files etc is easy. However if you dont have it then it
is of no use, sorry.

(btw, mate, best not to top post here...)

I blame the mobile device i was using at the time, back to normal now.
btw it aint an issue for a lot of people but lets not start that conv

 

[dorayme]

Sounds like you dont have telnet or ssh access. Telnet or ssh would
give you a command terminal, much like cmd on windows. from there
moving, copying files etc is easy. However if you dont have it then it
is of no use, sorry.

Cyberduck does have a Send Command and a window comes up with a
couple of text fields, one to enter the command and a bigger one
underneath that is for what I don't know.

 

[dorayme]

My present FTP program is Cyberduck...."Cyberduck is a open
source FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser"

mv eh? Care to rub a couple more words together... don't be shy
now. I will go to bed and keep repeating mv, mv... and some of
this might begin to mean something tomorrow or the next day...

Usage: mv [OPTION]... SOURCE DEST
or: mv [OPTION]... SOURCE... DIRECTORY
..........kups

You should slap together a development Linux server, the experience can
be most invaluable ;-)

Thanks for taking the trouble Jonathan, these are indeed more
words rubbed together. I will keep your post for a time when I
have more background in these things... it is a rare thing for me
that I wanted to do the other day and is certainly less pressing
on broadband... but I was curious and will try to find time to
study these things when I can. A bloke on a Mac group said:

"Most FTP servers do not provide this capability. If you can log
into a shell on the server (via ssh), you can do it this way:

cd /path/to/directory/
mv * ../..
"

 

[Leonard Blaisdell]

You should slap together a development Linux server, the experience can
be most invaluable ;-)

I'm sure dorayme is rabid to swallow the mv manpage whole while being
connected to the server via telnet or ssh. I don't know anything about
Cyberduck, but Fetch does the transfer quite easily via drag and drop on
the server.

leo

 

[dorayme]

I'm sure dorayme is rabid to swallow the mv manpage whole while being
connected to the server via telnet or ssh. I don't know anything about
Cyberduck, but Fetch does the transfer quite easily via drag and drop on
the server.

leo

So, in Fetch, (I used to use Transmit in my pre X days but never
needed to address this issue) what do you do? Remember, the task
is to grab what is in a folder at one level on the server and
drop them loose into another level on the same server leaving the
folder behind empty (easily disposed of later). Do you grab the
files and go over to one of the ftp browser arrows that indicate
to move up a level and the arrow springs the level into sight
while the mouse contains the ghost of the files concerned in its
clutches and you just let go like as if it is on the Mac itself?
That would be neat.

 

[Leonard Blaisdell]

So, in Fetch, (I used to use Transmit in my pre X days but never
needed to address this issue) what do you do? Remember, the task
is to grab what is in a folder at one level on the server and
drop them loose into another level on the same server leaving the
folder behind empty (easily disposed of later). Do you grab the
files and go over to one of the ftp browser arrows that indicate
to move up a level and the arrow springs the level into sight
while the mouse contains the ghost of the files concerned in its
clutches and you just let go like as if it is on the Mac itself?
That would be neat.

I'm using Fetch 4.0.3

<Fetch help>

Drag and Drop

Beginning with System 7.5, the Mac OS includes drag-and-drop
capabilities for moving information within and between Macintosh
applications. Fetch takes advantage of this facility to make moving
files, shortcuts, text, and preference information as convenient as
possible. You can use drag-and-drop in the following situations:

€ To download a remote file or directory, drag it from a file list or
shortcut list to a Finder icon, window, or the desktop.
€ To delete a remote file or directory, drag it from a file list to the
Finder or OS X Dock trash icon.
€ To upload a file or folder, drag it to a transfer window or directory
shortcut (in a shortcut list).
€ To move a file or directory into a subdirectory, drag it to the
subdirectory icon.
€ To move a file or directory up a directory level, drag it to the
open-folder icon above the file list.
€ To copy a file or directory into a subdirectory, drag it to the
subdirectory icon with the Option key pressed.
€ To copy a file or directory up a directory level, drag it to the
open-folder icon above the file list with the Option key pressed.
€ To transfer a file or directory between servers, drag it to another
open transfer window.
€ To create a shortcut for a remote item drag it to a shortcut list
window.
€ To create a shortcut for the current directory drag the open-folder
icon to a shortcut list window.
€ To create a shortcut file for the current directory drag the
open-folder icon to a Finder icon, window, or the desktop.
€ Dragging shortcuts between shortcut list windows moves them (or copies
them if the Option key is held down).
€ To delete a shortcut from a shortcut list drag it to the Finder or OS
X Dock trash icon.
€ To copy the URL of a remote item or shortcut drag it to an application
that accepts text drags (such as Stickies or BBEdit).
€ Selected text can be dragged from text windows.
€ To specify the download folder, drag a Finder file or folder icon to
the Preferences checkbox.
€ To specify the default type and creator bytes, drag a Finder file icon
to the Preferences text fields.
€ To specify your preferred text editor, drag its icon or the icon of
one of its documents to the Preferences text editor pop-up menu.

</Fetch help>

Use the command key to select the files you want to move, but remember,
this in *Fetch* <http://fetchsoftworks.com>. I'd be surprised if other
ftp agents didn't offer similar functionality. Fetch is commercial ware.
Not expensive but commercial.
Oh, and one other **big** caveat. I've never moved a bunch of files up a
level I've never needed to. I generally do that from my machine and
delete the original directory on the server after success.

leo

 

[Leonard Blaisdell]

A bloke on a Mac group said:

"Most FTP servers do not provide this capability. If you can log
into a shell on the server (via ssh), you can do it this way:

cd /path/to/directory/
mv * ../..
"

I missed that post. I'd change that to:
cd /path/to/target_directory
mv myfile1 myfile2 myfile3 (and so forth) ../destination_directory
as I seem to understand that you want to move selected items from a
directory to one level above.
Of course (and so forth) could be substituted in my text above as an
ellipsis which would incorporate far too many dots. A graphical ftp
client is much easier if you don't love the command line in terminal.
I believe (and could be wrong) that the ftp server that you have
username-password access to certainly ought to allow you to shift files
between directories within the space you paid for on that server.
Above target_directory is the directory you want to move files from.
destination_directory is the directory you want to move files to.
Oh, and directory equals folder in the Mac world.

leo

 

[mbstevens]

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:36:28 -0700, Leonard Blaisdell wrote:

Pardon me for sliding off-topic, but...

I don't know if it's pan's fault or
MT-NewsWatcher's fault,
but the bullets it is using are not readable in pan.

They show up as a square containing
00
80
..

 

[Chris F.A. Johnson]

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:36:28 -0700, Leonard Blaisdell wrote:

Pardon me for sliding off-topic, but...

I don't know if it's pan's fault or
MT-NewsWatcher's fault,
but the bullets it is using are not readable in pan.

They show up as a square containing
00
80
.

That's because they are not ASCII characters. Usenet posts should
be in ASCII.

 

[Leonard Blaisdell]

On Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:36:28 -0700, Leonard Blaisdell wrote:

Pardon me for sliding off-topic, but...

I don't know if it's pan's fault or
MT-NewsWatcher's fault,
but the bullets it is using are not readable in pan.

They show up as a square containing
00
80
.

It's probably a Mac-Linux thing. Or I don't have my posting language set
correctly. Frankly, I copied a purely Mac help file directly into
MT-Newswatcher. I saw the bullets. I'm surprised that your computer
didn't go up in flames. I was kinda trying for that effect on anything
but a Mac ;-)
But let's see. I'm posting as Western (ISO Latin 1) whatever the hell
that means. What I copied from the help file was purely Mac. I'm over my
head here.
Perhaps another Mac user, dorayme, Sally, will let us know what they
see. Or Mr. Korpela will definitively explain it.

leo

leo

 

[Leonard Blaisdell]

That's because they are not ASCII characters. Usenet posts should
be in ASCII.

I should have read one more post down. Apologies for that error and the
one preceding it.

leo

 

[dorayme]

I'm using Fetch 4.0.3

<Fetch help>

Drag and Drop

Beginning with System 7.5, the Mac OS includes drag-and-drop
capabilities for moving information within and between Macintosh
applications. Fetch takes advantage of this facility to make moving
files, shortcuts, text, and preference information as convenient as
possible. You can use drag-and-drop in the following situations:

.....
€ To move a file or directory up a directory level, drag it to the
open-folder icon above the file list.

€ To copy a file or directory up a directory level, drag it to the
open-folder icon above the file list with the Option key pressed.

are the two relevant ones... looks like it is how I imagined...

</Fetch help>

Use the command key ...

Why when you can just do the above in Fetch?

to select the files you want to move, but remember,
this in *Fetch* <http://fetchsoftworks.com>. I'd be surprised if other
ftp agents didn't offer similar functionality. Fetch is commercial ware.
Not expensive but commercial.

OK, I am a first rate cheapskate...

Oh, and one other **big** caveat. I've never moved a bunch of files up a
level I've never needed to. I generally do that from my machine and
delete the original directory on the server after success.

This latter is almost exactly me, so close are we on this issue.
Perhaps I am even closer to you Leo than I am to old Korpela (and
as you know, Korpela and I are like two peas in a pod...)

 

[dorayme]

Perhaps another Mac user, dorayme, Sally, will let us know what they
see. Or Mr. Korpela will definitively explain it.

It looked quite normal to me, they were fine and black and round
and you know.... everything a bullet point should be...

 

[Leonard Blaisdell]

Why when you can just do the above in Fetch?

In order to select individual files within Fetch to move from one
directory to another.

This latter is almost exactly me, so close are we on this issue.
Perhaps I am even closer to you Leo than I am to old Korpela (and
as you know, Korpela and I are like two peas in a pod...)

Oh, yeah. You and Mr. Korpela are at the very least yin and yang. I
shouldn't have included his name and regret it.

leo