computer question for apple mac

[Tennesseer]

steve-just rename the folders you want to move.  Example:  'Family History' becomes 'Family History 2'.  Rename them though before you move them.

[Tennesseer]

Apr 5, 2013 20:02:25 GMT -5 @steve said:

thank you for the advice, but that is not really what I am wanting to do.  I am wanting to end up with the latest file and over write or delete the older file.  I would rather do that without opening up the files to see which file is which.

Thank you for the help though.

See when the document(s) were last modified/worked on. The newer document should have the newest date. Then move the old documents and folder into the 'trash'.

[Virgil Showlion]

You can do it on a file-by-file basis just by choosing 'Yes', 'No' individually for each file based on their data.

If you want to do it as a batch operation, you'll have to use something called a file manager. Any file manager worth it's salt will allow you to specify more complex rules for merging folder contents.

Google 'Apple file manager' or 'OS X file manager' and you'll get a list of software.

[Deleted]

See when the document(s) were last modified/worked on. The newer document should have the newest date. Then move the old documents and folder into the 'trash'.

Steve, Tennessee is right. You can click on the files to see the date. In this case, you should organize them by date (an option at the top of the files).

I would suggest you create a new folder on your desktop called "to be trashed". Then you can take your time checking the dates on those files, and moving the older of the two files into that "to be trashed" folder. That way you can take your time and double check it before you actually throw the older files away.

[Deleted]

Also, for the future ... I admit I DON'T do this, but DH puts the date on all of his files. He's a graphic designer so he needs to be able to refer to the dates.

However, I have started to put the year on many of my files, especially my work files. It helps when I want to clear out my folders, I know if I have the 2013 version, I can get rid of the 2012 version.

I'm a teacher so I work in school years lol. But you can pick a system going forwards so you don't have this same problem next time.

[8 Bit WWBG]

My advice would be similar to Virgil's.  I am not sure if either Windows or OSX natively supports "always keep the latest one".  A file manager will help.  FWIW, its also important to consider which date you want to use.  Do you want "creation date" or do you want "last modified" date?

Another option, if you cannot find a reliable file manager, is to look for a batch renamer.  You could add a "-2" to each filename in one of the folders, and then copy all the files over, and then sort them by date, and delete whichever one is older.

[chiver78]

Apr 5, 2013 20:25:49 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Also, for the future ... I admit I DON'T do this, but DH puts the date on all of his files. He's a graphic designer so he needs to be able to refer to the dates.

However, I have started to put the year on many of my files, especially my work files. It helps when I want to clear out my folders, I know if I have the 2013 version, I can get rid of the 2012 version.

I'm a teacher so I work in school years lol. But you can pick a system going forwards so you don't have this same problem next time.

I do this too. I'm an automation engineer, and if I go "online" with a processor, the program file ends up with a different modified date than before I went online. my files are generally saved with a file name that starts with YYYYMMDD so they sort out cleanly.