New to Mac / Switcher Tips: Folder Replacing in Windows vs. Mac

I agree, at least be smart enough to offer the choice: Merge or Replace?

Yea, this is so un-human friendly it almost makes me wonder who at Apple came up with the idea. The destructive nature of 'copy' on the Mac begs to be re-thought.

Wow, I think I like the Windows way much better. -gulp-

I think it would be cool for OSX to have 'I'm a new switcher' option when you set up a user account. Then when you try to do things like this and think that it will work like it does in Windows it will go in to an explanation,etc.. Or maybe when it notices that you try to copy a folder with the same name, it should ask if you want to 'replace' or 'merge'..

Hmm, check this out: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040410183752130&query=merge+folders I'm a mac newb btw. Enjoying it immensely. -Michael

"How do you easily merge folders in OS X?" "Copy the contents of one folder into the other folder rather copying the folder itself." Understood, but how does this address merging a nested directory structure? I'm willing to do this from terminal if it's more natively support there (a command called "ditto" comes to mind). What arguments should be used etc? -Michael

"How do you easily merge folders in OS X?" Copy the contents of one folder into the other folder rather copying the folder itself.

So this begs the question: How do you easily merge folders in OS X? -michael

It gives a warning. I can't remember the exact wording, but it is very similar to the wording Windows gives you. I agree that the wording in Windows is clearly wrong, but at the messages were very similar I assumed they meant the same thing. They don't. That screwed up by brand new re-install of OSX that I'd spend two weeks getting where I wanted it. Yes it was my fault at the end of the day. I knew what the words said, and I thought long and hard, and eventually just thought they couldn't possibly mean "replace". I have grown so acustomed to merging that I thought it would be stupid for it to work any other way. I still do.

anytime something is deleted permanently without warning is a problem... i could definitely see myself accidentally sliding folders around and in Mac OSX, deleting important information.