Today I solved how to skip duplicate files when copying a large folder on my Macbook Pro.  Here’s a quick tutorial for how to do it.

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First, select all the files or folders you want to copy.

Move to your target location folder (the place you want to paste all the files).

CMD+V to paste them into the new folder.

Once the copying process reaches a duplicate file it will make a popup with “keep both”, “stop” and “Replace”.  Note there is also an “Apply to All” checkbox.  Here’s the trick: hold the left ALT or option key to skip files.

Once you hold the alt key the keep both will change to skip.  You can also tick the box to apply the skip to every duplicate file.  Why is this not a normal option on Mac OS?  I have no idea and I guess Apple just don’t care.  This trick of course works on all Macs.  Macbook pro, iMac and regular mac, plus Mac mini.

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