Create, Rename, Copy, Move, and Delete Files in Ubuntu

File management is safer when the goal is clear: make another copy, or change where the original lives. This lesson uses a disposable practice folder so a wrong selection is easy to recover from.

Create a practice area

Open Files → Documents. Right-click an empty part of the file area and choose New Folder, or use the new-folder control in the window.

Name it File practice.

Open that folder and create two subfolders named Originals and Finished. Names help you see what each operation changes.

Rename without changing the contents

Select Finished, open its context menu, and choose Rename. Change its name to Ready and confirm.

Renaming changes the item’s name in its current location. It does not create a copy or alter the files inside a folder.

If Ubuntu says the name is already used, choose another. Two items in the same folder cannot have exactly the same name, although upper- and lowercase can matter.

Copy creates another item

Place a disposable text file or small image inside Originals. Select it, then use Copy or Ctrl + C.

Open Ready and use Paste or Ctrl + V.

Now the source file remains in Originals, and another copy appears in Ready. Editing one later does not automatically update the other.

Move changes the location

Select the copy in Ready and use Cut or Ctrl + X. Open File practice, then paste.

The file moves out of Ready and appears in the parent folder. There should now be one fewer copy in Ready.

Cut does not normally remove the item immediately. The move finishes when you paste it into a destination.

Dragging can copy or move

Drag-and-drop is convenient, but its result depends on the source and destination.

• Dragging between folders on the same device commonly moves the item.
• Dragging from one device to another, such as from Home to a USB drive, commonly copies it.
• Holding a modifier key can change the operation.

Watch the pointer label or confirmation shown while dragging. When the consequence matters, Copy/Paste or Cut/Paste makes your intention easier to inspect.

Delete to Trash, then restore

Select the practice file in File practice and press Delete, or choose Move to Trash.

Open Trash from the sidebar. Find the file, open its context menu, and choose Restore from Trash. It should return to its previous folder.

Ubuntu may briefly show Undo after an item goes to Trash. Use it if you notice the mistake immediately.

A repeatable file-moving check

Before moving something important, answer four questions:

After the operation, open the destination and verify the file. If you intended a copy, also inspect the source.

Common mistakes and recovery

Pasting into the wrong folder. Use Recent or search for the filename, then move it to the intended location.

Renaming the extension by accident. If an application stops recognizing the file, restore the original ending. The next lesson explains extensions.

Dragging when you meant to copy. Check both source and destination immediately. Copy the item back if it moved.

Deleting the wrong practice item. Open Trash and restore it before emptying Trash.

Assuming silence means the copy failed. Small files may finish without a long progress display. Verify the destination instead of repeating the copy.

What to learn next

Continue to Hidden Files and File Extensions in Ubuntu before renaming configuration files or changing filename endings.