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I am trying to copy all newer jpgs from one folder to another using the following command

cp -u --force /home/oldfolder/*.jpg /home/newfolder/

and I get the following promt:

cp: overwrite `/home/newfolder/4095-181.jpg'?

The '-u' I know is working fine as is it only prompting me on the newer files, but i dont want to get the prompt i just want it to overwrite them. I have tried --force and -f

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

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3 Answers

up vote 12 down vote accepted

Maybe your cp command is an alias? Try:

\cp -uf file folder/
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Thanks that worked great – icelizard Jul 16 '09 at 11:52
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up vote 3 down vote 
yes | cp <whatever else>
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Cheers, that worked, so i didn't have to enter yes everytime but I still got the promt – icelizard Jul 16 '09 at 11:53
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up vote 2 down vote

Type "type cp" to see where it points, or if it is aliased.

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Had the same problem. Entering type cp revealed that cp was an alias for cp -i, and obviously -i (interactive) takes precedence over -f (force). – Peter Boughton Dec 15 '10 at 19:51
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