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Cut & Paste

Overview

Both operating systems offer excellent (though not flawless) support for cut, copy, and paste as the preferred way to shuttle data from one location to another. Both offer several equivalent ways to execute these commands: Choose the command from the current application's Edit menu, choose the command from a contextual menu, type the keyboard shortcut for the command, and, in some cases, use drag and drop in combination with function keys.

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Power user tip: Cocoa applications on OS X also support some vi shortcuts familiar to Unix users: Cut (ctrl-k), Paste (ctrl-y).

The following table illustrates the differences in implementation of cut & paste on each operating system:

Full support: 2 points
Mediocre support (incomplete, inconsistent, or doesn't behave as one would expect): 1 point
No support: 0 points

Select a number of files/folders in the file system, copy, and paste them into a text document
OS X

Pastes a list of the filenames.
XP

Supported only in OLE-compliant applications (i.e., Wordpad, but not Notepad)
Select some text in a text document and copy. Paste onto desktop
OS X

Not supported.
XP

Not supported (Notepad, Internet Explorer tested). Supported in Outlook: creates a scrap object.
Cut/copy/paste within Terminal/Command Prompt
OS X

Supported.
XP

Copy and paste are only available via QuickEdit mode (mouse-driven).
Cut/copy/paste items in the filesystem
OS X

Cut is not available in the filesystem.
XP

Supported.
Comment: Apple's apparent philosophy here is that it would be confusing to the user if they were to cut a file in the filesystem, then cut something else (such as text from a document) without having first pasted the cut file (where does the file go?). To avoid this situation, Apple has opted to prevent the user from using cut in the filesystem entirely. Unforunately, this means that if you want to move a file from one location to another using the keyboard, you'll need to copy the file, paste it into its new location, and then delete the original file.
Cut/copy/paste within open/save dialogs
OS X

Not supported.
XP

Supported.
Comment: XP's ability to cut, copy, and paste within open/save dialogs lets you work within the filesystem without having to switch out of the current application and disrupt your workflow. OS X doesn't allow this, so if such a scenario arises, you'll need to switch to the Finder, make your changes, and then switch back to the application you were working in.
Cut/copy an image and paste into a chat session
OS X

Pasting into iChat pastes the image (it can be viewed inline in the chat session). Screenshots in the clipboard cannot be pasted into iChat sessions. Instead, save the screenshot to a file, then drag it onto the buddy's icon to send it.
XP

MSN Messenger sends the image as a file transfer, with a thumbnail attached.
Select a portion of a web page from within a browser window and copy. Paste into a document that supports rich text
OS X

The document's formatting is somewhat preserved. Images, backgrounds, fonts, font weights, and colors are preserved, while table widths may change and drop-down menus become lists. (TextEdit, Stickies, Mail tested)
XP

The document's formatting is preserved. Images, fonts, font weights, colors, tables, and backgrounds are all preserved. (Outlook Express tested)
Copy a folder. Paste into a new mail message
OS X

Attaches the folder to the email.
XP

Outlook Express displays an error stating that directories cannot be pasted into mail messages. It then asks if you would like to make a shortcut to the directory.
Copy a picture. Paste into your login options to customize your user icon
OS X

Supported.
XP

Not supported.
Change a file or folder icon via cut/copy and paste
OS X

Supported.
XP

Not supported. You can only change icons by browsing the filesystem and selecting them via a dialog.
Copy an email recipient (from an email's From, To, Cc or Bcc box) and paste into a text file
OS X

Pastes the email address.
XP

If a name is displayed, pastes the name. If an email address is displayed, pastes the email address.
Comment: OS X considers email recipients to be objects, and it considers the email address to be the most important part of that object. Hence, it will always paste the contact's email address, regardless of what is actually displayed (name or email address). XP sees the selection as pure text, so it copies whatever is visible. OS X's implementation is arguably more useful.
Copy a file and paste into Terminal/Command Prompt
OS X

Pastes the path to the file.
XP

Not supported.

Total (out of 24 points):

Mac OS X: 18
Windows XP: 13

Conclusion

OS X fairs better than XP here, primarily due to its behavior being a bit more predictable (i.e., pasting a folder into an email message attaches the folder to the message, as would be expected).

Mac OS X: 8
Windows XP: 5

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