Moving folders to new directory location

RaynMan has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Moving folders to new directory location by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jun 23, 2010 at 21:55 UTC
I need to move C:\Documents and Settings\Ryan-Laptop(user) to the new location without compromising any files. Then do as Corion suggested and use `system q[xcopy /E /O /K C:\Documents and Settings\Ryan-Laptop(user) U: +\newName];` [download] as any other method (including Win32`::CopyFile()`), will compromise the files by not copying their security attributes (ACLs etc.). Read the help for xcopy to find out why /O is important. You might also want /X Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice. RIP an inspiration; A true Folk's Guy	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Moving folders to new directory location by rovf (Priest) on Jun 24, 2010 at 07:48 UTC
Nearly correct. We need to DOS-quote the argument, because of the embedded spaces. BTW, though not necessary in the concrete example, I think it would be a good idea to always use `\\` instead of `\` even withing `q[...]`, because this will be needed anyway when directories are specified by using UNC pathes. -- Ronald Fischer <ynnor@mm.st>	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: Moving folders to new directory location by Corion (Patriarch) on Jun 23, 2010 at 20:44 UTC
Why do you think that File::Copy is not what you're looking for? Have you looked at the `xcopy` tool that comes with Windows?	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Moving folders to new directory location by RaynMan (Initiate) on Jun 23, 2010 at 21:33 UTC
It needs to be writte in perl. It is an assigned task that I have recieved at work. Can I use File::Copy to move directories???	[reply]
Re^3: Moving folders to new directory location by Corion (Patriarch) on Jun 23, 2010 at 21:57 UTC
Perl can launch `xcopy` using system. You will have to copy + delete anyways, so you can also use File::Copy and File::Path to delete the directories afterwards. Although when deleting things, I hope you have good and tested backups.	[reply] [d/l]