UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

I'm really new to Unix and its commands. I tried to move a file from the home directory to another one but I didn't type the full name of the new directory. I think the computer created another directory in the home directory and put it in there. However, now I can't access it and it doesn't even say its a directory. Is there any way to fix this?

Unless a directory pre-existed in you home directory , the effect will likely have been that your original file was renamed to (a file with) the same name as your intended target directory.

So with "targetdirname" being the new name of the wrongfully renamed file:

Code:

mv targetdirname originalfilename

should suffice to reverse the operation and rename it back to originalfilename.

What happens if I renamed multiple files to the same name? I accidentally did this thinking I was moving them to a new directory.

The mv command will not do that. If the last argument is not a directory it will say: "not a directory". If in fact you issued the command in your home directory without a path ans it succeeded, then there should be a pre-existing directory there with the same name as the intended target directory. And in there you should see your files. Otherwise look at your command history to see what you have done. Failing that you can do a find in your home directory.