How the Windows 8 copy file conflict dialog slows you down

After Microsoft got its act together in Windows 95, the Windows copy conflict dialog's user interface essentially remained the same up to Windows XP. The copy engine may have seen under the hood improvements but the UI was very well-designed, consistent and simple. Microsoft attempted a redesign the file conflict dialog with Windows Vista but that resulted in a dialog that had horrible keyboard usability. Now with Windows 8, they have changed it yet again and this time keyboard usability is now okay - still not great but it's resulted in a dialog with poor mouse usability and somehow they have managed to remove functionality too! The biggest mistake they have done is they have a split a single simple yet powerful dialog into two separate dialogs - one simple dialog, and one advanced dialog. Here are some screenshots of the Windows classic copy conflict dialog, the Windows Vista/7 dialog and the Windows 8 dialog to refresh your memory.

 

 

See for yourself how many mouse clicks or keystrokes it requires and you will realize the new design isn't quite intuitive:

 

Task	Windows classic dialog	Windows Vista/7 dialog	Windows 8 dialog
See file conflict details to make a decision (mouse)	0 clicks required	0 clicks required	1 click on Choose files button
See file conflict details to make a decision (keyboard)	0 keystrokes required	0 keystrokes required	3 keystrokes (down arrow twice, then Space or combination of Alt+C)
Overwrite/skip single file when copying single file (mouse)	1 click on Yes button or No button	1 click on Replace button or Don’t Replace button	1 click on Replace button or Skip button but 3 clicks or many more keystrokes if you want to see details to make a decision and then overwrite
Overwrite single file when copying single file (keyboard)	1 keystroke (Space bar or Enter)	2 keystrokes (Tab, then Space)	1 keystroke (Space) or 1 combination keystroke (Alt+R) but more if you want to see details to make a decision
Overwrite single file when copying multiple files (mouse)	1 click per file on Yes button	1 click per file on Replace button	2 clicks for first file, then 1 click per file, finally 1 click for Continue
Overwrite single file when copying multiple files (keyboard)	1 keystroke (Space bar or Enter) per file	2 keystrokes (Tab, then Space) per file	At least 4 keystrokes for first file (Alt+C, then tab, then down arrow, then Space) then Up/down arrow keys, space per file then finally 2 keystrokes to tab to Continue
Overwrite/skip all (mouse)	1 click on Yes to All or No to All	2 clicks (1 click on ‘Do this for next….’ then 1 click again on ‘Replace’ or ‘Don’t Replace’)	1 click on Replace All or Skip All button
Overwrite all (keyboard)	1 combination keystroke (Alt+A) or 2 keystrokes (Tab, then Space)	9 keystrokes (Tab 4 times, then Space, then tab 3 Times, then Space again) OR at least 5 keystrokes (1 combination keystroke Alt+D, then tab 3 Times, then Space)	1 keystroke (Space) or 1 combination keystroke (Alt+R)
Rename to keep both files	Not available in Windows XP	1 click (single file), 2 clicks (all files)	4 clicks to rename all (keep both versions for all files)
Dialog supports mouse "Snap To" for less mouse movement	Yes (pointer moves to most useful button – Yes button)	File conflict dialog doesn’t support “Snap To”, folder conflict dialog supports it	Neither simple nor advanced dialog supports mouse “Snap To” at all
More clicks and keystrokes for UAC protected locations	No	2 clicks or keystrokes	Even more additional clicks and keystrokes than Windows 7 for UAC protected locations

It’s not all bad. For example, the XP dialog lacked Rename ability. The Windows 8 dialog also adds the ability to skip files with both same date and same size and visually compare files. But you can see how for the most important operation - seeing the conflict details to make a decision, the overall number of mouse clicks, mouse re-positioning requirement and keystrokes have increased unnecessarily and the design complexity also increased by splitting the dialog into two. The proper design would have been to keep it all in a single dialog, yet show multiple files in a scrollable area. But considering that there is no way to disable the annoying auto sort feature which shuffles all your files, compared to that monstrosity, this regression in the copy experience is nothing.