# beginner copy

**URL:** <https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265>\
**Category:** PowerShell Help\
**Created:** [November 25, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265 "2015-11-25T19:41:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![fred-robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@fred-robinson](https://forums.powershell.org/u/fred-robinson)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265/1 "2015-11-25T19:41:04Z")

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So I am a total beginner in programming. How do I use powershell to copy a file from the desktop to another directory? I dont understand where the working directory is supposed to be, is it at the receiving end or what? I want to move a file from one directory to another without them necessarily being siblings, so to speak. Excuse the confused question that reflects my confused mind.

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**Author:** ![matt-bloomfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dec6dc/32.png) [@matt-bloomfield](https://forums.powershell.org/u/matt-bloomfield)\
**Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265/2 "2015-11-25T20:36:40Z")

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Forgive me, I’m not going to tell you how to do it.

What I will do is show you how you can find out how to do it. PowerShell has a powerful help system which allows you to discover commands (which PowerShell calls cmdlets) and how to use them. A good starting point for you would be the command

```
Get-Help_copy_
```
  
This will search the help files for all references to ‘copy’. From those results, you should be able to work out which command you can use to copy items (that’s a hint!) from one location to another. PowerShell provides examples of how to use the commands and you can see those with

```
Get-Help Cmdlet-Name -Examples
```

Let us know how you get on.

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**Author:** ![bobmccoy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forums.powershell.org/bobmccoy/32/650_2.png) [@bobmccoy](https://forums.powershell.org/u/bobmccoy)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265/3 "2015-11-26T01:06:30Z")

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Matt’s right in this respect, it’s not at all a complicated process. But you really should learn the tools that are going to consistently help you on your PowerShell journey. Get-Help and Get-Member will be your best friends on this path. Then there’s always Bing and Google.

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**Author:** ![fred-robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@fred-robinson](https://forums.powershell.org/u/fred-robinson)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265/4 "2015-11-27T00:06:21Z")

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Thanks for…hmm. Ok, so I used the copy-item command:  
copy-item -path -destination and it seems that I managed to copy the file. However when I want tolook at this textfile with teh command more I am denied access.  
What say you?

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**Author:** ![matt-bloomfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dec6dc/32.png) [@matt-bloomfield](https://forums.powershell.org/u/matt-bloomfield)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265/5 "2015-11-27T01:39:11Z")

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Do you have read permissions on the file in its new location? Can you browse to it and open it in notepad?

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**Author:** ![dotnVo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@dotnVo](https://forums.powershell.org/u/dotnVo)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://forums.powershell.org/t/beginner-copy/5265/6 "2024-05-16T20:44:23Z")

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