If Workstation is capable of detecting when moves/copies have been performed, and then performing the necessary modifications in the case of a copy, what do full clones offer that simply copy + pasting the entire folder and then selecting "I copied it" when asked doesn't?
Copy and paste includes all snapshots.
Full clone gives you a choice and you can select which snapshot is used. That snapshot will then be consolidated so that the result is a VM without snapshots.
For VMs that do not have snapshots there is no difference between a full clone and a copy/pasted VM
Copy and paste includes all snapshots.
Full clone gives you a choice and you can select which snapshot is used. That snapshot will then be consolidated so that the result is a VM without snapshots.
For VMs that do not have snapshots there is no difference between a full clone and a copy/pasted VM
In many cases copy+paste is good enough, but clone goes the extra mile to make sure all of the corner cases are covered. -- For example: clone will do the right thing if you have a VM with disks that are not in the same directory as all of the other VM files. Also, clone will make sure the new VM has a config file that reflects the operation (e.g. config options that no longer apply are removed).
If you have a simple VM, or know how to do fixups afterward, then go ahead and use copy+paste. If you want to be sure that all of the corner cases are covered, use clone.