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Drag/Drop into Subfolder Forcing Copies Instead of Moving

Drag/Drop into Subfolder Forcing Copies Instead of Moving

NewBizOwner
Helpful | Level 5

In trying to do some housekeeping in a dropbox folder to move all of the old versions of a document into a subfolder called "Archive" (located within the same original folder), MacOS/Dropbox is forcing all versions to be copied into the Archive subfolder instead of moving them the way it always used to. Now I have duplicates. It seems that it's now forcing me to create these duplicates and then manually delete the versions left in the main folder? That seems exceedingly dangerous. I hate deleting files. That's why I create new versions and archive the old ones in Archive folders located within the same original folder. I don't know if this is a Mac problem or a Dropbox problem. Or just another case of the customer being screwed because two software giants can't play well in the sandbox together.

 

I'm on the most current Mac OS Ventura (13.0.1). My dropbox local folder is on an external drive that is always connected to my mac. I understand that there's some ridiculous nonsense about Dropbox forcing us to house local files on the actual computer's hard drive if you're on a Mac? Is this a result of that bizarre decision? I mean, who wants to junk up their hard drive with files (especially, in my case, voluminous video files that will eat up my computer hard drive). 

 

It makes me wonder why these software programmers can't just leave well enough alone. The more they "improve" things, the worse it gets for us users, it seems. Certainly protect your jobs programmers and keep your employment relevant, but not at the expense of those who pay your salaries (the users!) who really need to do ACTUAL work and not muck about with jumping through hoops on your software. Ugh!

1 Reply 1

Rich
Super User II

@NewBizOwner wrote:

MacOS/Dropbox is forcing all versions to be copied into the Archive subfolder instead of moving them the way it always used to.


Dropbox has no control over whether a file is copied or moved during a drag and drop process. Your operating system controls that. Typically though, it depends on the location you're dragging a file to. Under normal circumstances, dragging a file to a folder on the same drive results in a move, while dragging a file to a folder on a different drive results in a copy. This behavior is usually altered during the drag using modifier keys. I'm not familiar with Mac, but on a PC holding CTRL forces a copy while holding Shift forces a move.

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    Rich Super User II
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