Move or copy a file
Move and Copy to open a folder picker scoped to where the item already lives. You cannot move items between managed folders, and folders cannot be copied.
- Drive
- Web
Verified on source code by content-lane-drive. Next review by . Serving build 3abda6b56647, deployed .
Open the item's actions and choose Move, or Copy to for a copy. Pick the destination folder in the dialog and choose Move here or Copy here. The picker only offers folders in the place the item already lives.
Move an item
- Open the item's actions menu and choose Move. The dialog title names the item.
- Read the line under it. It says which place you are choosing inside.
- Choose a folder from Folders to go into it, or Back to go up. The path shows in Destination path, starting at the home icon.
- Choose New folder if the destination does not exist yet, name it, and choose Create.
- Check the destination beside Move to: and choose Move here. It reads Moving… while it works, and confirms with Item moved.
Checking several rows first moves them together, and the dialog title counts them. The confirmation reports how many moved.
Copy an item
Copy to works the same way, with Copy here as the confirm and Item copied. as the confirmation. The original stays where it is.
Folders cannot be copied. Drive says Folders can't be copied. and does not open the dialog.
What the picker will and will not offer
- Only folders inside the same place the item lives. A file in My Drive cannot be moved into a managed folder from here, and a file in one managed folder cannot be moved into another.
- Never a folder you are moving. Moving a folder into itself is not offered.
- A destination with no children says No subfolders here. Move into this location. Choosing the confirm puts the item at that level.
Selecting items from two different places at once is refused up front: You can only move items that live in the same place. or You can only copy items that live in the same place.
What you cannot move or copy
Items shared with you belong to someone else. Drive says Items shared with you cannot be moved. or Items shared with you cannot be copied. and leaves them alone. The same applies to any item you hold read-only.
If it did not work
- Couldn't move that item. and Couldn't copy that item. mean nothing changed. Try again.
- Couldn't load folders. inside the dialog means the destination list failed. Close it and reopen.
- Moving needs write access on both the item and the destination. Check Can view, Can comment and Can edit.
- To get a file from one managed folder into another, download it and upload it to the destination.
Related pages
- Create a folder — Choose New folder, type a name and choose Create. The folder is made where you are: inside the folder or managed folder you are looking at.
- Archive an item — Archiving hides an item from the default lists without deleting it. Open Archive to find it again and choose Unarchive to bring it back.
- Can view, Can comment and Can edit — What the three permissions in the share dialog mean, which two you can actually choose, and how a permission on a managed folder reaches its contents.