Child Item

Can't Copy from Dropbox to Google Drive

I'm trying to copy some photos and an InDesign file from a Dropbox folder to a Google Drive folder and am getting an error that says "this file has properties that can't be copied to the new location" and asks me if I'd like to remove those properties and continue or cancel the copy action.

I've found quite a few answers online that suspect this is a file system issue (NTFS vs FAT) but those scenarios were always people trying to copy from Dropbox on a local drive to a folder on an external drive. My Dropbox and Google Drive folders are both stored locally on my laptop, so they should both be using the same file system, right?

I'm asking this here instead of Google forums because I was able to copy/paste files from a OneDrive folder to Google Drive with no issue, so I'm suspecting it's a Dropbox issue?

Find more posts tagged with

Desktop

Error Messages

Create

Dropbox Transfer

Insightful

AcceptAnswer

Accepted answers

Megan

Hi @sarahfelldown, sorry to jump into your convo with @Hannah!

This error message is a result of transferring files between two different file systems.

It just means some parts of the file properties are not supported when you try to move the file.

You should be able to click "Yes" and the file will transfer without an issue.

All comments

Hannah

Hey @sarahfelldown, thanks for reaching out to us.

Would you mind clarifying where you're trying to copy the files from? Is it the Dropbox folder on your computer or our website?

If it's the website, I'd suggest you download the files to your computer first, and then upload them to Google Drive.

If you're using your local Dropbox folder, can you please send me a screenshot of the message you're getting, so I can look into it?

Thanks!

sarahfelldown

Sure thing!

I am trying to go from the Dropbox folder on my computer to the Google Drive folder on my computer.

Megan

garrycoach

This issue arises due to how Windows (or macOS) handles files when transferring them between cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive. Even though both folders are on your local disk, these services add their own metadata to files, which may not be supported by the file system. As a result, you get the message: "This file has properties that can't be copied to the new location." This means that some file attributes, particularly those specific to Dropbox or Google Drive, cannot be transferred to the new location.

If you click "Yes," the file will copy over without these additional properties, but the file itself will remain usable. In fact, this shouldn't affect the functionality of the files, especially for photos or InDesign files. The issue is more about the metadata used by the cloud services, such as comments or version history.

If you find yourself needing to move files between clouds regularly, using a tool that lets you mount both services as local drives might help avoid those pesky metadata issues. I'd suggest CloudMounter. It just makes the transfer smoother. And of course, it’s always a good idea to back up important files before moving them, just to be on the safe side!