Moving files out of Dropbox now defaults to the 'copy' function

[Questions13]

Starting sometime this week, whenever I try to move a file out of my Dropbox to another location on the same drive, it will default to 'copy' and leave the original still in Dropbox. This duplication now requires that I manually delete the file from my Dropbox if I want to complete the action of relocating a file.

However, if I drag a file into my Dropbox from anywhere on the same drive, it will behave normally and 'move' the file without duplication. Moving files within folders in Dropbox also retains the default 'move' function.

What is causing this bizarre 'copy' behavior and how do I get rid of it? I want the default drag behavior, within the same drive, to be 'move'.

[Nate_C]

Hello, what kind of device are you using? And what operating system?

[Hannah]

Hey @Questions13, thanks for reaching out to us.

This is actually an action that's determined by your OS, since the Dropbox folder is just like any other folder on your computer.

If you quit the Dropbox app and then try the same steps, do you get the same behavior?

Let me know what you find.

[Questions13]

Desktop, Windows 11.

[Questions13]

Exiting (and even uninstalling) the Dropbox app does not fix the issue. 

[Megan]

Hey @Questions13, you mentioned that uninstalling the app doesn't fix the issue. 

So, if I asked you to quit the app, and while the app is still closed follow the same steps, could you let me know what happens then?

[Questions13]

Yep, I followed the steps to quit the app and then tried to move some files. Same 'copy' behavior.

[Megan]

Thanks for checking @Questions13.

Since you noticed the same behavior even when our app is closed, then it might be unrelated to Dropbox.

Had it been the app causing this, then you wouldn't notice the same results when the app wasn't running.

Do you notice the same thing if you choose a file/folder within Dropbox, and then right click and choose cut instead of dragging and dropping it? 

[Questions13]

I considered that it might be independent of the Dropbox app but this literally is only happening to files in the Dropbox folder.

The cut function works normally. Likewise, if I hold Shift while dragging a file to force a 'move', it works as well. 

[shin7]

Hi, the same issue is occurring on my PCs.

I'm using several PCs and installed Dropbox on each machines. And some machines work correctly, but the other machine doesn't work fine.

This issue is occurring on Windows11 Home edition (version 23H2). My Windows11 Pro pcs are working correctly.