---
id: moving-folders.what-are-keep-both-and-merge-when-a-copy-is-already-there
url: https://storagestudio.us/faq/moving-folders/what-are-keep-both-and-merge-when-a-copy-is-already-there
category: "Moving folders"
subcategory: "Moving from What's Using Space"
question: "What do Keep both and Merge mean when a copy is already on the drive?"
alt_questions:
  - "There's already a copy on my fast drive"
  - "Keep both or merge or replace"
  - "A copy of this folder is already on the drive"
  - "Move and keep both"
  - "Will moving replace the copy on my drive?"
  - "Drive copy with a date in its name"
short_answer: "Keep both renames the copy already there with today's date and moves yours in beside it; Merge joins them, renaming any different same-named file instead of overwriting it. Replace deletes the existing copy and needs you to type Replace."
tags: ["moving", "merge", "keep both", "data parking", "whats using space"]
related: ["https://storagestudio.us/faq/moving-folders/what-does-merge-do-in-data-parking", "https://storagestudio.us/faq/moving-folders/what-is-the-difference-between-move-merge-and-relocate"]
applies_to: "app>=4.20"
last_reviewed: 2026-10-27
---

# What do Keep both and Merge mean when a copy is already on the drive?

They're the two ways to move a folder when a copy of it is already on the other side, without losing either one. You see them in What's Using Space and in Data Parking.

- **Keep both** (the default in What's Using Space) — the copy already there is renamed with today's date, for example *Downloads (drive copy 27 Oct 2026)*, and left exactly as it is. Your folder moves in beside it.
- **Merge** — your folder's files join the copy already there. Where both have a file with the same name but different contents, both are kept: the one already there is renamed with the date and yours takes the name. Identical files are left alone, and files only on the other side are never touched.
- **Replace** — the copy already there is removed first, then your folder takes its place. It doesn't go to the Trash or the Recycle Vault, so you type **Replace** to confirm.

Keep both and Merge lose nothing, so neither asks for the typed word. The renaming applies to drives and folders; for a cloud account, merging works the way that provider does. See [what Merge does](https://storagestudio.us/faq/moving-folders/what-does-merge-do-in-data-parking).