{"id":"troubleshooting.relocate-cleanup-partial","url":"/faq/troubleshooting/relocate-cleanup-partial","category":{"id":"troubleshooting","title":"Troubleshooting & messages"},"subcategory":{"id":"moves-and-copies","title":"Moves and copies that didn't finish"},"question":"What does it mean when a relocate finished copying but not every original was replaced with a shortcut?","alt_questions":["relocate cleanup partial destination is valid","some source files may not have been replaced","re-run relocate to retry","relocate partly finished storage studio"],"short_answer":"The copy is complete, but some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts (often because they were open), so they're in both places. Quit those apps and run Relocate again.","answer_markdown":"The copy on your drive is complete and valid, but while tidying up afterwards, some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts — usually because an app had them open. Those files exist in both places for now, so some space hasn't been freed yet.\n\nQuit apps that use that folder and run **Relocate** again; it finishes the remaining items without copying everything twice.","answer_html":"

The copy on your drive is complete and valid, but while tidying up afterwards, some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts — usually because an app had them open. Those files exist in both places for now, so some space hasn't been freed yet.

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Quit apps that use that folder and run Relocate again; it finishes the remaining items without copying everything twice.

","answer_text":"The copy on your drive is complete and valid, but while tidying up afterwards, some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts — usually because an app had them open. Those files exist in both places for now, so some space hasn't been freed yet.\n\nQuit apps that use that folder and run Relocate again; it finishes the remaining items without copying everything twice.","tags":["relocate","shortcut","in use"],"related":[{"id":"troubleshooting.copied-but-original-couldnt-be-removed","question":"What does \"was copied successfully, but the original couldn't be removed afterwards\" mean?","url":"/faq/troubleshooting/copied-but-original-couldnt-be-removed"},{"id":"troubleshooting.folder-in-use-right-now","question":"What does \"Quit the app and try again — the folder is in use right now\" mean?","url":"/faq/troubleshooting/folder-in-use-right-now"}],"applies_to":"all","last_reviewed":"2026-10-01","title":"What does it mean when a relocate finished copying but not every original was replaced with a shortcut? — Storage Studio FAQ","description":"The copy is complete, but some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts (often because they were open), so they're in both places. Quit those apps and run Relocate again.","crumbs":[{"name":"Home","path":"/"},{"name":"FAQ","path":"/faq/"},{"name":"Troubleshooting & messages","path":"/faq/troubleshooting/"},{"name":"What does it mean when a relocate finished copying but not every original was replaced with a shortcut?","path":"/faq/troubleshooting/relocate-cleanup-partial"}],"jsonld":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/troubleshooting/relocate-cleanup-partial","inLanguage":"en","dateModified":"2026-10-01","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What does it mean when a relocate finished copying but not every original was replaced with a shortcut?","alternateName":["relocate cleanup partial destination is valid","some source files may not have been replaced","re-run relocate to retry","relocate partly finished storage studio"],"acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The copy on your drive is complete and valid, but while tidying up afterwards, some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts — usually because an app had them open. Those files exist in both places for now, so some space hasn't been freed yet.\n\nQuit apps that use that folder and run Relocate again; it finishes the remaining items without copying everything twice.","url":"https://storagestudio.us/faq/troubleshooting/relocate-cleanup-partial"}}]},"fragment":"
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Troubleshooting & messages · Moves and copies that didn't finish

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What does it mean when a relocate finished copying but not every original was replaced with a shortcut?

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Short answer: The copy is complete, but some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts (often because they were open), so they're in both places. Quit those apps and run Relocate again.

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The copy on your drive is complete and valid, but while tidying up afterwards, some originals couldn't be swapped for shortcuts — usually because an app had them open. Those files exist in both places for now, so some space hasn't been freed yet.

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Quit apps that use that folder and run Relocate again; it finishes the remaining items without copying everything twice.

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Last reviewed

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Related questions

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