---
title: "A dry run shows files I don't want moved"
url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/dry-run-shows-unwanted-files
category: "Troubleshooting"
tags: ["troubleshooting", "rules", "dry run", "free up space"]
summary: "A preview of the next automatic run lists what would move before anything happens. If it shows files you want to keep where they are, raise the rule's age or the floor in Settings → Rules, then preview again."
updated: 2026-10-01T05:37:55.000Z
---

# A dry run shows files I don't want moved

A preview of the next automatic run lists what would move before anything happens. If it shows files you want to keep where they are, raise the rule's age or the floor in Settings → Rules, then preview again.

A dry run is a preview: it lists what the next automatic run would move, and nothing has happened yet. If it shows files you'd rather keep on your Mac, change the rule's age — or raise the floor that applies to every rule — in **Settings → Rules**, then run the preview again until it only lists what you're happy to move.

## What you might see

In the **Dry run preview** (choose **Automatic Moves…** in the **More** menu, then **Run preview**):

- "WOULD MOVE: …" — an item the next run would move to your external drive.
- "WOULD KEEP (you've opened it recently): …" — an item old enough for the rule but kept because you've used it lately.
- "WOULD DELETE: …" — an item a delete rule would remove, such as old items in the Trash.

You can also run a preview from **Preview Next Run (Dry Run)** in the **More** menu, or **Dry Run** in the Advanced view's popover.

## Likely causes

- **The rule's age is lower than you'd like.** Every rule moves items older than its age.
- **The floor is lower than you'd like.** The floors in **Global overrides** set the minimum age for every rule.
- **The files haven't been opened in a while**, even though you still want them — for example reference material you only look at once a year.

```mermaid
%% caption: Adjusting rules until the preview only shows what you want moved
flowchart TD
  A[Preview lists files you want to keep] --> B[Open Settings, then Rules]
  B --> C{One rule or every rule?}
  C -->|One rule| D[Raise that rule's age]
  C -->|Every rule| E[Raise the floor in Global overrides]
  D --> F[Run the preview again]
  E --> F
  F --> G{Only what you want moved?}
  G -->|Yes| H[Done - changes apply automatically]
  G -->|No| B
```

*Flowchart — Adjusting rules until the preview only shows what you want moved. Outline:*

- Preview lists files you want to keep
  - leads to Open Settings, then Rules
- Open Settings, then Rules
  - leads to One rule or every rule?
- One rule or every rule?
  - One rule: leads to Raise that rule's age
  - Every rule: leads to Raise the floor in Global overrides
- Raise that rule's age
  - leads to Run the preview again
- Raise the floor in Global overrides
  - leads to Run the preview again
- Run the preview again
  - leads to Only what you want moved?
- Only what you want moved?
  - Yes: leads to Done - changes apply automatically
  - No: leads to Open Settings, then Rules

## How to fix it

1. Open **Settings…** and choose **Rules**.
2. Find the rule for that folder under **Default & Manual Rules** and raise its age. The age is the number of days next to the rule.
3. To make every move rule wait longer, raise **Floor — raise all archive ages to at least … days** in **Global overrides**. For delete rules there's a separate floor, and **Never delete personal files — only move them** skips every delete rule.
4. Run the preview again. There's no save button — "Changes apply automatically".
5. For suggestions Storage Studio added itself, click **Review…** next to **Auto Rules** and use **Dismiss** on any you don't want.

If you don't want anything to move automatically while you decide, pause automatic actions in the Advanced view with **Pause**. See [Pausing or stopping everything](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/pausing-and-stopping).

## If something has already moved

Nothing is lost. A moved item leaves a shortcut where it was, so it still opens from its usual place — see [The shortcut left behind after a move](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-shortcut-left-behind).

See also: [Rules: moving folders automatically](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/rules-and-automatic-moves) · [Auto Rules](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/auto-rules) · [Dry run](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-dry-run) · [Something's not working: start here](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/troubleshooting-start-here)

## What links here

- [Dry run](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/glossary-dry-run)
- [My rules don't move anything from Documents or Desktop](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/rules-dont-move-documents-or-desktop)
- [Something's not working: start here](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/troubleshooting-start-here)