--- title: "The cloud folder browser" url: https://storagestudio.us/wiki/the-cloud-folder-browser category: "Data Transfers" tags: ["data transfers", "cloud accounts", "bridge"] summary: "The cloud button beside Source and Destination in New Transfer lets you browse the folders inside a cloud account or a paired device, create a new folder, and pick the exact folder a transfer should use." updated: 2026-10-01T05:33:56.000Z --- # The cloud folder browser The cloud button beside Source and Destination in New Transfer lets you browse the folders inside a cloud account or a paired device, create a new folder, and pick the exact folder a transfer should use. The **cloud folder browser** lets you pick a folder deep inside a cloud account, or on a device paired with Bridge, instead of typing its path. Open it from the cloud button beside **Source** or **Destination** in the New Transfer sheet, move through the folders, and click **Use This Folder**. ## Opening it In **Data Transfers**, click **New Transfer**. Beside **Source** and beside **Destination** there are two buttons: a folder, for folders on this Mac, and a cloud. Click the cloud to see a menu: - **Included with your plan** — shown first if your plan comes with storage of its own. - **Your accounts and devices** — a **Browse** entry for each connected cloud account, and for each Bridge device that is connected right now. - Below a divider, **Use … root** entries that fill in the whole account (its top level) without browsing. Some entries appear on one side only: - For the **Source**, each iCloud account you've added for another Apple ID also offers its Photos library — **Browse … Photos**, or **Use all of … Photos** for the whole library. It's read-only, so it can only be a source. See [iCloud Photos of another Apple ID](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/icloud-photos-of-another-apple-id). - A Google Photos account you connected earlier appears only for the **Destination**, because Google lets an app see only the photos that app uploaded itself. See [Google Photos](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/google-photos). If you haven't connected anything, the menu says **No accounts or connected devices** — add one in [Cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-accounts) first. ## Moving around The browser opens at the top of the account. Its title names the account and its type. - **Click a folder** to open it. Only folders are listed — files aren't shown, because you're choosing where a transfer reads from or writes to. - **The path along the top** shows where you are. Click any part of it to jump back up; the house button goes back to the top. - **The arrow button** refreshes the list. - **The line at the bottom** shows the exact folder you'll get. - **Use This Folder** picks the folder you're in — at any level, including the top. **Cancel** closes the browser without changing anything. For S3-compatible storage with a saved bucket, the browser opens inside that bucket, and the house button returns there rather than to a list of every bucket. See [S3-compatible storage](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/s3-compatible-storage). ```mermaid %% caption: Picking a folder with the cloud folder browser flowchart TD A[Click the cloud button beside Source or Destination] --> B{Browse or use the whole account?} B -->|Use the root| R[The account's top level is filled in] B -->|Browse| C[The browser opens at the top] C --> D{Is the folder you want here?} D -->|No, it's deeper| E[Click a folder to open it] E --> D D -->|It doesn't exist yet| F[Click New Folder and name it] F --> D D -->|Yes| G[Click Use This Folder] ``` *Flowchart — Picking a folder with the cloud folder browser. Outline:* - Click the cloud button beside Source or Destination - leads to Browse or use the whole account? - Browse or use the whole account? - Use the root: leads to The account's top level is filled in - Browse: leads to The browser opens at the top - The browser opens at the top - leads to Is the folder you want here? - Is the folder you want here? - No, it's deeper: leads to Click a folder to open it - It doesn't exist yet: leads to Click New Folder and name it - Yes: leads to Click Use This Folder - Click a folder to open it - leads to Is the folder you want here? - Click New Folder and name it - leads to Is the folder you want here? ## Making a new folder Click **New Folder**, type a name and click **Create**. The folder is made inside the one you're looking at, and the list refreshes. A name can't contain a slash or a colon, and can't be just "." or "..". If the account won't allow it, the browser says so — for example *"The cloud refused to create the folder."* ## Paired devices Choosing a Bridge device shows **Connecting to …** while a secure link to it is set up, which can take a few seconds; then the browser opens on that device's shared folders. If the device can't be reached, you'll see *"… isn't reachable. Open Bridge on that device and make sure it's on the same network."* Only devices connected right now are listed. See [Bridge: connecting another device](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/bridge-devices). ## Messages you might see | Message | What it means | | --- | --- | | **Listing folders…** | The account is being read. Large accounts can take a moment. | | **No subfolders here** | This folder has no folders inside it. You can still click **Use This Folder**, or make one with **New Folder**. | | **Could not list folders** | The account couldn't be read. The reason appears underneath. | Common reasons under **Could not list folders**: - *"That account needs signing in again — its access has expired."* — see [when an account needs signing in again](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/when-an-account-needs-signing-in-again). - *"That account is refusing requests for the moment because it has hit a limit at its provider. Try again shortly."* - *"That account isn't set up on this Mac any more. Remove it and connect it again."* — see [testing, editing and removing an account](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/testing-editing-and-removing-an-account). - **Can I see all my cloud accounts in Finder on a Mac?** Yes. Storage Studio adds a "Storage Studio" location to Finder's sidebar, with each connected cloud account and paired device as a folder inside, and a Finder button in the app's main window opens it. Files stay in the cloud until you open them. Folders you have visited open straight away and… (https://storagestudio.us/faq) See also: [Data Transfers](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-transfers) · [Copying between two cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/copying-between-two-cloud-accounts) · [My cloud accounts list is empty after signing in](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/cloud-account-list-is-empty) ## What links here - [Copying between two cloud accounts](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/copying-between-two-cloud-accounts) - [Data Transfers](https://storagestudio.us/wiki/data-transfers)