Easily copy folders/files in Google Drive
Google Drive is a godsend with its free 15 GB storage allowing you to save all of your files and access them anytime, anywhere, and across devices!
Though it boasts a lot of features and functionalities, Google Drive isn't perfect. It is lacking a few of the most basic features - one of which is the ability to copy or duplicate folders (including files within subfolders). You can just imagine the repetitive and tedious task of doing this manually. What more if you need to manually duplicate folders with multiple nested folders?
This is where Folgo's Copy folder feature comes in. It lets you effortlessly create a copy (duplicate) of your target folder and all its content. With just a few clicks, you’ll be able to duplicate any folder in a jiffy!
Steps on duplicating folders
1. Initialize the copy feature.
Once Folgo is open > click Copy folder.
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2. Select the source folder.
You will see a prompt saying 👈 Select a folder to copy.
The 👈pointing finger prompts you to choose a source folder within Google Drive (and not in the Folgo sidebar).
ℹ️ Folgo will behave like a file picker at this point.
Navigate/locate and select your source folder.
Once selected, the Folgo UI will update and display your chosen source folder.
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3. (Optional) Change the location of your destination folder.
By default, Folgo will save your duplicated folder in the same root folder as your source folder (My Drive in our example). If you prefer the default location, skip this altogether and proceed to Step 4.
But if you already have a target destination folder prepared in advance, follow the steps below.
a. In the Copy location field, change the location to your destination folder by clicking edit (pencil icon ✏️).
The 👈pointing finger prompts you to choose a destination folder within Google Drive (and not in the Folgo sidebar).
ℹ️ Folgo will behave like a file picker at this point.
b. Navigate/locate and click your target destination folder > the destination field will update with your chosen folder > click SAVE.
Once saved, the Folgo UI will display both your Copy folder and Destination folder (see image below).
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4. Supplementary file management options.
In this example, we’ll leave both checkmarks unchecked since we want to copy everything (folders and files) and use our own Sharing Settings permissions.
ℹ️ You can add more flexibility with the files/folders that you want to copy.
Depending on your needs, you can enable any, all, or none of the file management options:
⬜ Copy folder structure only
Leave this unchecked to copy everything (including subfolders and files within).
Otherwise, tick it to copy only the folder to serve as containers.
⬜ Keep files & folders permissions
Check this if you want to retain the original Sharing Settings permission of the originating folder.
Otherwise, leave it unticked to bypass the original permissions and use your own instead.
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5. Activate the copy process.
Click the COPY button to initialize the duplication process.
ℹ️ Once the duplication process is started, you can opt to close Folgo, Google Drive, your browser, or your computer.
This is possible (and safe) because Folgo will process everything using Google servers (operating behind the scenes).
Later on, you will receive an email notifying you that the duplication of your folder/s is completed.
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6. (Optional) Check the current status.
Click REFRESH if you want to check the current status of the duplication process.
If you decide to refresh the status, this may take a while and the duration will depend on the number of folders/files that are being copied.
☝️ This step is purely optional since Folgo will process everything on the server-side (see note on Step 5 for more details).
If you opt to receive the email notification from Folgo (titled Folgo - Your folder copy is finished!), proceed to step 7.
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7. View your copied folder.
Once the duplicate process is completed (by clicking the Refresh button on the Folgo sidebar or via Folgo’s email notification titled Folgo - Your folder copy is finished!), you can now:
Open the copied folder/files
and theSupplementary Process report (Inspection/Audit report) that contains all your files and their metadata
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📌 Important notes on Sharing settings or File Restrictions
If you have read-access to files or folders, but the file owner restricted their Sharing Settings - preventing you from copying them, then Folgo won’t be able to copy or duplicate them either. The accompanying Process report will indicate whether or not Folgo was able to copy each of your files.
To remedy this, ask the folder/files owner to change the Sharing Settings. Learn more about this in Google’s article on how to Stop, limit, or change sharing.