Duplicate File Finder

The destination folder is located on a disk with not enough free space

Some users may be unable to copy or move files while merging folders due to lack of space on the target disk.

This may happen when you want to merge folders, located, for example, on your Mac, and on the external drive. When the total size of files you want to move from the source folder is larger than the free space on a disk with the destination folder, merging the folders is not possible.

On the screenshot below you can see, that we selected 856 MB of files for merging; however, if we check the information about the Flash Drive, we will see that only 6.1 MB are available on it.

You would need to free some space to complete the operation. Review your disk/folder, free up enough space for storing the new files, and then try again to merge folders, or just choose another destination folder. 

The destination or (and) source folder does not exist

Sometimes, it could happen, that before clicking to merge folders with Duplicate File Finder, you find that you had done the following things:

• You had removed the destination or source folder in Finder.
• You had ejected the external drive where the destination or source folder was stored.
• You had renamed the destination or source folder.

In this case, you will see an error notification.

To solve this issue, use any one of the following methods:

• Restore the removed destination or source folder from Trash.
• Connect your external drive with the destination or source folder to your Mac again.
• Return the original name for the destination or source folder.

Then try again to merge selected folders.

The destination folder is located on a disk with Read Only permission

It may happen that, when you are trying to merge folders, you get a message about the impossibility of moving/copying files from one folder to another because one of the folders or both of them are located on a disk with Read Only permission.

Why does this happen?

In general, all disks have one of these types of permission:

• Read & Write
• Read Only
• Write Only

The Read Only permission allows you only to read and preview its content but you can’t delete files from the disk and you can’t write files on it.

To check which type of permission your folders have and to change it, call the Finder’s Get Info command for the disk. You should check that in the Sharing & Permission section of the information panel.

To change the user privilege, click the Lock icon → enter your username and your password → click the privilege type → select Read & Write permission. Then click the Settings icon and select Apply to enclosed items.

After getting permission to operate files on the volume, you will be able to merge folders.

The destination or source folder is located on the NTFS formatted disk

Please note, if you want to merge two folders, they have to be disks located with formats compatible with the Mac operating system and with the appropriate rights for writing. Otherwise, it may happen that, when you are trying to merge folders, you get the following messages:

Why do you see these notifications?

There are different types of external drive formats. The most common of them are:

• FAT32
• NTFS
• HFS+ and APFS

While FAT32, HFS+ are the formats compatible with the Mac operating system to read and write/remove, the NTFS is a default format for the Windows operating system. By default, NTFS disks are connected as read-only volumes. This means that you can only preview files on NTFS disk on your Mac but you can’t make any modifications on it, i.e. you can’t move, remove or copy files to this drive. So NTFS disks come with Read Only permission.

To check the volume format information and permission, use the Command+I key shortcut or select Get info in the context menu for selected disks in Finder.

If you want to change the permission access and have the ability to merge folders on NTFS volumes, you need to install special software: NTFS driver for MAC. You can choose, for example, Tuxera, Paragon, Mounty for NTFS, Fuse, Seagate or any other application designed for this task.

After installing the appropriate drivers on your Mac, you can easily merge folders and organize your duplicates on NTFS disks.

Merging folders requires your confirmation

Note, if you use Duplicate File Finder downloaded from our website, it may happen that, when you click to merge the folders, the app shows you a message about the impossibility of moving files and the requirement to confirm the operation in Finder.

Why do you see this message?

Such a message is displayed for the following reasons:

• The destination folder does not have the Write permission or it is locked.
• The source folder does not have the Read permission or it is locked.

If you want to continue and merge your Similar folders, click the Confirm button and enter your user account password. Duplicate File Finder will then complete the task.

The destination or source folder is locked

Sometimes, when you are trying to merge folders, you may get an error message because your files are locked or they are located in locked folders. For example:

• The files you want to merge are locked.
• The source folder is locked.
• The destination folder is locked.

Duplicate File Finder does not have the right to operate locked items without your permission. You would need to check the items for access and manually unlock the files and folder. Follow these steps:

1. Call the Get Info from the context menu for the files or the folder.
2. See in the General section the appropriate information.

If the folder is locked, uncheck this option to be able to operate files and folders.
After this, you will be able to merge the selected files and folders using Duplicate File Finder.

The destination or source folder Has Read Only permission

It may happen that, when you are trying to merge folders, you get a message about the impossibility of moving/copying files from one folder to another due to having Read Only permission.

To check the permission status of a file or folder, make a right click on it and select Get Info in the context menu. On the info window in the Sharing & Permission section, you will find the information about which type of access you have.

Right here, you can change the user privilege:

1. Click the Lock icon.
2. Enter your username and your password.
3. Select Read & Write from the privilege type.
4. Click the Settings icon and click Apply to enclosed items.

The destination or source folder is located on a Remote disk

A Remote disk is a network-attached folder or volume which can be located on a server, a networked computer or an external network storage. If one of your folders you want to merge or both of them are located on a Remote disk, you may face an issue when trying to move files from one folder to another.

The reason for that may be any of the issues described earlier.

• The destination folder is located on a Remote disk with not enough free space.
• You don’t have access to the Remote disk.
• The Remote disk has Read Only permission.
• The Remote disk is NTFS formatted.
• The Remote disk is locked.

So you need to check the Remote disk for these issues and follow the provided guides in order to be able to merge the selected folders. If that didn’t help, contact the administrator of your Remote Disk.

Unknown error

It may happen that the merging files operation couldn’t be completed and the reason for the issue wasn’t detected.

In this case, you would need to check your destination and source folders for any one of the following issues:

• The destination or source folder is locked.
• The destination or source folder has Read Only permission.
• The destination or source folder is located on a Remote disk.

Once you’ve found the reason for the error, follow the provided guides to eliminate it and be able to merge the selected folders.

If it didn’t help, contact our support team at support@nektony.com. We will be happy to assist you.