Rename large folders

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This article describes how to troubleshoot an attempt to rename a large folder in your Files app that didn't seem to succeed.

Note: To rename a very large folder (one with more than about 20 items), select the Rename and move option from the right-click menu. This feature improves performance for such large file operations. The renamed folder appears in the same location in the Files app. Note that when this operation completes, you must recreate all existing shared links to contents in the renamed folder.

In the vast majority of cases, renaming a file or folder is an operation performed by your cloud storage. The various cloud platforms use different schemes to rename.

For example, to rename a folder "OldFolder" to "NewFolder":

  • Some cloud platforms change a prefix in the file path. For example, the original file path may be OldFolder/MyFile. After renaming, that same file will use the path NewFolder/MyFile.
  • Some cloud platforms first create NewFolder. Then they move or copy the contents of OldFolder to New Folder. When all the contents of OldFolder are present in NewFolder, the cloud storage deletes OldFolder.

In any case, the larger the item, the longer the rename requires. For the largest files and folders, it may take several hours or even several days. AoC treats renaming as a background operation so you can continue working in Files while the operation completes.

During the renaming operation, AoC disables the folder to prevent further actions on OldFolder until renaming completes. Note that the folder is not disabled to other users who may have shared access to it. Aspera recommends that no one perform any operations on the folder and its contents until the renaming operation completes.

Once complete, AoC deletes OldFolder and displays NewFolder.

Note: You must refresh your Files listing to see NewFolder.

Identify the issue

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If an anomaly occurs in the network or in cloud storage, the renaming may not complete. You know that renaming did not complete if you see either of these situations:
  • After seven days, OldFolder still displays after you refresh the page.
  • At any time, both OldFolder and NewFolder display. (Remember that, depending on folder names and the sort order you set for your Files listing, the two folders may be on different pages in the Files app.) In this case, folder content may be split between OldFolder and NewFolder. There may some content that exists in both folders.

Cloud storage will not lose any of your content in either case.

Troubleshoot

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If after seven days Old Folder still displays after you refresh the page, perform the rename operation again.

If both OldFolder and New Folder display, do the following:

  1. Determine which of the two folders contains the majority of the content. Consider item sizes as well as item count.
  2. Move the content manually to the folder with the most content.
    Note: For the items you move manually, you must restore the intended access permissions manually.
  3. If in step 2 you moved content to OldFolder, try the rename operation again.