When moving / cutting and pasting a folder on a shared network drive you may be presented with the following error message:
“this action can’t be completed because the folder or a file in it is open in another program”
If you are sure that you haven’t got any files open in the folder this may be due to having Windows Thumbnails turned on (it is by default anyway). What is happening is Windows is creating previews for the files in the folder you are attempting to cut and paste.
To see if this is the issue, try disabling thumbnail previews by default and see if the problem is rectified.
- With file explorer open click on the View tab
- Click on Options
- When the folder options windows opens click on the View tab inside this window
- Put a tick in the “Always show icons, never thumbnails” box
- Click on Ok
If you can now cut and paste folders on your network share you have found the problem.
Applies to: Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10
Notes: These instructions were created for Windows 10. The process will be similar for other versions of Windows however the method of opening the Folder Options window may differ slightly.