OneDrive lets you share the folders with other users. The application actually puts shortcuts of the shared folders in the OneDrive root directory of the person it is shared with. It is, however, easy to move the folders between the directories but sometimes you may get a pop-up showing an Unable to move shortcut error message:
Unable to move shortcut – We’re currently unable to move shortcuts and moved the shortcut back to its original location.
The popup usually gets triggered whenever you try to move any file/folder into or within OneDrive. Occasionally, you may get this while opening documents as well.
Why is OneDrive unable to move shortcuts?
The possible reasons for getting this error are:
- If the folder doesn’t have any shortcuts.
- If you are trying to move the shortcut of a folder shared by another person, you may get this error message.
- Sometimes OneDrive fails to remove the shortcuts of the folders unshared by other users. This may also show the error message saying- you are unable to move the shortcut.
- The issue may be with its root directory or there is double syncing on the folder.
- There can also be a problem with file or folder permissions. The error may occur because you might no longer have access to the file or folder.
- You might experience OneDrive sync issues if you are running an old version of the app.
- You might have no storage space left on the cloud as well, and you should try to get more space.
- An unreliable connection or a bad update of your OS may also cause the OneDrive not syncing issue leading to this problem.
You can easily fix these issues, but first, restart your PC and check if this resolves the error for you. Restarting the PC often resolves the temporary glitches.
Quick Fix: Re-establish the Sync
If your Microsoft OneDrive is not syncing and is causing trouble, then this would be an easy fix if restarting the PC fails. Exit from your Microsoft OneDrive app on your PC and wait a few minutes. Then, restart it and check if the problem is resolved. If the problem is resolved, you can move or sync the shortcuts.
For this, right-click on the OneDrive cloud option in the notification panel. There, select “Exit” the app and close its desktop program. Then, restart your PC, which will let OneDrive establish the connection again.
Let’s move on to the fixes now. Go through the list then decide which of the fixes you want to try first.
- Restart OneDrive
- Move the shortcut to its root folder
- Stop syncing the folder and delete the shortcut
- Delete the shortcut using OneDrive Web5
- Remove shared folder shortcuts
- Manually reset OneDrive
- Switch off the Office Upload
- Unlink OneDrive from your system
- Select the folders to be synced
- Manage OneDrive Storage
- Contact Microsoft Support Team
OneDrive Unable to move shortcut
1] Restart OneDrive
Close the OneDrive application, wait for a few minutes, and restart it. If the error is due to some temporary glitch, restarting the application will most probably solve your problem and you will be able to move the shortcuts.
2] Move the shortcut back to the root folder
You may have recently moved the problematic shortcut from OneDrive’s root directory and that is why you are getting this error. The only fix to this issue is to move the shortcut back to the root folder and then try moving it to your preferred location.
The name of the problematic shortcut is always mentioned in the error message, locate it and move it back to its default location. You can also type in the name in the search box if you cannot find it.
3] Stop syncing the folder and delete the shortcut
If moving back to the original location is not solving your problem, try deleting the shortcut but stop syncing that folder first. To stop syncing of a particular folder-
Right-click on the OneDrive icon in your system tray and click on Help and Settings.
Go to Settings and under the Account tab click on Choose Folders. Uncheck the folder containing the problematic shortcut. Click on OK to save the changes.
Now delete the shortcut from the folder and see if that helps.
4] Delete the shortcut using OneDrive Web
If for any reason, you are not able to delete the shortcut from the OneDrive client, you can also delete the problematic shortcut using OneDrive Web. To delete the shortcut from the OneDrive Web,
Go to the official OneDrive website and log in using your Microsoft credentials.
Look for the shortcut and if you cannot find it, you can use the search box.
Once you find the shortcut, select it and click on the Delete button in the top menu ribbon.
Make sure you delete it from the Recycle Bin as well. You can find the Recycle Bin in the left pane.
Within a few minutes, the file explorer view of the OneDrive will also remove the shortcut.
Check if this helps in removing the error.
5] Remove shared folder shortcuts from your OneDrive
It is possible that the file or folder you are not able to move is a shared folder that is not available anymore for your account. It would be best to remove it.
- Open OneDrive web, and then click on the Shared link on the left pane.
- Select the file or folder which is causing the problem.
- On the top menu, select Remove or Remove a shortcut. or Remove from shared list.
- If a folder is now not shared with you, it will be removed from your OneDrive. To get back access to that folder, ask the folder owner or an editor to share it with you again.
These steps will remove the folder from your OneDrive, but it will be accessible from the Shared list. It doesn’t affect the owner or anyone else who is sharing the folder.
6] Manually reset OneDrive
If nothing works after several above attempts, then lastly, try to reset OneDrive manually to resolve this issue. You can do this in the following two ways.
- Open the Run prompt (press the Windows and “R” key together) and enter
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset. - Open the command prompt (press the Windows and “X” key and select the option Command Prompt) and enter
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset - After resetting OneDrive > enter the command
%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe - It will rerun the setup and re-establish the connection.
7] Switch off the Office Upload
It is noticed that the automatic office upload option can interfere with the current functioning of OneDrive.
- Right-click on the OneDrive icon, and then click on Settings
- Switch to Office Tab
- Remove the selection of the option “Use Office to sync Office files that I open” and save it by pressing the “Ok” button.
- Restart Onedrive again to fix this sync issue.
8] Unlink OneDrive from your system
If you are still getting the “Unable to move shortcut” message or OneDrive sync issues after resetting it, then you must unlink it from your PC.
- To perform this action visit the Settings option on OneDrive
- Select the Accounts tab.
- There, choose “Unlink OneDrive” or “Unlink this PC” and save the changes.
Later, restart your PC and select the folders you wish to sync with OneDrive manually
9] Select the folders to be synced
Locate the OneDrive icon on the system tray, right-click on it and go to its Settings. From here, go to the Account tab and press the “Choose folders” button.
A pop-up window will appear. This time choose fewer folders to sync, and also uncheck the folder with which you have a problem. Save and let OneDrive sync. Repeat the same steps, but this time, make sure to sync the folder that is causing the issue. Save and Sync again. Check if the problem is resolved.
10] Manage OneDrive Storage
If you don’t have sufficient space on OneDrive, OneDrive may not sync files properly. This situation calls for cleaning up some files from your account, and the best way is to clean up using the OneDrive web.
The storage information is available at the bottom left of the OneDrive web. If you notice the storage space is almost full, it’s to delete some of the files. I would suggest downloading these files on your PC and reuploading them once the problem is resolved.
Along with that, make sure that your hard disk also has enough space. Locate the drive where your OneDrive is installed. Then go to This PC and check if the storage is running out of space. If that’s the issue, you can remove some of the files from the PC and download them on demand.
11] Check with Microsoft Support
If none of the methods mentioned above are working for you, we would suggest you contact Microsoft Support. To do the same, right-click the OneDrive icon from the system tray and click on Help & Settings. Go to Get Help and then select Contact Microsoft Support.
All the best.
