If you own a Mac, you’ll need to learn how to drag and drop if you want to get the most out of the device. By dragging and dropping, you can move files, rearrange items, move content from one app to another, and do a lot more.
But how do you drag and drop on a Mac OS? For starters, you can drag with either one finger or two. Furthermore, if you want to initiate a drag, you can use Drag Lock or double-tap. You can also use three fingers to drag. Even better, there are also smarter and easier ways to move things. Want to find out how to do all of these in more detail? Keep reading!
How to Use a Trackpad or Mouse to Drag and Drop
Here’s the answer if you want to know how to drag and drop on a Mac. Either a wired mouse or a trackpad can be used. No matter which way you choose, the process is almost the same. So, here’s how to move things around on a Mac:
- Choose the thing you want to move. This can be a picture, a file, or a block of text.
- Hold down the trackpad or mouse button as you drag the item to a new location.
- Drop the item in the new spot by letting go of the trackpad or mouse button.
- Use a trackpad to drag and drop
It’s not always easy to drag and move things with one finger on a trackpad. So you can also click and hold with your first (thumb) finger. Then use your second (index) finger to drag. Your index finger can go anywhere while your thumb is holding the click.
On a Mac, you can click and drag to select multiple files and move them where you want. To make a selection box, click, hold down the mouse button, and drag inside a window. Then, put the mouse or trackpad down. The files you chose will be highlighted. Drag and drop these files the way it was said above.
‘Three-Finger Drag’ Lets You Drag and Move Things
You probably click and drag to move something in the Finder, on your Desktop, or in a file you’re working on. Most of the time, that’s fine, but if you have carpal tunnel syndrome or another injury, clicking can be uncomfortable or even painful. So, you can use the Three-Finger Drag function on a Mac.
Do the following on your Mac trackpad to turn on Three-Finger Drag:
- Click “Apple” > “System Settings.”
- Select Accessibility from the menu on the left.
- Then, go to the bottom and click on Pointer Control.
- Click the Trackpad Options button after that.
- Turn on “Use trackpad for dragging,” choose “Three-Finger Drag” from the “Dragging style” menu, and click “OK.”
How to Use Drag Lock to Drag and Drop
Let’s try dragging with Drag Lock now. It keeps dragging locked (the mouse button(s) pressed) even when all your fingers are off the trackpad. This is especially helpful if your fingers are too short to reach the drop target.
Do the following on your Mac trackpad to turn on Drag Lock:
- Click “Apple” > “System Settings.”
- Select Accessibility from the menu on the left.
- Then, go to the bottom and click on Pointer Control.
- Click the Trackpad Options button after that.
- Turn on “Use trackpad for dragging,” choose “With Drag Lock” from the menu under “Drag style,” and click “OK.”
Moving Files and Folders on a Mac With Drag and Drop
If you’re coming from Windows, you might also look for a quick way to move files to different folders on Mac. So let’s take a quick look.
- Launch Finder from the Dock and look for the file you want to move.
- In Finder, the places on your Mac are shown in the left pane. You can move a file or folder by dragging and dropping it.
How to Move Items From a Mac to an iPhone or iPad by Dragging and Dropping Them
You may be wondering if you can drag and drop things from a Mac to an iPad or iPhone. Have you heard about Universal Control from Apple?
To use Universal Control, sign into a Mac and an iPad or another Mac with the same Apple ID and then keep them close to each other. From there, you can use the trackpad on one of your devices to move the cursor to the other screen. It should be easy to move from one screen to the next, so you can drag and drop things from one device to another.
How to turn on Universal Control:
Using a Mac
- Click “Apple” > “System Settings.”
- Click Displays in the sidebar on the left.
- Then, at the bottom of the settings window, click the Advanced button.
- Click Done after turning on “Allow your pointer and keyboard to move between any nearby Mac or iPad.”
Using an iPad
- Go to Settings on your iPad.
- Select “General,” then “AirPlay & Handoff.”
- Switch on the mouse and keyboard. Keep in mind that this setting is only available on iPads with the Universal Control feature.
Also, remember that if you’re using an iPad and a Mac, you must have an app that works with both devices open.
For example, if you want to move a photo from a Mac to an iPad, you must first open the Photos app on the iPad. If you want to move a file from your iPad, open the Files app.
This feature isn’t available on iPhone, but if you want to easily move files between macOS and iOS, you can use AnyTrans for iOS instead.
How Can You Drag and Drop Without a Trackpad on a Mac?
On a Mac, if you are a mouse person like me, you don’t need a trackpad to drag and drop. Use your Mac’s left-click or primary click to select files and move them.
- Connect a Bluetooth or wired mouse to your Mac if you haven’t already.
- To move a single image or block of text, click it to select it or click and drag the mouse to highlight the object.
- Press Shift and click on nearby files to move more than one thing. You can also highlight the things you want to move by clicking and dragging your mouse around them.
Furthermore, you can select more than one file by clicking and dragging around the selection.
To choose files that aren’t close to each other, hold down the Command key and click on each object separately while clicking.
Hold your mouse down and move it to where you want it to go. Let go to move the selection that was highlighted to the new folder or place.
Drag and Drop not Working on Mac, How to Fix?
#1. Restart the Finder App
Have you noticed that drag-and-drop doesn’t work on Mac between some apps but works fine with others? Or does it happen everywhere? When only some programs don’t work right when you drag and drop, you should look for solutions that are specific to those programs.
But when drag-and-drop doesn’t work everywhere on a Mac, it seems to be a problem with the system as a whole. Then, to fix it, you can force quit the Finder app on a Mac. And it’s easy to start up Finder again:
- Press the keys Command, Option, and Esc together.
- Choose Finder from the list of apps you want to close by force.
- Click the button labeled Relaunch.
- Wait a second, and Finder should start up again on its own. If you’re lucky, the problem with drag and drop should be fixed at this point.
#2. Restart Mac
If restarting the Finder doesn’t fix the problem and you can’t move items on the Mac desktop or anywhere else, restart your Mac by clicking the Apple logo, then choose Restart from the Apple menu, and try dragging and dropping again.
#3. Reset Your Trackpad Settings
The magic trackpad on a MacBook can sometimes stop working for no reason. This can also stop drag-and-drop from working on your Mac. So check its sensitivity and other settings, and if something seems wrong, put them back to their defaults or more sensible levels.
Hold down the Command and Space keys at the same time to open Spotlight Search. Then type trackpad and press the Return key. If Spotlight isn’t working, click the Apple logo and then choose System Preferences > Trackpad.
In the Trackpad settings, there is another option called “Force Click and Haptic Feedback.” This can sometimes mess up apps and features on your Mac, like Drag and Drop. So you need to turn off both Force click and haptic feedback in the settings.
If You Still Can’t Drag and Drop on a Mac, Go to Accessibility and Try to Reset the Trackpad Dragging Options
- Select System Preferences from the Apple menu.
- This time, click on Pointer Control after choosing Accessibility. Click Mouse & Trackpad if you are using an older version of macOS.
- Check the box next to “Enable dragging,” then choose “three-finger drag,” and click OK. Now, give the drag-and-drop another look.
#4. Update macOS
Some macOS bugs can also cause problems, like when the Apple Mouse won’t scroll or when drag-and-drop doesn’t work. For instance, the fact that drag-and-drop doesn’t work on Sierra or Big Sur is a hot topic on some forums.
You might need to download and update macOS to fix this problem since macOS updates make your Mac more stable, compatible, and secure. Updating macOS might also fix the drag-and-drop problem.
Hope one of the above solutions helps you fix the fact that you can’t drag and drop. Make sure to do any steps or procedures the right way, and if one solution doesn’t work, try the next one. If none of the solutions work, you may have to take your Mac to an Apple store near you to get it fixed.
How do I use drag lock on a Mac to drag and drop?
Go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Mouse & Trackpad to turn on drag lock. Then, go to Trackpad Options, check the box next to Enable Dragging, and choose drag lock from the drop-down menu.
How do I move photos from my Mac to Google Photos by dragging and dropping?
Open the photo folder on your Mac and hold down the Command key while clicking on the photos you want to add to Google Photos. To upload all the photos in one folder, press Command+A and drag and drop them into the Google Photos app.
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