Need to see if your shared folder is taking up space on your dropbox 👨‍💻? Find out how to check here.

Forum Discussion

August2018's avatar
August2018
New member | Level 2
8 years ago
Solved

drag and drop not working locally on Mac 10.10.5

(I'm sorry if this was answered elsewhere - I tried to find a post but couldn't.)

Why has drag and drop suddenly stopped working?

I was working on dragging and dropping photos & video from Photos on my MacBook Pro OS 10.10.5 Yosemite.

All afternoon I could select a group of photos from the Photos application and drop them into a sub folder in a folder titled Photos in my Dropbox.

After working just fine all afternoon, suddenly I couldn't drag and drop photos to Dropbox via Finder. 

I also could not drag and drop them into Dropbox online (with Chrome.)

When I tried dragging and dropping a group of photos on my desktop the folder would turn blue and the window subdivision outline would turn blue but when I released the mouse nothing transfered. The sound notification didn't sound.

I tried:

Draging fewer photos.

Dragging a single photo.

Dragging the group of photos into the main Dropbox folder

Copy and pasting photos into Dropbox via Finder

Turning my laptop off and on again

Emptying my Chrome cache for the last 24 hours.

Thanks in advance.

 

desktop
Organize
sort
sync
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    8 years ago
    Hi there, since the Photos app is an Apple app, it’s possible that dragging and dropping no longer ‘exports’ the photos out of the app.
     
    Since the photos are stored in a library (aka database) in your Photos app, it can be harder to export them.
     
    Could you try exporting them using other steps? I found this article on the Apple site which could help.
     
    Let me know how it goes!

5 Replies

Replies have been turned off for this discussion
  • Jay's avatar
    Jay
    Icon for Dropbox Community Moderator rankDropbox Community Moderator
    8 years ago
    Hi there, since the Photos app is an Apple app, it’s possible that dragging and dropping no longer ‘exports’ the photos out of the app.
     
    Since the photos are stored in a library (aka database) in your Photos app, it can be harder to export them.
     
    Could you try exporting them using other steps? I found this article on the Apple site which could help.
     
    Let me know how it goes!
  • michisan's avatar
    michisan
    New member | Level 2
    7 years ago

    similar issue. can't drag and drop from finder window unless i use a browser.
    Also can't save over files to replace...have to do that on the brower.. help!

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey August2018, could you please clarify whether the issue you’re facing bears any resemblance to what the OP had been describing us? If it’s not too much trouble for you, would you mind briefly describing us where the process seems to halt on your end &/or what was the behavior previously, just so as to ensure I’m further advising you correctly? 
     
    A step-by-step description would be ideal, please include it in your next message if possible, as well as any visual aid (omitting personal info) that would help us determine the best next steps for you. Thanks in advance! 
  • michisan's avatar
    michisan
    New member | Level 2
    7 years ago

    1st issue: exporting a file to pdf from indesign, illustrator or photoshop.. into dropbox folder new file name works. but if I needed to resave 'over' the same file it will not let me save again. I would have to delete the file first inorder to save it at that same file name.

    2nd issue: Opening finder windows and trying to drag ANY file into dropbox window file does not allow me to copy/move from window to window.

     

    3rd tried to uninstall and install but can't even do that.

  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    7 years ago
    Hey michisan, thanks for taking the time to post us your findings here! 
     
    #1. When it comes to the 1st Issue, kindly note that the issue you’re describing us seems slightly different than what has been mentioned here previously, however your report makes me wonder whether that’s specific to Dropbox or the third-party app you’re using. Have you tried repeating the same set of steps & saving on your desktop by any chance to see if this yields a different result? Please let me know if so. 
     
    #2. Following, when it comes to the issue you’re facing dragging & dropping items from other locations directly to the Dropbox folder, I’m wondering whether you’ve tried to install the desktop app with admin privileges helps you bypass that. If you can’t get going with the un-installation or the process halts for you in any way, please let me know where you’re stopping & we’ll take it from there. 
     
    Thanks again for taking the time to work on that with us; I’ll be awaiting to hearing back from you with the outcome. Have a wonderful Friday ahead until we talk again!  

About Delete, edit, and organize

Solve issues with deleting, editing, and organizing files and folders in your Dropbox account with support from the Dropbox Community.

The Dropbox Community team is active from Monday to Friday. We try to respond to you as soon as we can, usually within 2 hours.

If you need more help you can view your support options (expected response time for an email or ticket is 24 hours), or contact us on X, Facebook or Instagram.

For more info on available support options for your Dropbox plan, see this article.

If you found the answer to your question in this Community thread, please 'like' the post to say thanks and to let us know it was useful!