Time Machine Restore Button Stays Grayed Out

I called Apple and they had me drag the files I needed to where I wanted them via finder, bypassing time machine. So simple - I’m glad I didn’t spend any more time on this one!

By the way I specifically stated I was restoring from one mac to another in my original post.

Thank You rkaufmann87 for that link. It works fine for me until I get to #4, click on the Cloud option. I have no cloud option. The options I have are Mail, Airdrop, Messages, Notes and '....More.' Click More gets me nowhere. I tried Airdrop and was able to airdrop a large numbers file I needed to my laptop. But then I have to airdrop it back to the computer I am trying to restore to?

I want to restore to another iMac. I only want certain files to start, so I can work while my big iMac (hopefully) is repaired. Some of these files could be a lot larger I am sure than airdrop will handle.

1. Open Time Machine by clicking on the icon in the menu bar and choosing Enter Time Machine, or search for Time Machine using Spotlight: cmd+spacebar and start typing Time Machine, or if you have a Time Machine icon in your Dock just click on it.
2. You can either find the specific files you wish to restore using the onscreen up and down arrows to locate it.
3. When you find the file you can press Space Bar to preview it and check its the one you want.
4. Click on the Cloud icon to download a snapshot to view it. When you do this that snapshot will be available to view even when your external drive is disconnected from the Mac.
5. Click Restore to restore the selected file, or cut and paste the specific text you are looking for if you don’t want to replace the new version with the old version of the document.

rkaufmann87 wrote:

You have to let TM know the point in time you are restoring from. Please look over https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/time-machine-restore-3449071/ for some instructions on how to use TM to restore files.

Thanks! I will read it. Sorry I wasn't clear. I am trying to restore partial files only because the computer I am restoring to has a smaller capacity and I need crucial business files. I'm on day 4 now, spent the last 3 days upgrading my laptop and the computer to which I am restoring. I'll spare you the details except to say I just cried for 5 minutes and now I'm ready to move forward. :)