Big Sur Can't Drag & Drop Files Across Spaces with Trackpad

edit 4/09: did you try this solution below? I applied it and it worked perfectly and it keeps working perfectly!

Jun 30, 2021 6:05 PM in response to KazukiCHEN

Dear Mac-users,

My Mac: 1 week old, MacBook Air M1 chip (so not the pro version)

I had this problem too and tried to solve it by rebooting, force quit/relaunch Finder, etc.

This is the solution to solve this issue permanently:

settings/trackpad > tab “point and click” > untick the first box “searching and datadetection”

Once I had done this, drag and drop was no longer an issue, works perfect all the time.

Hope it helps (it should!)

Good luck!

It's a bug with Finder. I frequently encounter it too in Big Sur running version 11.1 on my M1 MacBook Pro. The quickest temporary fix I know of is to press Command+Option+Escape > select Finder > press the blue 'Relaunch' button.

Found it. You have to go to system pref>accessibility>pointer control>mouse & trackpad>trackpad options>check enable dragging and the you have a choice of option that replaced the click and drag it became tap twice + hold and drag and let go or use 3 fingers, tap (not click) hold and slide... https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/unac899/mac

On mac 11.1 macbookpro 2020 this works: You have to go to system pref>accessibility>pointer

control>mouse & trackpad>trackpad options>check enable

dragging and the you have a choice of option that replaced the click and

drag it became tap twice + hold and drag and let go or use 3 fingers,

tap (not click) hold and slide... https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/unac899/mac

From what I understood, in Big Sur the way to drag and drop has changed a tad.

You have to go to system pref>accessibility>pointer

control>mouse & trackpad>trackpad options>check enable

dragging and the you have a choice of option that replaced the click and

drag it became tap twice + hold and drag and let go or use 3 fingers,

tap (not click) hold and slide... https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/mac-help/unac899/mac

Jun 30, 2021 6:05 PM in response to KazukiCHEN

Dear Mac-users,

My Mac: 1 week old, MacBook Air M1 chip (so not the pro version)

I had this problem too and tried to solve it by rebooting, force quit/relaunch Finder, etc.

This is the solution to solve this issue permanently:

settings/trackpad > tab “point and click” > untick the first box “searching and datadetection”

Once I had done this, drag and drop was no longer an issue, works perfect all the time.

Hope it helps (it should!)

Good luck!

:

Jun 30, 2021 6:05 PM in response to KazukiCHEN

Dear Mac-users,

My Mac: 1 week old, MacBook Air M1 chip (so not the pro version)

I had this problem too and tried to solve it by rebooting, force quit/relaunch Finder, etc.

This is the solution to solve this issue permanently:

settings/trackpad > tab “point and click” > untick the first box “searching and datadetection”

Once I had done this, drag and drop was no longer an issue, works perfect all the time.

Hope it helps (it should!)

Good luck!

Here’s an update.

• I tried all the options for dragging: 3 fingers, w/ and w/o lock and nothing worked.
• I called Apple, got a knowledge Tech, screen-shared and showed him what was happening. He had not seen it before but agreed he should report it.
• I updated to the latest Big Sur version, screen sharing with the Tech, tested again and it was still broken.
• We did further testing and saw that some folders worked, whether they were Aliases or original and some didn’t.
• Conclusion: some folders and aliases (not all) created awhile ago on my second MacBook Pro running Mojave (I have the two computers synced across through iCloud) were broken in Big Sur. I’m in the process of deleting old aliases and creating new ones to make all uniform. It seems to be working.
• Last note: even with the drag and drop problem I could drag and drop 1- if I opened the folder first; 2- if I dragged and dropped within the Documents Folder.

Hopes this info helps.

I don't see this answer anywhere. System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Pointer Control -> Then click on the Trackpad Options button on lower left of the screen. Then check Enable dragging.

This answer is somewhat buried up there. Thought I'd post it again. Seems clearly to work just like it should. Enable dragging: System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Pointer Control -> Then click on the Trackpad Options button on lower left of the screen. Then check Enable dragging.

I've never attempted to drag with two hands.

Just enable dragging (with or without drag lock) in Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad Options.

Double-tap to grab the item, then bump the top of the screen to open Mission Control.

hmmm but that's just a work around.

Not for me. I can't make my hand do what you describe, regardless if it does something or not.

Ok, I managed to get what you describe to work (in Big Sur), but it wasn't pretty, easy, or anywhere as fluid as my method.

I have been having the same issue, in the past I just drag and drop like normal. Now somehow the screen seems to get stuck or something when swiping to another application. For me for example finder in a full size window, move a file over to a full size chrome window. Or from desktop to whatsapp and I cant seem to push it to the correct conversation. Really annoying.