Dragging some folders to Save or Open dialog no longer works!

Question

Dragging some folders to Save or Open dialog no longer works!

This is why I usually don't upgrade to the latest MacOS, even though it's free.

I upgraded from Catalina to Ventura and I noticed a very common and useful function no longer works for me.

When saving an image from Photoshop elements (or any other app) it always asks me where I want to save it. Even if I'm saving an existing image after making edits, it now always defaults not to the folder in which I opened the image, but to my Users folder at the root level of my hard drive!

This is of course not where I want to save the image, so on the old system, I could at least drag the little proxy icon of the folder I wanted to save in to the save dialog. This saves me the hassle of having to burrow several levels in the folder hierarchy to the folder I want to save in, which could be seven or eight levels deep (second screenshot).

THIS NO LONGER WORKS IN MAC OSX VENTURA! If I drag the proxy icon of the folder I want to save to in the save dialog, it again defaults to the root level of the Macintosh HD! (first screenshot.)

The same thing happens in GraphicConverter, say the slideshow mode. If I drag the folder I want to see the images of in slideshow, it does not switch to that folder, but instead switches to my Users folder at the root level of my hard drive.

This also happens if I'm dragging folder aliases to the save or open dialog. If I drag an actual folder to the save dialog, say from the desktop, it will switch to that folder, but if I drag an ALIAS of a folder to the save or open dialog, it defaults instead to the Users folder at the root level of my hard drive!

This change from normal behavior is severely disrupting my workflow! Is this a bug??

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 20, 2023 7:54 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 22, 2023 3:03 PM in response to Barney-15E

The same thing also happens here in Safari if I use the Open dialogue, but it seems to depend on what I'm dragging. It also happens if I drag from the Desktop or a Finder window (it doesn't have to be the little proxy icon). It happens with some folder icons, but not with others. For example, if I drag the following from the Desktop to the Safari Open dialogue, it either works right or it doesn't:

An alias to a deeply nested folder on my HD: Defaults to Users folder

A different alias to a deeply nested folder on my HD: Goes to the correct folder

An alias to a deeply nested folder on an external disk: Goes to the correct folder

An actual folder on the Mac desktop: Goes to the correct folder

An actual folder buried in a nested folder (not on the Mac desktop): Defaults to Users folder

An alias on the Desktop to the official Documents folder on my HD: Defaults to Users folder

Please note that none of the aliases on my desktop that I am referring to are broken aliases: if I double click them, they all open the correct folder.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,828 points

Apr 23, 2023 3:10 PM in response to Timothy Arends1

Tried with a similar depth and still no problem.

Something is interfering with the Finder.

You can post a report from EtreCheck (or just review it yourself). That might give us an idea of what is installed and maybe make a connection.

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Answer 3

Apr 27, 2023 7:51 AM in response to Barney-15E

Hi,

Here is the report.

I also tried testing the problem by logging in under a different user, but that caused all kinds of permissions problems in trying to access my main documents folder, and permissions problems are a whole 'other ball of wax I would rather not deal with right now.

This may be caused by some corrupted files in the System folder, in which case only an erase and reinstall will solve the problem. Most likely I will just find ways to work around this problem.

EtreCheck Report

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,828 points

Apr 21, 2023 5:56 PM in response to Timothy Arends1

I can't replicate the problems you see. It must be something in your setup, but I don't know what would cause that.

I don't have Adobe anything, and they are known to roll their own dialogs instead of using the built-in frameworks, but that wouldn't extend the problem to other apps.

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,828 points

Apr 22, 2023 3:08 PM in response to Timothy Arends1

What is "deeply nested." I try to avoid that, so if you can give me a number of levels, I can try to see if that is the problem.

Do you make aliases in order to make access to these folders easier? Are there too many to place them all in the Sidebar instead of aliases. The Sidebar is essentially an alias, too.

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Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

136,361 points

Apr 23, 2023 2:50 PM in response to Timothy Arends1

Timothy Arends1 wrote:

When saving an image from Photoshop elements (or any other app) it always asks me where I want to save it. Even if I'm saving an existing image after making edits, it now always defaults not to the folder in which I opened the image, but to my Users folder at the root level of my hard drive!

FWIW, that is not what happens for me with Photoshop Elements 2023 on Ventura 13.3.1. Whatever folder I open an image from, when I choose "Save As…" the same folder I opened it from is selected.

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Answer 7

Apr 23, 2023 2:15 PM in response to Barney-15E

The second screenshot I posted shows an example of a folder that is nested and the number of levels.

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Dragging some folders to Save or Open dialog no longer works!

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