Drag and drop from Photos library to the Mac

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Level 10

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Drag and drop from Photos library to the Mac

When I drag and drop an image from my Photos library the file I get is a JPEG. Is this normal behavior? I would expect to get the original HEIC file. I'm not using iCloud Photos Library.

Thanks very much.

Posted on Jul 1, 2023 10:25 AM

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Answer 1

Tom Wolsky Author

Level 10

151,945 points

Jul 1, 2023 12:27 PM in response to léonie

I usually switch to the Finder and go from there.

A number of apps that integrate with Photos have problems. I think the process needs to be simplified, made more predictable, and produce consistent, high quality images across apps and platforms.

Time for feedback feature request?

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Answer 2

léonie

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Jul 1, 2023 11:43 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

As far as I know, dragging and dropping from Photos will save the current preview image.

This is usually a JPEG if the image has adjustments applied or is larger than the typical preview. Then Photos will render a smaller JPEG preview.

But if the original image file has no adjustments applied and is small enough to be used as a preview and is already a JPEG, the original will be dragged to the desktop.

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Answer 3

Tom Wolsky Author

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Jul 1, 2023 11:49 AM in response to léonie

Funny. I would have thought that dragging the file would give the original quality as it’s such a simple file transfer on modern systems. Perhaps this is a legacy of older systems and spinning hard drives.

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Answer 4

léonie

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Jul 1, 2023 12:03 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

It has been the same in Aperture and iPhoto, Tom. You may be right, that it is a legacy option. With Apple pushing us towards using the apps full-screen, there is no longer space left for dragging and dropping items, we have to copy and paste.

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Answer 5

léonie

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Jul 1, 2023 12:22 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

I am not dextrous enough to do that successfully on my iPad, when the train is bumping up and down on the rails. 😊

On my Mac I had sometimes dangerous effects, when dragging photos directly to a different app, for example from Photos to Photoshop (on High Sierra). For small images, where Photos used the original as the preview, the original image file inside the library package got modified by Photoshop.

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Answer 6

Tom Wolsky Author

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Jul 1, 2023 11:44 AM in response to léonie

Thank you léonie.

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Answer 7

léonie

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Jul 1, 2023 11:47 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

If the original is very small, it might be dragged in the original format. I just dragged a small PNG screenshot from Photos and it has been saved as PNG.

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