Drag and Drop Problems in Finder (Tahoe)

I finally gave in and upgraded to Tahoe, and now I'm having a problem with Finder I never had before. Basically, drag and drop doesn't work in List View - or to be precise I can move items out of a subfolder into the parent folder but not into another subfolder - but works fine in Icon view. Any suggestion please?


Thanks

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 26.2

Posted on Jan 17, 2026 6:20 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 17, 2026 6:55 PM

Three quick things you can do:


(1) Carefully check ALL System Settings for the trackpad and (if you use one) mouse. If you are using a mouse, what make/model is it? Is the problem the same for the mouse and for the trackpad (if you are using a mouse)?


(2) When my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro 16" was upgraded to Tahoe, I noticed that both the menu bar and the dock were "hidden" -- they came back when I moused over them but I wanted them present all the time. Changing settings didn't work but I booted into Safe Mode and then restarted and the issue was fixed. I suggest that you boot into Safe Mode (Apple has instructions for different types of Macs). In Safe Mode (booting into Safe Mode takes quite a lot longer than a normal boot so be patient until it completes), then test to see if the issue is gone. If it is, reboot normally and retest.


(3) Create a new user and log out of your regular account and log in as the new user. Retest and report back.


If no resolution from the above, download and run Etrecheck and post its report here:


How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community



5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 17, 2026 6:55 PM in response to Peter Roussak

Three quick things you can do:


(1) Carefully check ALL System Settings for the trackpad and (if you use one) mouse. If you are using a mouse, what make/model is it? Is the problem the same for the mouse and for the trackpad (if you are using a mouse)?


(2) When my 2019 Intel MacBook Pro 16" was upgraded to Tahoe, I noticed that both the menu bar and the dock were "hidden" -- they came back when I moused over them but I wanted them present all the time. Changing settings didn't work but I booted into Safe Mode and then restarted and the issue was fixed. I suggest that you boot into Safe Mode (Apple has instructions for different types of Macs). In Safe Mode (booting into Safe Mode takes quite a lot longer than a normal boot so be patient until it completes), then test to see if the issue is gone. If it is, reboot normally and retest.


(3) Create a new user and log out of your regular account and log in as the new user. Retest and report back.


If no resolution from the above, download and run Etrecheck and post its report here:


How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community



Jan 17, 2026 9:41 PM in response to Peter Roussak

Hey there!


Thanks for the info, several things come to mind as far as a fix:


Does this only happen in list view?


It may be good to know if you tried the other views, (Such as View as icons, or Gallery view).


What happens exactly when you try dragging a file into a sub folder? (Such as a prohibitory symbol, or does it just move back as if rejected?).


Does it make a difference if hat sun folder or directory you try to move it to? (Such as iCloud Drive vs. Downloads?).


I think a screen **** of the settings of any affected Finder view may help as well:


For the most part, when in this view > View > Show View Options.


Cheers!

Jan 17, 2026 7:53 PM in response to Barney-15E

Thanks to both of you for replying.


First Steve: I'm not using a mouse. I booted into safe mode and the problem persisted there and when I rebooted into the regular mode. However, I set up another user account and it worked ok there. But now I'm back to my regular user account and it's still not working.


And Barney, thanks, I am dragging to the icon, which "flashes" momentarily but does not accept the file. Was a solution found in the other thread?


PS I can't get EtreCheck to run - for some reason, it seems to think I'm on a beta version of an OS (I'm not - I'm on 26.2). Could that somehow be the problem, that I didn't get a proper version of Tahoe even though I upgraded through System Settings? Should I try reinstalling?




Thanks



Drag and Drop Problems in Finder (Tahoe)

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