Level 1

6 points

Cannot drag and drop files in Finder on Yosemite 10.10

This is basically exactly as it sounds. I just discovered that I can't drag and drop files in the Finder anymore for some reason. I've restarted 3 or 4 times since upgrading, and I've reset the SMC and PRAM already. Because of this, I can't update an application I'd like to. Copying the application does not work either; the paste option is greyed out It's not just applications; click-and-drag and three-finger drag simply don't drag the file. It is not happening invisibly either; going through the motions and dropping the file on Applications yields no result.

I searched the Web for this but didn't find anything similar for Yosemite. If anyone has a suggestion or the same problem, I would love to hear it.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10), Late 2013 15-inch 2.7 GHz 512 GB

Posted on Oct 25, 2014 7:53 AM

82 replies

Dec 5, 2014 2:12 AM in response to TAYLOR BIG RED

This is where Yosemite belongs:

Dec 6, 2014 8:37 AM in response to corey.graft

Thank you it is worked for me.:)

kkaland Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 6, 2014 9:45 PM in response to fugnug

No one answered the question before I chose the correct answer, and I can't undo it now. I picked the plist one as a helpful answer at least.

kkaland Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 10, 2014 4:29 AM in response to kkaland

Actually, the plist solution didn't fix things for me permanently. Drag and drop still stops working after a while and requires a restart. I should probably try a reinstall of the OS since that doesn't actually make me lose any data and seems to have fixed things for many.

fraschm

Level 1

0 points

Dec 10, 2014 8:39 AM in response to kkaland

The plist solution also has not fixed the issue for me permanently. At least once a day is deleting the file and restart necessary. Therefore any hint from Apple about a permanent fix would be highly appreciated. Does a re-install really work? How to do it?

Sad to see such central function not working.

fugnug

Level 1

4 points

Dec 10, 2014 10:08 AM in response to fraschm

You shouldn't have to restart the whole computer.

If you just press (Command + Option + Escape) and then select Finder and click "relaunch Finder".

fraschm

Level 1

0 points

Dec 10, 2014 1:20 PM in response to fugnug

At least on my iMac it needs a restart. The relaunch of the Finder does not fix the issue after deleting the plist file.

kkaland Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 10, 2014 10:19 PM in response to fraschm

Yeah, I have to restart as well. I tried only relaunching Finder, but it did not solve the issue. I am attempting the recovery installation today and will post how it goes. I saw that it fixed copy and paste issues in another thread.

fugnug

Level 1

4 points

Dec 11, 2014 8:34 AM in response to fraschm

There may be some other things to try like changing batteries in the mouse or deleting devices in bluetooth preferences that aren't in use.

I've had the problem come up after deleting the plist as well.

kkaland Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 11, 2014 9:28 AM in response to fugnug

Maybe for some, but I experienced this on two computers.

I've done a recovery installation on both now (reinstalls OS without erasing settings or files, although it does seem to downgrade Java 6 if installed — really easy to fix, though).

Just press Cmd-R right after the startup sound and then pick the option to install it. Choose the drive that already has it. It'll take a half hour or hour. It won't make you re-set up iCloud or anything, though. It's pretty slick.

Anyway, it's soon to say whether my issues are fixed or not. I sure hope so.

kkaland Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 12, 2014 6:49 AM in response to kkaland

Argh! The problem came back even after a reinstall. Maybe I still have to reset the PRAM or something. Harumph!

fugnug

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2014 11:17 AM in response to kkaland

kkaland wrote:

Argh! The problem came back even after a reinstall. Maybe I still have to reset the PRAM or something. Harumph!

Maybe this is a sign you need to try a different mouse.

kkaland Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 12, 2014 11:49 AM in response to fugnug

Again. Two different machines. This is a cabled mouse, but more than that, the clipboard breaks in some apps at the same time this happens. Maybe some apps are breaking it somehow, but not sure how to pin that down since it seems to work fine after restarts. Hmm, maybe it's to do with how I run a second Skype over sudo?

forgione

Level 1

6 points

Dec 13, 2014 10:28 AM in response to kkaland

I have same problem with itunes 12.0.1.26. Requires logout or restart to drag and drop. After restart works fine then after awhile it loses the ability to drag and drop. Maybe icloud or network problem? Please someone from Apple respond to this post!

forgione

Level 1

6 points

Dec 13, 2014 11:44 AM in response to forgione

Yep. Something to do with network. I turned WiFi off and the ability to drag and drop continued to work after an hour. Now to find out specifically what is going on.

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Cannot drag and drop files in Finder on Yosemite 10.10