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Cannot remove sidebar folder in El Capitan

I added a folder to the sidebar to use as a temporary shortcut so I could collect, rename, and save a bunch of files. Now when I click on the folder and drag off the Finder Window, it refuses to leave the Sidebar. Any fixes? I haven't been able to find any.

Posted on Dec 7, 2015 6:23 PM

Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Dec 7, 2015 6:27 PM

Try right-clicking (control click) on the folder in the sidebar in Finder and then click "Remove from Sidebar."

11 replies

Feb 17, 2017 11:31 AM in response to FoxFifth

That does not work either. However, as a last resort, I did reboot the Mac Pro, and the folder is gone from the Sidebar. This should not be necessary.

Jan 13, 2016 3:35 AM in response to Community User

I am also facing exactly same issue. I had added a folder to sidebar as a quick jump shortcut, and now when I am done with that project it doesn't allow me to remove it from sidebar. I tried dragging, can see puff icon appearing but nothing else happens. Then I did the right-click way, but no result.


There were total 3 such folders which I had added and to my surprise, its just 1 folder which is refusing to be removed from Sidebar. Other 2 were removed in first attempt itself (Dragging outside the finder window way).


I tried restart too, but no luck. I am not able to find "Maintenance/Rebuilding" anywhere as @Mavent mentioned in another reply. Any clue?

Cannot remove sidebar folder in El Capitan

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