Fix Drag and Drop Issue in the Finder App on macOS

Hi, this is a quick blog post for today.

I suddenly experienced something weird when trying to drag and drop using the Finder app.

I used to be able to drag and drop documents into apps on my MacBook Air M4. Yesterday, I was doing my usual workflow to reduce image file sizes before uploading them to the internet using the ImageOptim app. It usually works normally: select the image files, click and hold using the trackpad, then drag the files to the ImageOptim app.

But for some reason, they refused to be dragged.

I didn’t change anything in the settings, so I suspected it was probably a Finder bug or that a setting was changed by the operating system after a macOS update.

So here are two solutions that worked for me.

Solution 1: Relaunch Finder

My theory about Finder was right after I did the following:

1. Click the Apple logo  in the top-left corner of the menu bar.
2. Select Force Quit…

3. Alternatively, you can use the command + option + esc shortcut.

4. Find and select the Finder app in the dialog.
5. Click the Relaunch button.

These steps effectively restart the Finder app (you can’t really kill it), and you should be able to use drag and drop again.

But, in my experience, the bug may come back. So if you experience it like I did, try the next solution.

Solution 2: Disable Force Click and Haptic Feedback

Another solution, which I hope is more permanent, is disabling Force Click. I’m not really using this feature at all, so I don’t mind turning it off.

Follow these steps to disable Force Click and haptic feedback:

1. Open System Settings.
2. Click Trackpad in the left sidebar.
3. Uncheck the Force Click and haptic feedback option.

That’s it. You should now be able to drag and drop files normally.

Conclusion

As usual, if you have any questions or a better method, leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!