File Stacking and Drag Modes

How to collect multiple files on the Space Drop shelf and choose between copy and move drag modes.

Space Drop is designed to handle multiple files at once, making it easy to collect items from different locations before placing them at a single destination.

Collecting Multiple Files

You can add files to the Space Drop shelf from any location on your Mac:

  1. Start dragging a file from a Finder window, the desktop, or any app that supports drag and drop.
  2. Drop the file onto the Space Drop shelf.
  3. Repeat with additional files from different locations.

All files remain on the shelf until you are ready to move them. This eliminates the need to arrange multiple windows side by side or make repeated trips between source and destination folders.

Dragging Files Off the Shelf

When you are ready to place your files, drag one or more items from the shelf and drop them into any app, folder, or location on your Mac. You can drag individual files or select multiple files at once.

Drag Modes

Space Drop offers two drag modes that control what happens when you drag a file off the shelf:

Copy Mode

When Copy mode is active, dragging a file out of the shelf creates a copy at the destination. The original file remains in its original location. This is the safer option when you want to ensure the source files are not affected.

Move Mode

When Move mode is active, dragging a file out of the shelf moves it to the new location. The original file is removed from its previous location. Use this mode for a true file relocation workflow.

Note: Files will always be copied (not moved) when transferring between different storage drives. This is a macOS system behaviour that Space Drop cannot override.

Automatic Removal

The "Remove items on drag out" setting in Settings controls whether files are automatically cleared from the shelf after you drag them to a destination:

  • Enabled -- Files are removed from the shelf as soon as you drop them at their destination. This keeps the shelf clean.
  • Disabled -- Files remain on the shelf until you manually remove them. This is useful if you need to drop the same files into multiple destinations.