Ledge

Move a file between apps without losing it.

Guides for handing files off on the Mac. Each one solves the problem first; Ledge is mentioned where it helps.

The notch gesture

What the notch on a MacBook is actually for6 minHow to use the MacBook notch instead of ignoring it6 minDrag and drop on a Mac without holding the file the whole way6 minWhy dragging a file across Mac windows keeps failing6 minA place to park a file for a second on the Mac6 minHow to move a file between two apps that never overlap6 minThe spring-loaded folders trick, and a simpler way6 minHow to drop a file when the target window is buried6 minA shelf for files at the top of your Mac screen6 minHow to collect several files before you send them6 minDragging a file to an app that is not open yet6 minWhy drag and drop loses the file at the last second6 minHow to hand a screenshot straight to another app6 minPicking up a file now and deciding where it goes later6 minHow to gather files from different folders in one spot6 minThe fastest way to move one file between two apps6 minWhat to do when a drag has nowhere to land6 minHow to drag a file to the top of the screen on a Mac6 min

Routing files to apps

How to send a file to the right app every time6 minTurn a file into a link, a path, or an upload on demand6 minHow to drop a screenshot into a terminal as a path6 minUploading a file to Slack without opening Finder6 minHow to attach a file to an email in one drag6 minDropping a file into a chat app the right way6 minHow to give a terminal a file path instead of the file6 minSending an image to a design app quickly on a Mac7 minHow to open a file in a specific app by dragging6 minRouting the same file to different apps differently6 minHow to move a file into a folder without a Finder window6 minDropping a file onto a Dock icon, and a better way6 minHow to hand a PDF to the app that should get it6 minGetting a file into a web upload field fast6 minHow to send a file to VS Code from anywhere6 minMoving a photo out of Photos into another app on a Mac6 minHow to drop a file into a note without losing it6 minSending a file to two apps at once on a Mac6 minHow to route a download to the right app immediately6 minHanding a file to an app by name on the Mac6 min

The menu bar and shortcuts

How to open a menu bar app with a keyboard shortcut6 minUsing an Option-Space shortcut on a Mac6 minHow to add a global shortcut without extra permissions7 minWhat macOS Input Monitoring permission is for6 minHow to reach a file shelf from the keyboard6 minMenu bar apps that do not need a Dock icon6 minHow to click the notch to open something on a Mac6 minA keyboard shortcut to show and hide a Mac panel6 minHow to make a menu bar tool appear instantly6 minWhy some Mac apps live in the menu bar, not the Dock6 minHow to toggle a Mac window with one shortcut6 minSetting up a hotkey that opens a shelf on the Mac6 minHow to keep an app one keystroke away on a Mac6 minMenu bar clutter, and how to keep it in check6 minHow to open a panel at the top center of the screen6 minReaching your most-used apps from the menu bar6 min

Formats, paths and paste

How to copy a file's path on a Mac6 minPaste a file path into a terminal the easy way6 minHow to turn a file into a link you can paste6 minCopying a file as a path versus as the file itself6 minHow to paste an image instead of a file on a Mac6 minWhat the pasteboard holds when you copy a file6 minHow to give each app the format it expects6 minPaths with spaces in the terminal, and how to avoid trouble6 minHow to paste a file into a text field on a Mac6 minCopying a file reference versus copying its contents6 minHow to convert a dropped file into plain text6 minWhen an app wants a URL, not a file6 minHow to keep a screenshot as an image through a paste6 minFile paths on a Mac, explained simply7 minHow to paste the same file three different ways7 minGetting a webloc link out of a dragged file6 min

Everyday workflows

A faster way to send the same file to a few people6 minHow to move files between two Macs' apps in a flow7 minCollecting research files before you write6 minA workflow for handing off design assets on a Mac6 minHow to stage screenshots before posting them6 minMoving invoices from Downloads to the right place6 minA tidy way to process a batch of downloads6 minHow to keep a working set of files in reach6 minHanding files between a browser and a chat app6 minA workflow for uploading files without the Finder dance6 minHow to move a file from email to a project folder6 minStaging a file while you decide what to do with it6 minA quicker handoff from screenshot to Slack6 minHow to move a file into a git repo folder fast6 minBatching files for a single upload on a Mac6 minA calmer way to move files during a busy day6 min

Privacy and the Mac

Do file utilities on a Mac see your files?6 minHow to move files without any app touching the cloud6 minMac apps that work entirely offline, and why it matters6 minWhat no account, no cloud really means for an app6 minHow to check whether a Mac app phones home7 minKeeping file handling on your Mac and off the network6 minWhy a menu bar app should not need the internet6 minHow macOS sandboxing protects your files6 minWhat permissions a file shelf app should never ask for6 minHow to tell if a Mac app is notarized by Apple6 minLocal-only file tools for privacy on the Mac6 minWhy files should never leave your Mac just to move them6 minHow to vet a Mac utility before installing it6 minKeeping sensitive files off third-party servers6 min

More notch and file guides

Can you use a notch app on a Mac without a notch?5 minDrag and drop with Stage Manager on a Mac6 minHow to drag a file between Spaces on a Mac6 minHow to drag a file to an external display on a Mac6 minHow to turn on three-finger drag on a Mac, and when to use it6 minHow to drag a file out of a full-screen app on a Mac6 minHow to share a file during a video call without fumbling6 minMoving files on a small MacBook screen without window juggling6 minWhere AirDropped files go on a Mac, and what to do next6 minWhy the Mac file picker opens in the wrong folder6 minCopy, move, or alias when you drag a file on a Mac6 minHow to cancel a drag on a Mac before you drop it6 minHow to drag files that are not next to each other6 minWhy a dragged attachment ends up in a temporary folder6 minWhat macOS Accessibility permission actually allows6 minHow to drag a file from a window's title bar on a Mac6 minHow to drag a file to a Finder sidebar folder6 minHow to drag a folder instead of a file on a Mac6 minHow to undo a file move you did by dragging6 minWhy an app refuses a file you drag onto it6 minHow to stop your Mac desktop filling up with files6 minWhy dragging a file into an SSH session gives the wrong path6 minHow to copy files to a USB drive on a Mac without errors6 minHow to drag an image from a web page onto your Mac6 minWhat a .textClipping file is, and why one is on your desktop6 minWhen Finder says an item with the same name already exists6 minHow to cut and paste files on a Mac when Command-X does nothing6 minHow to drag a file straight out of Spotlight on a Mac6 minWhy a dropped file lands in the wrong folder in Finder list view6 minWhy your browser opens a file instead of uploading it6 minHow to drag a file straight out of the Downloads stack6 minHow to get files from a Mac onto an iPhone by dragging6 minHow to move a file between Finder tabs on a Mac6 minHow to move files to another user account on the same Mac6 minHow to save a photo or file from Messages on a Mac6 minHow to drop a file on the Mac desktop when windows cover it6 minHow to scroll while dragging a file on a Mac6 minHow to zip files from different folders into one archive on a Mac7 minHow to add photos from Finder to a specific album in Photos6 minHow to move files out of subfolders into one folder on a Mac7 minHow to copy photos from an SD card to a Mac without the Photos app7 minHow to drag files between a Mac and an iPad with Universal Control7 minHow to print several files at once on a Mac without opening each7 minHow to rename a batch of files on a Mac before you send them6 minWhere screen recordings go on a Mac, and how to send one fast6 minHow to copy a list of file names from a folder on a Mac6 minHow to open two Finder windows side by side on a Mac6 minHow to put selected files into a new folder on a Mac5 minHow to save an email as a file on a Mac6 minHow to select all files of one type in a folder on a Mac6 minCopying files from a shared network folder on a Mac6 minDrag lock on a Mac trackpad, and when it actually helps6 minDragging a file with a mouse without dropping it halfway6 minGetting a file out of the terminal and into another app6 minHow to attach a file to a calendar event on a Mac6 minHow to attach a whole folder to an email on a Mac6 minHow to copy one file into several folders on a Mac6 minHow to drag a single page out of a PDF on a Mac6 minHow to hand a file to an AI chat app on your Mac6 minHow to send a whole folder from a Mac to someone else7 minMoving a file into iCloud Drive without hunting for the folder7 minMoving files between apps without dragging at all6 minHow to extract one file from a zip on a Mac without unzipping it all6 minHow to forward attachments from several emails in one message on a Mac6 minHow to move a file up one folder level on a Mac6 minHow to add a folder to the Finder toolbar and drop files onto it6 minHow to add audio files from Finder to a playlist in Music on a Mac6 minHow to combine several images into one PDF on a Mac6 minHow to export a voice memo as a file on a Mac6 minHow to open Terminal in the current Finder folder on a Mac6 minHow to scan a document with an iPhone straight into a Mac folder6 minHow to use a Smart Folder on a Mac to gather files without moving them6 minHow to get documents ready for a loan or rental application on a Mac7 minHow to make a desktop shortcut to a folder on a Mac6 minHow to make a Mac folder act on every file you drop in it7 minHow to preview several files at once before sending them on a Mac6 minHow to send a file or document in Messages on a Mac6 minHow to attach a screenshot to a bug report on a Mac6 minHow to check a file with Quick Look before you drop it on a Mac6 minHow to find a file you just downloaded on a Mac6 minHow to stop dropping files in the wrong folder on a Mac6 minWhy you cannot find a file you just saved on a Mac6 minHow to add several images to Keynote at once, one per slide6 minHow to convert HEIC photos to JPEG on a Mac before uploading6 minHow to merge PDFs from different folders on a Mac6 minHow to resize an image on a Mac before you email or upload it6 minWhat to do when a Mac says a file is in use and will not move6 minHow to gather your tax documents on a Mac for your accountant7 minHow to put a file back from the Trash to its original folder on a Mac6 minHow to save a copied image as a file on a Mac6 minHow to save a web page as a file on a Mac so you can send it6 minHow to send a contact card as a file from a Mac6 minHow to add a folder to the Dock on a Mac and drop files onto it6 minHow to get resume and portfolio files ready to upload from a Mac6 minHow to send photos to a print shop from a Mac without losing quality6 minHow to share a folder in iCloud Drive from a Mac and fill it with files6 minWhy AirDrop will not send a file from your Mac, and how to fix it6 minHow to change where downloads are saved on a Mac6 minHow to change where screenshots are saved on a Mac6 minHow to check the size of files before you send them on a Mac6 minHow to open a file path someone sent you on a Mac6 minWhat the green plus sign means when you drag a file on a Mac6 min