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Participating Frequently
January 31, 2021
Question

2021 iMac Cant drag and drop photos into Photoshop

  • January 31, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 2453 views

Hi all - looking for a fix - cant drag and drop photos into photoshop. Also when I go to Photos through Finder when trying to place an image - I only get shown a couple of random photos from the 1000s I have. Any suggestions? Thanks 🙂

1 reply

January 31, 2021

Hi,

 

Where are you trying to drag and drop the photos from? Finder, the Photos app, or somewhere else? If it's the Photos app, have you tried using the 'Edit With' option when right-clicking (ctrl-clicking) on the photo?

 

For the problem with seeing the photos in the Photos Browser when using the place function, I have a few thoughts. Are you having this problem in any other app that accesses the Photos browser (e.g. In Mail when trying to attach a photo to an email)?  How long have you had your Mac? Did you transfer the Photos to the computer directly via a hard drive etc, or have you synced it with iCloud? If it's through iCloud, it could be that the computer is still downloading the previews of your files. It could also be that the Photos library needs repairing. To repair the library, close the app then reopen it holding down the option and command keys. Apple's instructions to repair the library are here: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT204967

 

Let us know if any of this helps or if you're still having problems.

Participant
October 16, 2023

I'm having a similar problem. The mac is about a week old, I'm using Finder, and all the files are stored locally on my mac.

 

My problem isn't dragging-and-dropping in itself. I can drag and drop a photo into PS and have it appear as a new layer on an already open photo. And I can drag and drop a photo that will open if I have no other photos already open in PS. But I can't drag and drop a photo and get it to open on its own (rather than as a layer) if I have a photo already open. Is that not possible on PS on mac?

 

(I know I can use right click - open with, but after 15 years of dragging and dropping on PC it's hard to break the habit:)

Jeff Arola
Community Expert
Community Expert
October 16, 2023

You can drag the photo onto the Photoshop dock icon and that will open a photo on it's own.