BlogGuide9 October 20266 min read

A drag-and-drop file shelf for your Mac, right in the notch

You want to attach a file from one folder to an email, a Slack message, and a ticket. On a Mac that means lining up windows, dragging, and hoping you let go in the right place. A file shelf fixes this: drop files somewhere handy now, and drag them out later.

What a file shelf does

A shelf is a holding area for files while you work. Drop things on it from Finder, a browser, or a screenshot, switch to the app you need, and drag them out again. You don't need two windows side by side, and nothing gets lost on the Desktop.

It's handy when you're:

• Collecting files from several folders to send together.
• Moving a file between apps in full screen, where you can't see both windows at once.
• Keeping a few screenshots close while you write a bug report or a doc.
• Sending something to your phone with AirDrop.

What macOS gives you

macOS has no shelf of its own, but a few habits get close:

• Drag to the Dock: drag a file over an app's Dock icon and hold, and the app comes forward so you can drop into it. Fine for one file, awkward for several.
• Copy and paste in Finder: ⌘C a file, then ⌘V in another folder. Hold Option while pasting (⌘⌥V) to move it instead. This doesn't help when the destination is an app rather than a folder.
• The Desktop: everyone's fallback, and the reason most Desktops look the way they do.

Shelf apps worth knowing

• Yoink and Dropover are dedicated shelf apps. A shelf appears at the screen edge or under your pointer while you drag.
• NotchDrop is free and open source, and puts only a shelf with AirDrop in the notch.
• Notch apps like NotchNook and Boring Notch include a file tray alongside music and other widgets. The notch apps comparison covers them side by side.

The notch is a natural spot for a shelf: it's always in the same place, at the top of every screen, and empty most of the time.

The File Shelf in NotchDude

NotchDude has a File Shelf in the notch. (Disclosure: I make NotchDude.)

Add files

Drag files, images, or links toward the top of the screen. The notch opens to catch them as you get close. You can also use Paste from Clipboard.

Hold the drag over the notch for a moment and it splits into Keep plus actions that suit what you're carrying, such as Zip, To JPEG, Merge PDFs, Copy Text, or Cut Out, with AirDrop always at the end. The actions you use most move to the front. Drop quickly, or hold Option, to just keep the file.

Use them

• Drag out into any app or Finder folder. Hold Option to copy instead of move.
• Copy, AirDrop, Share, or Show in Finder from the buttons.
• Quick Look: hover a file and click the eye, then use the arrow keys to step through the shelf.
• Select several: ⌘-click to add and Shift-click for a range.
• Right-click for Open, Open With, Copy Path, Save As…, and Remove from Shelf.

Quick actions

Without opening another app, the shelf can compress files into a zip, convert images to PNG, JPEG, or HEIC, merge PDFs, make a PDF from images, copy the text in an image or PDF, and cut the subject out of a photo. The new file lands on the shelf, and everything runs on your Mac.

Screenshots

In Settings › Files you can have new screenshots and screen recordings added to the shelf, or moved off the Desktop onto it. Combined with the screenshot thumbnail, that keeps your Desktop clear. There's more on that in how to annotate a screenshot on your Mac.

Your files stay where they are

The shelf points to your original files rather than copying them, so it doesn't fill your disk with duplicates. Screenshots, and dropped images or links that weren't files yet, are saved in NotchDude's folder, and removing them moves them to the Trash so nothing is lost by accident. Remove Missing tidies up files you've since moved or deleted, and Clear Shelf empties it.

The free plan holds 3 items, with every quick action. Pro removes the limit.

FAQ