Notch file drop means dragging a file up to the MacBook notch, letting go, and picking it up again later. It's the fastest way to move files between apps, Spaces and full-screen windows without dumping them on your Desktop.
How it works
- Start dragging any file, folder, image or app.
- Move it to the top of the screen. The notch opens a drop zone.
- Let go. The file waits on the shelf.
- Later, open the notch and drag it out into Mail, Slack, Finder, a browser upload field or anywhere else.
The original file doesn't move. The shelf just holds it so you can drop it somewhere else.
When notch drop beats the Desktop
- Full-screen apps. You can't see the Desktop, but you can always reach the top edge.
- Collecting files from several folders before one upload or email.
- Screenshots you need twice: once in a chat, once in a doc.
- Switching Spaces mid-drag.
The Desktop works too, but it becomes a junk drawer. A shelf is temporary by design.
Do more than hold the file
In Notch Space, right-click a file in the drop zone for Magic actions:
- Compress an image before you upload it
- Convert images and files to another format
- Resize an image in one click
That saves opening Preview or a converter app just to make a file small enough for an email. Dock folder stacks get the same menu. See Notch Space 2.0.
Shelf + clipboard together
Files go to the shelf; text, links and images you copy go to clipboard history. Both live in the same notch, so one place holds everything you're moving around.
On external displays and Macs without a notch
The drop zone follows the island. Put it on every display and you can drop on whichever screen your cursor is on. On a Mac without a notch, you drop onto the floating island instead.
Notch drop vs Yoink and Dropover
Yoink and Dropover are excellent dedicated shelf apps. A notch shelf makes sense when you'd rather not run a separate app just for drag and drop, and you'd use the clipboard, widgets and focus tools that come with it.
Try it with a real drag
Screenshot → notch → Slack. If that saves you a Finder window, it'll save you dozens a week. Get Notch Space, one-time payment with a 7-day money-back guarantee, or try it free first.