For macOS Sequoia
Intro
If you use a Mac, at some point or another, you will need to drag an item from one place to another. You could be, among other things, trying to move a file, reorder a list, or attach photos and other files to a document.
While there is no “Magic solution” to drag and drop with VoiceOver on macOS, there are several methods you can employ that just might work to accomplish the task at hand. These tips come predominantly from my own personal use, as literature on drag and drop operations with VoiceOver on macOS is rather scarce. Therefore, if you know of additional tips and tricks, sound off in the comments.
Option one: find an alternative to drag and drop
While instructional materials for apps and macOS itself may say to perform a task by dragging and dropping something, there may be alternatives depending on the task. The most common of these is copy and paste, which can, among other things, be used to move files in Finder and attach files to messages. The process of copying and pasting items generally involves selecting them as you normally would, choosing Edit > Copy (or pressing Command-C), opening or focusing on the destination location, and choosing Edit > Paste (or pressing Command-V).
Tip: If you’re moving files in Finder, you can press Command-Option-V instead of Command-V to move, rather than copy, the files, so they only appear in the new location.
If you want to cut text or images in a document, select them and choose Edit > Cut (or press Command-X). Then, focus on where you want to paste them and choose Edit > Paste (or press Command-V).
Option two: use VoiceOver’s drag and drop facility
With the release of OS X Lion in 2011, Apple added drag and drop functionality to VoiceOver. In theory, this feature allows you to mark an item, navigate to the location you want to drag it to, and drop it either before, on, or after the position of the VoiceOver curser using a series of keyboard commands.
In my experience, however, it has not proven to be particularly reliable, with VoiceOver frequently reporting that it is unable to mark or drop marked items. Furthermore, this feature is somewhat poorly documented by Apple and has received very little attention or refinement since its introduction, making its precise utility and expected behaviors unclear to me. However, if you come upon a situation where copy and paste is not available, it just might work; who knows.
To mark an item, focus on it and press VO-Comma. If the item is inside a table or other element, you may need to interact with that element first. Then, focus on where you want to drop the item and do one of the following:
- Drop item before VoiceOver curser: VO-Shift-Comma
- Drop item on VoiceOver curser: VO-Period
- Drop item after VoiceOver curser: VO-Shift Period
Sometimes, it is necessary to hold down a specific modifier key, like Shift or Option, in order to alter the default behavior. To do this with VoiceOver, focus on the item you want to drag, hold down VO Comma, select the key from the drag and drop modifier menu, and drop the item as described above.
Option three: use the “Mouse down” command
As an alternative to VoiceOver’s standard drag and drop facility, items can be dragged by locking the mouse down and focusing on where you want to drop them. To do this:
- Turn Cursor Tracking off by pressing VO-Shift-F3.
- Focus on the item you want to drag. If it is inside a table or other element, you may need to interact with that element first.
- Route the mouse pointer to the item by pressing VO-Command-F5, and lock the mouse down by pressing VO-Command-Shift-Space.
- Focus on where you want to drop the item, route the mouse pointer by pressing VO-Command-F5, and unlock the mouse by pressing VO-Command-Shift-Space.
When you're done dragging, you can press VO-Shift-F3 to turn Cursor Tracking back on.
Conclusion
As alluded to in the beginning of this guide, the process of moving items via drag and drop as a VoiceOver user on macOS is, well, quite a drag. However, with these tips, I hope you figure out something that allows you to complete a given task.
This happens to be an area where I think Apple could improve by taking cues from VoiceOver on iOS and iPadOS. On those platforms, VoiceOver users can drag and drop items in a variety of contexts using the Actions rotor. In a similar approach, I think VoiceOver users should be able to use the Actions menu (accessed by pressing VO-Command-Space) on macOS to accomplish similar tasks. This, in my view, would be a much better destination for easy-to-use, reliable drag and drop options than what current implementations provide.
More information is available in your Mac's user guide, Apple Support, and the AppleVis Forum, and if you have any questions or believe any of the information in this guide is inaccurate, sound off in the comments.
Comments
drag and drop in Logic
in Logic, drag and drop is required to add an audio file from the itunes store into a project. you have to buy tracks, Apple Music tracks will not work. very nice guide.
I've never ever gotten drag
I've never ever gotten drag and drop to work in Mojave or Catalina. I wanted it to use transitions in iMovie that require dragging and dropping, but to no avail after days of trying on and off. Good to know it wasn't just me being a moron. Having extra time with my Mac during these times is making me think I should have bought an ipad instead.
Dock
The only time I have had success with VO Drag & Drop is on the Dock, and it works well enough in Catalina. I am tempted to think that is the only reason for its existence.
I agree with you that the Copy/Move and Paste is tried an true, and you really cannot go wrong. A simple CMD plus 'z' will let you undo any accidents you might make.
Also, for the more experienced users out there, and I tend to fall in this category, is to use the Terminal to CP, and MV files. If you are comfortable with Terminal, those commands are 'powerful'.
Hope this helps! Great post. :)
I think your feature
I think your feature suggestion is a good one, but even so, I find the voiceover drag and drop to be much better than the implementations on Windows screen readers. On Windows, I always had to find sighted help, while on Mac, I can almost always accomplish what I am trying to do.
...
straightforward drag-and-drop isn't hard at all, when all failed, one can still copy and paste. the problem is when one really need to drag-and-drop, this usually involves moving item to a different window, dragging a file into an application, for example.
unfortunately, this is essentially impossible
GUI is still GUI, you know, screen reader just doesn't cut it. a touch screen interface like the iphone might be possible.
dragging and dropping tems to web areas with oiceover
Hey everyone.
I was just wndering whether anybody could tell me if there is a way of drag and dropping items into web areas in safari or specific websites that require drag and drop.
For example, If I want to drag and drop a file that is on my desktp to a website like my school portal that allows for drag and drop, is this possible?
If somebody could let me know a soon as possible, that would be reatly appreciated.
Thank everyone and have a good day.
Nlambert
I have never been able to…
I have never been able to successfully drag an item from the desktop to a web area in Safari. When in that situation, I manually locate and upload a file via the standard open dialog in macOS.
Thank you
I was trying to figure out how to drag and drop playlists in Spotify and found my way to this post. The technique of using the mouse to do it worked perfectly. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this, even if it took me all this time to find it! :)
Window
If dragging an item from 1 window to another then do the following:
if you are dragging to within the same window then just make sure you resize it the full view section and that you bring it to the front before routing the mouse and dragging.
Hope this makes it work more often for people.
Chris