Trackpad click and drag workaround

The click feature of my trackpad is broken. To click on a button I would tap, but to click and drag, I have no workaround. Please help. Thanks.

The one you mentioned is the "Two Finger Drag" I am asking if the "Three Finger Drag" would work for you or if you even tried it? It allows you to select a file and drag it anywhere. Even to another folder.
As a side note you mentioned your click feature is "broken?" Is there no physical click? If so you may have to check your battery if it is bulging and impeding the trackpad. This is a good start to take a look if your battery is the one physically impeding the trackpad.

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Click and Drag not working with the trackpad....

Well, this is an unexpected problem.
Just this morning, it seems my computer is refusing to let me click and drag with the trackpad button. I can click and hold, but when I move my cursor, say in a menu, nothing is highlighted. For sliders for volume, clicking and dragging does nothing. I can't highlight text. It's getting very annoying. It won't work when I tell just the trackpad to click and drag as well (not using the button).
My hands have been a little "waxy" since I've been sick, but the mouse works perfectly otherwise, so I don't think that's the problem at all. Any suggestions? Please tell me my 'book isn't goin' bad. >>;;

That seemed to work! After shutting down and taking out the battery, I cleaned my keyboard and computer, too. Seems to work now Thanks!
Wonder why it did it...a glitch, prolly...

Windows 7 in boot camp - two finger click and drag issues

Hey everyone. I have Windows 7 on Boot Camp (MacBook Pro mid-2010, Mac OS X Lion) and I cannot seem to click on a window with one finger, then use a second finger to drag it. Every time I try it brings up the right click menu. Is there any way of fixing this? I want to be able to drag, darn it! Thanks.
Grant

Having had the same issue on my MacBook Pro with Boot Camp 5.0.5033 on Windows 8, workaround being external mouse, I have found the following:
If Trackpad->Two Fingers->Secondary Click is enabled in Control Panel/Boot Camp, in order to Click and Drag one cannot click any place on the trackpad. One must click bottom area of the trackpad with one finger, and then use another finger to drag.
If Trackpad->Two Fingers->Secondary Click is disabled, Click and Drag works the same way as in Mac OS X: one can click any place on MacBook Pro built-in trackpad with one finger, and then use another finger to drag the window or select a fragment of text. The two fingers Secondary Click, consequently, becomes disabled.
For me Mac OS X-style Click&Drag is more important, so I disabled two fingers Secondary Click, and assigned Bottom-Right-Corner of the trackpad to be Right-Click instead.
Don’t know if the question is still open… Hope, however, the info might be helpful to those having the same inconvenience with Click and Drag under Boot Camp.
HTH

Cant click and drag with one finger, but works with 3 fingers

Last week, my trackpad starts to fail. Thing is that i can't click and drag with one finger but if i turn on the 3 finges option, i can tap and drag without a problem Check the prefs, universal access too. And everything is ok.
Reset pram, smc , run & fix permissions but nothing.
Looking around the internet i found a possible hint and is related to a bad battery condition. But that post talks a physical defective battery. Mine last like 2 hours.Under the battery icon in the finder it saids tha should be replace soon. Macbook pro late 2008. 4 gb ram , 500 gb hd, 10.7.3
Any suggestions??

It sounds like an accessibility feature, although I'm not 100% sure. You can explore the accessibility settings if you like, or for a quick fix you can try going into Settings>General>Reset>Reset All Settings.

Cant Double Tap (Click) and Drag. Have to CLICK and drag

In os x snow leo i could double tap my trach pad and drag. But in lion i cant. I have to Click the button and drag. I am using a 2008 (Early - Non Unibody) MBP. This is really irritating me coz i cant drag windows or folders/files and rarrange them. is there a feature or setting i can fix.

I have search for DAYS!!!! did fresh install of lion 3 times, 2 visits to genius bar and 5 phone calls to the nerds on the phone.... all to no avail!!!!!!!!!!!!! and then I find this....... THIS IS THE ANSWER TO ALL CLICK AND DRAG TRACKPAD PROBLEMS!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WORKED like a charm, i ****** my pants when i found your post and - tried it and low -& -behold it worked!!!!!... everybody from apple wanted me to spend $100's of $ to get new trackpad... and it was just a simple checking the drag box solution !!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU to the 1000^10000 times!!!! man!!!!

Can't Click and Drag Icons/Files

Hi,
I am having issues with my Macbook Pro 13inch trackpad.
I can't click anything and drag any icons/files as I usually could. I also cannot select and highlight texts too.
Earlier I was advised by someone on Apple Discussions Community to clean the trackpad for about 2 min with a
dampcloth. Later, it seemed to work as usual but after 3 weeks I'm facing the problem yet again.
Anyone has a solution for this problem ?

If the issue is with pressing the trackpad to click, if that is what you mean by clicking and dragging issues, more often than not it will be an issue with the trackpad itself and you may need a repair. The trackpad can be replaced on your Mac.

Can't Stop Clicking and Dragging

My trackpad on my MBP will not stop clicking and dragging, even when I'm not clicking. Whenever I move, it thinks I'm clicking and dragging.

I guess it did not work. It started again. If the update is responsible, I think that that update should be ignored. I don't think it is benefitting anyone at all unless you buy the new magic trackpad which is what we already have. I am going to reinstall and ignore the update for the trackpad. That is, unless apple make an update that corrects this problem. This isn't like apple to make a bad update. I wonder.

Double-click and drag don't open image files

Hi,
I'm having problems loading images in Preview and Adobe apps (CS1).
From Finder, I can double click to open an image in Preview but it only opens the first image, and won't load more than one. I've tried changing the preferences to "open groups of images in the same window" or "open all images in one window." Neither solve the problem.
My adobe apps won't open a file when I double click it from the finder at all. I have to use the "open" command from within the application to open an image file.
I am a designer and photographer trying to browse groups of images at once and this is driving me crazy! I have tried copying over different preference files from my old computer (a powerbook G4), and I'm wondering if I either failed to copy the right one or copied something that is interfering with the shortcut actions.
The interesting part is, that the same actions are working fine for other kinds of files -- for example, I can open multiple word documents by double clicking their icons in Finder.
Any suggestions appreciated. Thank you.
Amy Hengst

Hi Amy
What kind of files are these? If I wanted to open multiple images in Preview (be they BMP, JPEG, PSD, whatever) I would select them and drag onto the Preview icon in the Dock which opens the first image in a single window with the remaining images in a 'thumbnail drawer' to the right (like you get with big PDF documents).
On the other hand if I double-click, 10 to 1 it would launch Photoshop which I use as an image editor only, not an image manager or viewer. You can of course change the application which any document uses to open it, with the Get Info window. But if you use more than one application (as I do - PS to edit, Preview to just view), then click-and-drag onto the Dock might be your best bet.

On OSX 10.5.8 and I can't cut & paste or click and drag, HELP!

Hi all,
Please help! I can no longer click and drag icons or cut and paste. I'm running OSX 10.5.8 on an '07 macbook, and I really do not want to loose everything, is there a solution??? At the same time I have had a little trouble with the net and downloading files.
Is there a fix?? I'm desparate

Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)

I cant click and drag my photostream photos to pin them to my desk top with out them being very small and not being able to make notes in paint brush on them. I used to before the update.

I used to be able to open, click and drag photos from a photo stream folder, and pin them to my desk top. After the update my PC made me download icloud to my computer to access my photo stream pictures. Now if I go into my icloud photostream tab click and drag. It asks me if I trust the computer I am saving it to. If I click yes, it save this tiny picture to my desk top.
In order to accomplish what I need to do with the photos I have a few extra steps added to my perfect process. Has any body ran into this and do you know how to simplify this.
Thanks

1. If you break your post into paragraphs it is much easier to read.
2. I have no idea what your post is referring to, and how - if at all - it relates to iPhoto.
3. It's a good idea to re-read what you've posted, and ask yourself how it might look to someone who doesn't know you and doesn't know what's going on with your machine.

HT2688 How can I "click and drag" songs from one shared library to another?

I have home sharing activated on my mom's computer and mine and before the newest version of itunes, we were able to click and drag songs from one users' library into the other. We are not able to do that now and I wanted to know if there was a way to do this in the newest version of itunes.

I am using a Windows computer first off, not sure if that makes a difference, When you say "click import" where is import. I can not find anything that says "import" to click.

How do I reorder songs in a playlist in the new itunes??? I can no longer just click and drag. When I click, it doesn't move!!!! Need help ASAP- trying to prepare for an aerobics class and need songs in a specific order!

How do I reorder songs in a playlist in the new itunes??? I can no longer just click and drag. When I click, it doesn't move!!!! Need help ASAP- trying to prepare for an aerobics class and need songs in a specific order!

Vera,
Use View > View Options, and set 'Sort By" to "Manual Order."
Then you will be able to drag-n-drop songs up and down the list.

The MacBook Pro will not allow me to cut-and-paste to and from or to click-and-drag to the external drive. I can copy-and-paste, but then I must send the original to the trash, which doubles the time and effort. Is there any way to cut-and-paste?

I have recently switched from a PC to a MacBook Pro.
I have a large number of documents and photographs on a multiterrabite external drive, backed up on a second multiterrabite external drive.
Both external drives are formatted for MacIntosh. This has been verified by agents at an Apple store and also at Best Buy in two different cities.
This is the problem:
The MacBook Pro will not allow me to cut-and-paste to and from or to click-and-drag to the external drive. I can copy-and-paste, but then I must send the original to the trash, which doubles the time and effort. Is there any way to cut-and-paste?
Also, the MacBook Pro will not allow me to rename multiple documents or photographs. I can click-and-rename a single one, but this is impossibly time consuming. I can batch-rename in iPhoto, but when I transfer the photographs to the external drive, the rename does not transfer.
I’m reduced to using my wife’s Toshiba to cut-and-past, rename, and transfer documents. It works perfectly. Is there any way to do this on the MacBook Pro?
Thanks!
Roderick Guerry
[email protected]

Roderick Guerry wrote:
The MacBook Pro will not allow me to cut-and-paste to and from or to click-and-drag to the external drive. I can copy-and-paste, but then I must send the original to the trash, which doubles the time and effort. Is there any way to cut-and-paste?
No, this is a philosophical difference between Apple and Microsoft. Apple believes that it's dangerous to cut a file in case the user never pastes it; in that case the file is lost. Microsoft seems to not have this problem (if I remember Windows correctly) because they don't delete the originating file if it's cut but never pasted.
Even though Macs have a lot of keyboard shortcuts, philosophically Macs have traditionally been mouse-first. This applies to file copy operations. In your case, what a Mac user would do is open the source window, open the destination window (on your second drive), and then Command-drag the selected files from the source to destination window. This is because a normal drag would leave the originals behind, while adding the Command modifier key tells OS X that this is a Move, not a Copy, so don't leave the originals behind.
(In addition there are different rules for drag-copying within the same volume or between different volumes. If you drag between two folders on the same volume, the files are moved. If you drag between different volumes, the files are copied unless you hold down Command to delete the copies on the source volume.)
Roderick Guerry wrote:
Also, the MacBook Pro will not allow me to rename multiple documents or photographs. I can click-and-rename a single one, but this is impossibly time consuming. I can batch-rename in iPhoto, but when I transfer the photographs to the external drive, the rename does not transfer.
Two problems in this case. First, batch file renaming is not built into OS X unless you build something with Automator. However, there are many utilities that can do batch file renaming which you can find at macupdate.com or on the App Store. Since I work with media I often batch rename using one of the media managers I have lying around like Media Pro or Adobe Bridge (comes with Photoshop).
iPhoto is a database front end designed to shield the file system from the consumer and let them concentrate on creativity and sharing. As such it is often a poor choice for managing files directly. When you "transferred the photographs" chances are you moved the originals, not the ones iPhoto edited which are stored in a hidden folder.
Roderick Guerry wrote:
I’m reduced to using my wife’s Toshiba to cut-and-past, rename, and transfer documents. It works perfectly. Is there any way to do this on the MacBook Pro?
There will not be a way to do it exactly like Windows. As described above, there are ways to do it "the Mac way." If it is possible to remove judgment on which way is "better" you might find the Mac way to be acceptable, but of course sometimes we simply prefer what we're used to.

I can no longer click and drag Safari window to the other desktop.

I've tried merging all windows and minimizing that single window, then going to the other desktop to open up the window. That doesn't work--it just opens on the original desktop.
When double-clicking on the Safari icon in the dock, the options for desktop appear (none, this desktop, and all desktops). By clicking on all desktops I am able to go to the other desktop and see my Safari window there, then I can change the option to none again.
This is not how it worked before. I'm supposed to be able to click and drag the window to the other desktop.
Any ideas?
Update:
I pulled one Safari tab out to create a separate window, opened Mission Control, then clicked on the Safari window and dragged it to the small image of the other desktop.
The window stayed in the other desktop and now the function of dragging Safari windows to other desktops has returned.
Message was edited by: CuriousKathy

Thanks! I was having the same problem. This resolved it for me.

Cursor issues, stuck on click and drag mode.

My cursor is stuck on click and drag mode.I assumed issue was faulty track pad. Purchased a magic mouse, and initially it was fine then the same issues started occurring. Is this a virus? Ran disk repair and permissions repair , no change.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you boot, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Trackpad click and drag workaround

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