Ledge

How to drag files between a Mac and an iPad with Universal Control

· 7 min read

With Universal Control, one keyboard and trackpad work across a Mac and a nearby iPad, and you can drag a file from a Finder window straight into an app on the iPad. Turn it on in System Settings > Displays > Advanced on the Mac and in the iPad’s Handoff settings, push the pointer past the edge of the Mac’s screen, and drop the file into an app that accepts it, such as Files. The file is copied, so the original stays where it was.

What you need before you start

Universal Control has a short list of requirements, and a missing one is the usual reason it never appears.

  • macOS Monterey 12.3 or later on the Mac, and iPadOS 15.4 or later on the iPad.
  • Both devices signed in to the same Apple Account, with two-factor authentication turned on.
  • Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Handoff turned on for both.
  • The two devices near each other, in the same room.
  • The iPad not sharing its cellular connection, and the Mac not sharing its internet connection.

It works between a Mac and an iPad, and between two Macs. It does not work with an iPhone. For that, how to get files from a Mac onto an iPhone by dragging covers the options.

Turning it on

On the Mac:

  1. Open System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff and turn on Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.
  2. Open System Settings > Displays and click Advanced.
  3. Under Link to Mac or iPad, turn on Allow your pointer and keyboard to move between any nearby Mac or iPad.
  4. Turn on Push through the edge of a display to connect a nearby Mac or iPad. Automatically reconnect is optional but saves repeating this later.

On the iPad:

  1. Open Settings > General > AirPlay & Handoff. On newer versions of iPadOS this is called AirPlay & Continuity.
  2. Turn on Handoff and Cursor and Keyboard.

To connect, wake and unlock the iPad, then move the Mac’s pointer to the edge of the screen nearest the iPad and keep pushing. A bar appears along the edge of the iPad’s screen; push through it and the pointer arrives on the iPad. If the pointer comes out on the wrong side, open System Settings > Displays, where the iPad now appears, and drag its picture to match where it sits on your desk.

Dragging a file from the Mac to the iPad

  1. On the iPad, open the app that should receive the file first. Files is the safest choice because it accepts anything. The Home Screen does not accept drops.
  2. In Files, open the location you want, such as On My iPad or a folder in iCloud Drive.
  3. On the Mac, start dragging the file from Finder or the desktop.
  4. Keep dragging past the edge of the screen, onto the iPad, and let go inside the app.

A large file shows progress while it copies. You can drag several files at once the same way: select them in Finder, then drag the group.

Other apps accept what they understand. Notes takes images and documents, a mail draft takes attachments, and a photo editor takes images. If an app refuses the drop, it usually does not accept that type of file. Why an app refuses a file you drag onto it explains what is going on.

Dragging from the iPad back to the Mac

It works in reverse. In the Files app on the iPad, click and hold a file with the Mac’s trackpad or mouse, drag it across the edge onto the Mac’s screen, and drop it on the desktop or into a Finder window. Photos from the iPad’s Photos app can be dragged across the same way. Again the file is copied; nothing is removed from the iPad.

When it will not connect or the drag fails

The pointer stops at the edge of the screen. Check that Push through the edge is on, that Handoff is on for both devices, and that the iPad is awake and unlocked. Signing in to different Apple Accounts is a common culprit on shared iPads.

The iPad shows your Mac’s windows. That is Sidecar, a different feature that uses the iPad as a second Mac display. Dragging onto it is still dragging within the Mac, so files never reach the iPad. End Sidecar from the display controls in Control Center, then connect with Universal Control instead.

The drag gets lost halfway. A drag across two screens is a long one, and it is easy to let go too early or land on the wrong spot. Press Escape to abandon a drag cleanly and start again; how to cancel a drag on a Mac before you drop it has more. For a big batch, or when the iPad is in another room, AirDrop from Finder’s Share menu is less fiddly.

Gather first, then make one crossing

The crossing goes best as a single drag. The trouble is that the files you want on the iPad are often scattered: a PDF in Downloads, sketches on the desktop, a reference image in a project folder. Making one trip across the screen edge for each file is slow, and every trip is a chance to fumble.

Ledge helps on the Mac side. As you find each file, drag it up to the notch and let go; it lands on a shelf that drops from the notch and stays there until you take it somewhere. When the set is complete, open the shelf with Option-Space and drag everything onto a folder in Finder, such as one called For iPad. The files themselves move into it. Select all in that folder and carry the whole group across to the iPad in one drag.

To be clear about the division of labor: Ledge does not send anything to the iPad. Universal Control does the carrying. Ledge only stages the set on the Mac so the crossing is one clean move. It works the same when files come back from the iPad: drop them on the desktop, put the ones you need on the shelf, and route them on. Dropped on a chat app, a file uploads; dropped on a terminal, it arrives as its path. Ledge has no account and no cloud, so nothing leaves the Mac along the way.

Questions

Does dragging to the iPad move the file or copy it?

It copies. The original stays on the Mac. If you meant to move it, delete the original yourself once you have checked the copy.

Can I drag files between two Macs the same way?

Yes. Turn on the same settings on both Macs and push the pointer across. How to move files between two Macs’ apps in a flow covers other ways to do it.

Why can I move the pointer to the iPad but not drop a file?

The app in front on the iPad probably does not accept that kind of file, or you are on the Home Screen. Open Files and try again.