Ledge

How to get files from a Mac onto an iPhone by dragging

· 6 min read

There are two ways to drag files from a Mac to an iPhone without uploading them anywhere. Open the AirDrop window in Finder and drop the files on your iPhone’s icon, or connect the phone, select it in the Finder sidebar, and drop the files onto an app in its Files tab. AirDrop is quicker for a handful of files; the Files tab is better when a file needs to live inside a particular app on the phone.

Drag to AirDrop

  1. On the iPhone, make sure it is awake and unlocked, and that AirDrop is set to Contacts Only or Everyone for 10 Minutes in Settings > General > AirDrop.
  2. On the Mac, choose Go > AirDrop in Finder, or press Shift-Command-R. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth need to be on for both devices.
  3. Wait for the iPhone to appear in the window, then drag your files onto its icon and let go.
  4. Accept on the phone if it asks. When the iPhone is signed in to the same Apple Account as the Mac, the files are usually accepted without a prompt.

You can also select files in Finder, right-click, choose Share, then AirDrop, and pick the phone. Dragging is quicker when the files come from more than one folder, because you can drop them onto the phone’s icon one after another while the AirDrop window stays open.

Where the files end up on the iPhone

This is the part that confuses people. The iPhone does not put everything in one Downloads folder the way a Mac does. What happens depends on the kind of file:

  • Photos and videos go into the Photos app.
  • Links open in the browser.
  • Contact cards open in Contacts.
  • Documents such as PDFs are either saved to the Files app or offered to an app that can open them, depending on the file and the version of iOS.

If a file seems to have vanished, open the Files app on the phone and look at Recents first, then at the Downloads folder. A document you sent to yourself usually turns up in one of those two places.

Drag to an app with the Finder Files tab

When a file belongs in a specific app on the phone, such as a document for a reader app or a recording for an audio app, the Finder route puts it straight there.

  1. Connect the iPhone to the Mac with a cable. The first time, unlock the phone, tap Trust when it asks, and enter the phone’s passcode.
  2. In a Finder window, select the iPhone under Locations in the sidebar.
  3. Click the Files tab. You see a list of the apps on the phone that accept files this way.
  4. Drag your files onto the app’s name in that list. Finder copies them across.

On the phone, open the Files app and go to On My iPhone; most of those apps have a folder there holding what you sent. Only apps that support this kind of file sharing appear in the list, so if the one you want is missing, AirDrop is the way in.

After the first connection with a cable, you can turn on “Show this iPhone when on Wi-Fi” in the General tab of the same Finder view. The phone then appears in the sidebar without the cable whenever both are on the same network.

Drag into the iPhone Mirroring window

If your Mac and iPhone support iPhone Mirroring and both are on recent software, you can also drag a file from the Mac into the mirrored iPhone screen and drop it into an app that accepts it. It is handy when the phone is charging in another room. The mirrored window is a narrow target, though, so move slowly and wait for the app to react before you let go. If the drop does not take on your setup, fall back to AirDrop.

Collect first, send once

The slow part of this is rarely the transfer. It is finding the files: a PDF in Downloads, two photos in a project folder, a document on the desktop, a screenshot from this morning. Hunting through Finder for each one while the AirDrop window waits, then finding the AirDrop window again, takes longer than the sending.

Ledge gives those files a place to gather first. As you find each one, drag it up to the notch at the top of the screen and let go; it lands on a shelf that drops from the notch and stays there. When the set is complete, open the AirDrop window, open the shelf with Option-Space or a click on the notch, and drag the files down onto the iPhone’s icon. The same works with the Finder Files tab: keep the shelf open and drop the files onto the app in the list.

To be clear about who does what: AirDrop or Finder does the sending, straight from the Mac to the phone. Ledge only holds the files on the Mac while you get ready. It has no account and no cloud of its own, and it does not carry anything between devices by itself. On a Mac without a notch, the shelf sits at the top center of the screen. How to move files between two Macs’ apps in a flow covers the same idea when the other device is a Mac.

Questions

Why does my iPhone not show up in the AirDrop window?

The phone needs to be awake with the screen unlocked and close enough to the Mac. Check that AirDrop is not set to Receiving Off on the phone, and that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are both switched on at each end.

Can I drag files from the iPhone back to the Mac the same way?

Yes. In the Finder Files tab, open the app’s entry and drag files out into a Finder window. From the phone, AirDrop to the Mac and the files land in Downloads; where AirDropped files go on a Mac covers what to do next.

Do I need a cable?

Not for AirDrop. For the Finder Files tab, the first connection needs one; after that you can turn on the Wi-Fi option and leave the cable in the drawer.