Drag and drop function not working.

[LexKitten]

Hi,

I'm not very good with computers, so when something goes wrong I have no idea how to fix my mac =(

Today, for no reason I can understand, my drag and drop function stopped working. I can't drag things (applications, documents, images) to/from the trash. I can't drag images from websites and drop them in folders on my desktop. I can't drag songs from iTunes. I can't drag things from one side of my desktop to the other. I select them, and then they just won't move.

This feature was working fine yesterday.

What have I done?? Yesterday, I was deleting a few programs I don't use, GarageSale, iPhoto, DiskStudio (I don't even know what that is >.<). Could I have accidentally deleted the drag function?

I use OSX 10.5, and my computer is a 2GHz Macbook.

=( I'm really hoping this is reversible. Thanks, Lex.

[LexKitten]

Should I do an Archive and Install? I've never done a re-install of OSX ... and I don't want to un-install all my programs, like Word, which I haven't got the CD for anymore.

I have attempted to delete the Finder Preferences (com.apple.finder.plist and also com.apple.sidebarlists.plist ) but I couldn't find either in /Library/Preferences (have they already been deleted? This is a second hand mac, so the previous user could have deleted them?)

I also tried to find and delete these files in single user mode, but my computer skills failed me and I couldn't navigate to the folder.

Is a re-install the only way?

[mvcube]

Check your mouse settings in system preferences! There is probably something wrong with the mouse button(s).

[VirtualTracy]

Try this to see if it brings back your drag'n'drop functionality. Delete the .DS_Store file in the volume's root directory.

.DS_Store files are hidden by default but to bring them into view launch Terminal and type the following, paying close attention to typing exactly what I have.

You can even copy/paste as long as you don't have any highlighted spaces before or after the code.

For Tiger or Leopard:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE

Then press Enter to complete the command.


To finish up, you'll need to relauch Finder. You can either do this via the Terminal by typing:

killall Finder

Then press Enter,

OR

You can relaunch Finder by holding the Option key as you click on the Finder icon in your Dock. Select "Relaunch" from the pop-up menu to restart Finder.

While you already have Terminal open it's just easier to use it to do the relaunching .... but as you can see Mac OS always has more than one way to do something

To return the files to their default "hidden" state, follow the above steps but change TRUE to FALSE.

Relauch the Finder and everything will be back to normal.



.

[mvcube]

VirgilTracy, where can I find about more about the hidden features in Mac OS? Is there a list of defaults somewhere on the Net?

[VirtualTracy]

I'm no expert on it but is this what I came across while researching for this thread:

Mac OS X Hidden Files & Directories

It's a bit dated and I don't know its relevance to Leopard.

Hope it helps

[mvcube]

A useful link but where do I find info about the defaults command?

[LexKitten]

Thanks for the advice VirgilTracy

Looks like the problem is bigger than I originally thought. My copy function no longer works either. Neither pressing Command + C, or manually Edit>copy will copy anything.

I've no idea what I did to make this happen, but it looks like a re-install will be the best solution.