Dragging Files, and Copying and Pasting stops!

[amityweb]

Since upgrading to El Capitan on my iMac I get these few annoying issues every day! I have to restart the Mac to fix them, but then later on they may come back. So just wanted to highlight these in case others have the same because I cant see them reported online anywhere else, so dont know if its just me (maybe an app I have running?), or if its an El Capitan thing. It doesnt happen on my Macbook so maybe it is just my iMac. In which case I have no idea how to fix!

1) Dragging files stops working! Also dragging anything stops working! Can't drag icons around or off the dock. Cant drag emails into other folders. Cant drag attachments from mail onto Desktop. Cant drag files from FTP down to computer.

2) Copying and pasting stops working, but i think only in some applications. I THINK it may be just pasting because I can Cmd + X to cut some text, and can see its cut, but paste pastes nothing. Saying that, sometimes it pastes something old from the clipboard, so maybe copying is not working sometimes either.

3) Cant delete mail messages. Clicking the delete icon, hitting the delete key, or Moving to Trash does not work. Maybe related to number 1 above.

I think all the above usually start happening at the same time, so probably related.

 

[Sabretooth78]

Not sure if it's related to your problem, but I've noticed a little quirk when dragging and dropping files to move or copy - when you hover over the folder you want to put the stuff in, it doesn't highlight. It still copies, but it doesn't give you that little confirmation that you're hovering over the right thing.

 

[amityweb]

Yes I have that highlight issue too! Forgot about that.

I think I may have fixed my issue, its not happened for the past 24 hours.... I went to the Console log and could see various application errors. One app I never use, but had errors in the log so something to do with it was still running, and another error in the log was for an app I removed a long long time ago! I uninstalled the first app, and deleted all the files related to both apps, then restarted the computer.

I also had errors in the console related to not being able to open files, so a permissions issue. Files I really should be able to open. I found this thread here https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5275515?start=0&tstart=0 which reports to fix El Capitan permissions issues. I did step 1.

I also did a Fix in Disk Utility, but that reported no issues. The fix permissions has been removed now, which seems strange considering all the permissions needed fixing. I still get some permissions issues in Console.

So after all the above, I have not had the issue again.

 

[OverSpun]

I also have this issue. Especially with Word or dragging files from Mail to my desktop. It drops the files nowhere. Highlighting sections in word, during the highlight it drops the entire section somewhere in the document. So frustrating.

 

[Bancha]

I have this too. Just upgraded to 10.11.2 in the hope that it might be rectified but no luck. I can't drag and move folder and files on the desktop, not can I highlight text in Word or even on websites. It's incredibly frustrating.

 

[OverSpun]

I have this too. Just upgraded to 10.11.2 in the hope that it might be rectified but no luck. I can't drag and move folder and files on the desktop, not can I highlight text in Word or even on websites. It's incredibly frustrating.

Yep, El Capitan is the worst update so far. Can they fix bugs before they add more features (that have their own bugs as well). It is so annoying to drag an image on the desktop and it doesn't work. Including that the mail bugs that have not been fixed yet either.

 

[Bancha]

I have a Genius Bar appointment this week. It has been suggested that, in my case, the trackpad may be at fault because I had suffered from Apple's expanding battery problem. I'll see what they say, but it's good (although not for you, clearly) that I'm not the only one suffering from this problem.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Did you folks with these problems, when you installed El Capitan...

1. Upgrade a previous system version to El Capitan,
2. Do a clean install of El Capitan and then use Migration Assistant, or
3. Do a clean install of El Captian and not use Migration Assistant?

 

[Bancha]

Thanks,

1. Yes, from Snow Leopard
3. I didn't use Migration Assistant. Downloaded it from app store and installed it.
I've also had various niggles; duplicates in Contacts and Calendar after syncing with iPhone; inability to back up with Time Machine (partly solved in .2 upgrade, if I unplug the power cable from my MacBook then plug it back in after TM starts to work) and so on.

 

[OverSpun]

I have a Genius Bar appointment this week. It has been suggested that, in my case, the trackpad may be at fault because I had suffered from Apple's expanding battery problem. I'll see what they say, but it's good (although not for you, clearly) that I'm not the only one suffering from this problem.

I doubt its the trackpad because this happen to me with the magic mouse, trackpad, etc. It worked perfect before El Crapitan.

Did you folks with these problems, when you installed El Capitan...

1. Upgrade a previous system version to El Capitan,
2. Do a clean install of El Capitan and then use Migration Assistant, or
3. Do a clean install of El Captian and not use Migration Assistant?

I upgraded from Yosemite. I didn't have these issues with Yosemite. I do not have time to do a clean fresh install of El Capitan and reinstall everything again.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Thanks,

1. Yes, from Snow Leopard
3. I didn't use Migration Assistant. Downloaded it from app store and installed it.
I've also had various niggles; duplicates in Contacts and Calendar after syncing with iPhone; inability to back up with Time Machine (partly solved in .2 upgrade, if I unplug the power cable from my MacBook then plug it back in after TM starts to work) and so on.

I have seen problems arise from systems that were upgraded using your method. Many old apps leave traces that muck up the system. Old, incompatible daemons installed with apps long ago can be running in the background causing weirdness (1Password is one I can think of right now).

You should carefully inspect your Activity Monitor for anything that looks like it shouldn't be there.