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by Patrick Lenz.
Original Post: Drag and drop file upload on a Mac
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Uploading files to web applications via a browser an the accompanying web form is a necessity nowadays. It’s also a necessity to download things at site A and upload them to site B. Or upload something you’ve received in an email. Or upload a screenshot you just took.
While the process in and of itself is fairly straightforward, it can sure be tedious. Especially if you’re hunting a download or a screenshot in the file chooser that seems to be the only way to get that pointer to the file in question down the web browsers virtual throat.
Some site specific browsers such as Pyro (for 37signals’ Campfire) ease that process somewhat by implementing a drag-and-drop handler that allows you to drop files into the Pyro application window, which is then automatically uploaded. Dragging a file into a regular Safari or Firefox window will attempt to view that file, though, which is not what you want (most of the time).
But here’s an interesting observation I made the other day, which I haven’t read about anywhere else.
If you start dragging something into the OS dialog that you get to pick a file with, the dialog will automatically navigate to the folder enclosing the dragged (and dropped) something and pre-select that something so you just need to hit “Open” and submit the form to finish your upload. No hunting up and down folder hierarchies, no endless searching in packed download folders. Just simple drag and drop.
(Please note: This functionality could well be Leopard-only.)
And that something could even be a file from your ‘Downloads’ folder fan out thingy that Leopard offers. Or the handy ‘Drag Me’ control offered by Plasq’s Skitch, completely removing the need to store a one-off screenshot in a memorable place before uploading it somewhere.
Happy uploading.
PS: This does work with any such dialog the OS presents to you, be it an ‘Open’ dialog in TextMate or Photoshop or the file chooser in Safari or Firefox.
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