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Dropover alternatives for Mac.

Dropover gives a file somewhere to wait while you get to where it's going. These apps do that job differently. Details are from each app's own site.

The short answer

  • Yoink if you want a shelf at the edge of the screen that moves and copies like Finder.
  • Dropzone 5 if you’d rather drop a file on an action, like move, AirDrop or upload.
  • Droppy if you want the shelf in the notch, inside a bigger notch app.
  • OpenShelf if you want something free and open source.
  • Sendoff if the drag usually ends in an email or a text to the same few people. More below.

What Dropover does

Dropover: shake the pointer while dragging and a shelf opens. Drop files, links, text or images on it, then drag them all out in one go. From the shelf you can share with Mail, Messages, AirDrop or the Share menu, upload to a cloud service and copy a link, or run actions like resizing images and making a ZIP. You can also drop files on the notch to start a shelf.

Choosing between the big three? See Dropover vs Yoink vs Dropzone.

Yoink

Yoink: a shelf that slides out at the edge of the screen when you start dragging, or at the pointer if you prefer. Dragging out behaves like Finder: hold Option to copy, Command to move. One keyboard shortcut shows it, recalls files you’ve dragged out, or saves the clipboard. It also keeps a clipboard history, and with Yoink on an iPhone or iPad you can hand files between devices.

Keep in mind: it’s a holding place. You still take the file to its destination yourself.

Dropzone 5

Dropzone 5: start dragging and a grid of actions appears at the top of the screen. Drop on one to move, copy, AirDrop, upload by SFTP and more, or install add-on actions. Its Drop Bar holds files for later, F3 opens it from any app, and a dz command runs it from Terminal. Needs macOS 13 or later.

Keep in mind: the actions are the main idea. The Drop Bar is the part that works like a shelf.

Droppy

Droppy: a Dynamic Island for the Mac, with a file tray in the notch. Drag a file to the top of the screen and it waits there, or jiggle a drag to bring up a floating tray. It can zip or convert files in place, and Droppy Cloud makes a share link that expires after three days. It also does music, a clipboard and a long list of extensions. It works on Macs without a notch too. Paid, with a 3-day free trial. Needs macOS 14 or later.

Keep in mind: it’s a whole notch app, not just a shelf. Good if you want all of it.

OpenShelf

OpenShelf: free and open source. Start dragging a file, tap a key, and a wheel appears under the pointer. Drop on a wedge to convert, edit, AirDrop or shelve the file. Shelves can hold several files and dock to the side of the screen. It doesn’t need Accessibility permission. Needs macOS 14 or later.

Keep in mind: it’s new and not yet notarized by Apple, so macOS asks you to approve it the first time you open it.

Where Sendoff fits

A shelf holds the file until you get where it’s going. If where it’s going is your accountant’s inbox or your mom’s Messages, Sendoff makes the notch the last stop. Drop the file, pick the person, press Send off.

  • Your regulars come first, ranked by how often you send to them.
  • It remembers whether each person gets Gmail or iMessage. Slack is coming soon.
  • It routes around what won’t work: a 48 MB video for someone you usually email goes by iMessage instead.
  • It’s all keyboard, with 3 seconds to undo.

Sendoff isn’t a shelf, so you may want both. More notch apps in MacBook notch apps, and every way to send in the best file sharing apps for Mac.

Try Sendoff

Sendoff is not out yet. Join the waitlist below, and tick the beta box if you want to test it first.