emsai

Shelf

Keep files for a moment at the edge of the screen, then drag them out where you need them.

The shelf is a place to put files down for a moment: while you change windows, Spaces or apps, then drag them out where they’re going. It lives at the edge of the screen and stays out of the way until you drag something.

It’s on by default: Settings › Shelf › Shelf turns it on or off.

Putting files on the shelf

  1. Start dragging one or more files, from anywhere: the Finder, the desktop, an app.
  2. A column slides out of the screen’s edge, marked Drop here. It lights up under the pointer.
  3. Drop the files on it. The island flashes what landed.

Let go anywhere else and the column slides back.

Copy or move? A dropped file is copied onto the shelf; the original stays where it was. Hold ⌘ as you drop to move it instead, as in the Finder between disks.

You can also put things on the shelf from elsewhere in Emsai:

  • Clipboard: drag a row from the clipboard panel (⌘⌥V) to the edge. See Clipboard.
  • Downloads: a finished download that comes out of the island has a Shelf button.

The tab and the list

While the shelf holds files, a small tab waits at the edge with an icon and the count. Hover it to see the list:

  • Click a file to open it.
  • Drag a file out, into a window or to the Finder.
  • Right click for Open, Show in Finder, Move to the Desktop and Remove from the Shelf.

At the top of the list, the folder button opens the shelf’s folder in the Finder, and the trash button clears the whole shelf.

Dragging files out

Drag a file from the list to wherever it goes:

  • into an app (a mail, a chat, an upload field): the app gets a copy, and the file stays on the shelf;
  • to the Finder: the file is moved there, and leaves the shelf.

Groups

Files dropped together stay together. In the list, a group shows as a stack with N files and their names.

  • Drag the group to drag all its files out at once.
  • Click it to see its files, each one draggable on its own.
  • Right click for Open All, Show in Finder, Ungroup and Remove from the Shelf.

Selecting several files

⌘-click files in the list to select them, as in the Finder. Then:

  • drag them out together;
  • or right click: Group N Files, Open All, Show in Finder, Remove from the Shelf.

Removing files

Remove from the Shelf, and the trash button that clears it all, put the files in the Trash: a file you moved onto the shelf with ⌘ isn’t lost for good, you can take it back from there.

The shelf’s folder is watched: a file you delete in the Finder leaves the shelf and its count.

Settings › Shelf

  • Shelf: the switch for the whole feature.
  • Edge: where the column comes out while you drag, and where the tab waits:
    • Right (the default),
    • Left,
    • Nearest to the file: the edge closest to where the drag starts.

Tips

  • The shelf works whether the island is on or off.
  • Use it to carry files across Spaces or full-screen apps: drop them, switch, drag them out.
  • Keep a set of files together for a task by dropping them in one go: they stay one group until you Ungroup them.