Sharing a file on a Mac usually means opening the destination app first, then dragging the file into it. The Share menu and AirDrop shorten this but hide behind a right-click. Casement's drop shelf appears when you drag a file toward the top of the screen and lets you release it over AirDrop, Mail, Messages, Notes or Photos in one motion.
What the problem looks like
You want to send a screenshot to a colleague. You open Messages, find the conversation, switch back to Finder, find the file, drag it across and hope the right window is under the pointer. Five or six steps for a task that takes a second to describe. Multiply it by every file you send in a day.
The friction is worst when you are working with a lot of windows open, because the destination is covered by something else.
Why it takes so many steps
A Mac expects you to go to the destination, then bring the file to it. The Share menu reverses that: select a file, choose Share and pick where it goes. It exists, but it hides behind a right-click or a toolbar button, and the list of destinations depends on the app you are in.
The result is that many people never use it and keep dragging files by hand.
Faster options already on your Mac
- Right-click, then Share in Finder lists AirDrop, Mail, Messages and more.
- AirDrop from the Finder sidebar lets you drag a file onto a nearby person.
- Keyboard: select the file and use the Share button in the Finder toolbar.
- Screenshots: use the floating thumbnail after a screenshot and drag it straight into a message.
If the Share menu is missing apps you expect, the guide on the macOS Share menu missing apps explains how to manage it.
Where Casement helps
When you drag a file toward the top of the screen, Casement opens a shelf under the menu bar listing places to send it: AirDrop, Mail, Messages, Notes and Photos. Release the file over one and it is shared. It uses the system's sharing services, so it reaches the same places the Share menu does.
The shelf follows you across apps, which is the point: you never need to find the destination window first. Read about the drop shelf and the guide to sharing by dragging.
What it does not do
The shelf is for the system's sharing destinations. It is not a file manager and does not upload to cloud storage on its own account; services that appear in your Share menu appear in the shelf.
Questions people ask
Does the drop shelf work from any app?
It works while you are dragging a file from anywhere, such as Finder, the desktop or an app.
Is it free?
Yes. The drop shelf is a free Casement feature.
Does it show my own apps?
It shows the sharing services macOS offers, which depend on the apps you have installed and enabled.
Try Casement
Casement is a menu-bar app for Mac that puts each Chrome profile in the Dock as its own icon and adds snap layouts, hover-to-focus, a window switcher, Dock window lists, a drop shelf and display controls..