DropCopy for Mac

2.05

2.05

See all Versions

Delighted to report 2.03 works on Sierra as it used to do - congrats to dev for updating and producing an app that "just works". Easy transfer between/among devices on same network (MB Air, Mini, iPad, iPhone) with a drag and drop. That's it!
Recommended

Dropcopy can work on Sierra - go to Dev's web page and check out the FAQs - download and install the "headless" version - its 1.8.5 but works on Sierra Everytime you restart, will have to go to Security Preference and allow, but Dropcopy 1.8.5 Headless works on Sierra. VERY happy as Apple's Airdrop just doesn't work on my network. Dropcopy quick and painless and "just works" 5 Stars!!!

Sierra has broken DropCopy. Needs attention.

I love it.

Lovely concept and implementation. But... It doesn't work for me on two Macs, both running Yosemite (OS X 10.10.3). I run DropCopy on both Macs on the same network, but when I try to transfer a file (a large one: > 3 GB), only 154 KB gets copied to the target machine, and then DropCopy's "landing zone" just dies. The menu bar icon is still present, but there's no indication of activity, and when I quit the app, no warning or message is given about a tranfer in progress. I've read the docs, gone through the support forum (which is read-only), tried a number of different configurations, but nothing works. Since the latest update was posted on June 10, 2015, one would think the developers would include Yosemite support. I'll keep my eyes open for an update that works, but in the meantime, I'm just going to revert to the tried-and-true file sharing built-in that I've used for years.

It offers an easy to use way for file-transfering. Does the job very good. It is free.

Fails under Mavericks. Mini and Air on same network, each 'sees' the other but nothing ever gets transferred. I have added specific IP address for each machine and even when selecting specific IP address, the file transfer fails with a wide ranging variety of error messages from 'remote host not available' to spontaneous 'file transfer cancelled' etc. Using USB flash drive instead... Happy to send logs to dev (have offered to do so in past) to help solve frustrating proble. App was excellent but reliability has deteriorated over time.

While I use it only on macintoshes, I bought it very long ago, merely to support them, and have been extremely satisfied continuously since then!

I am using it and I love it! Excellent software to share files between Macs on the same network.

Crashes at startup: "Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP) Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000 Application Specific Information: *** __CFTypeCollectionRetain() called with NULL; likely a collection has been corrupted ***" happy to provide crash logs to dev to assist if useful

Though I love this app and its developers for keeping it free, I do wish they’d include release notes with new versions.

I **really** want to buy this app as it's one I use all the time - when I can. It's so flaky and unpredictable. Sometimes the files transfer in a blink, other times it takes 30-40 seconds to connect before transfer begins. I have deleted all prefs, re-installed, tried the MAS version and the one direct from the developer. I have followed all the troubleshooting tips and spent a lot of time trying to work out why it works now when 10 minutes ago it didn't - without having touched anything. If it were reliable and an app that worked 100%, I would buy it, but until then I won't be paying for it. Happy to send logs etc to dev if there is interest in solving this.

extremely fast - works over a local network created on the Mac - much better than file sharing!

Found a cross-platform alternative... http://code.google.com/p/dukto/ I still like DropCopy's minimal interface better but this works nicely for those occasional (or not) Mac to PC transfers.

Anyone know what changed in v. 1.80?

THe upper most limit is GB. They are going to increase this.

Useless security breach - Installed on both my MBP and iPad. I was able to transfer files between the two without any security check, not even an approval of the receiving side … TERRIBLE !!! On the iPad the received files are useless as I cannot preview them without the full paid version. Needless to say that I flashed it and I am not recommending it.

I have a question for current users rather than a comment. What do you use this for that cannot be accomplished with DropBox (or other sync/share accounts) and Public Folders on a local network?

Dropcopy Pro is 1.76...this link and the developers site for Dropcopy is still 1.75

This downloads 1.75 not 1.76 ? Am I missing something?

update on troubleshooting efforts - complete removal of all DC files, prefs etc on all macs running Lion, and from iphone running iOS5 and despite extensive efforts, not working. Macs running SL and iPad running iOS 4 all work fine, so it seems Lion and iOS5 may be responsible? anyone else with problems on Lion or has found a solution to DC on Lion actually working?

oops - spoke too soon! after an hour or so, DC1.7.3 fails to see other macs on my wireless network, despite 'airdrop' working fine. so who knows what the heck is going on, but DC of any version on Lion is a problem for me - and I suspect the problem is Lion and NOT DC!

update on my previous post - DropCopy 1.7.3 works PERFECTLY under Lion, so I suspect the changes Apple made to wifi/networking that is causing so many people so much grief may be affecting DC 1.7.5 also. I was going to upgrade to the paid {home network) version but the problems under Lion have stopped me for the moment. Interim solution to flaky behaviour under Lion: (1) revert to DC 1.7.3 or (2) revert to Snow Leopard

I've been using DropCopy for quite a while. I paid for the upgraded version to be able to use it on a family network with several machines. It is really great to the extent that it works. However, it really doesn't work that well. Always there are destinations missing. That really is my main gripe. I feel like it should show all the destinations on the network correctly. I make sure to keep the most current version on all machines. The fact that is constantly complains about transferring large file sizes is only mildly annoying (but it comes up a lot). DropBox is not really the same because with DropCopy you are not synching remotely. It is a file transfer utility. Given the large amount of time it has been on the market, they have had time to get it debugged, but it is very buggy. My recommendation is to go with the free version and remind yourself that free is incredible. It isn't worth paying for only because it does not function correctly most of the time.

erratic/spotty/intermittent problems under Lion. More often than not, does not see other computers on local network, "no local destinations" while Apple's AirDrop works flawlessly. Would prefer DropCopy over AirDrop as DropCopy simpler but behaviour under LIon is making this app heading for the trash can... a shame, as it used to work so well

Nice App, BUT, why does it warn you all the time that the file your are sending is bigger than 50 MB, in these days almost everything we share is bigger than 50MB!! It should have a confirmation dialog option to confirm the sender, also this app would completely ROCK if it was a cross plataform JAVA version!, then we could use it on a usb pen, on windows, on mobile, whatever!

Great program, but problem with version 1.73 as the dropzone moves with Expose and does not show in all spaces. Most times it is hidden somewhere beyond the screen margin. Version 1.72 works well.

I was over on the Apple forums trying to answer a question for someone and during the course of the interaction amoungst a few of us, someone brought up a good point. Why are you using DropCopy when all you really need to do is enable "File Sharing" under the "Sharing" icon in Preferences. Good point I thought and laster did enable it. I don't need DropCopy now. I can move large amounts of data from one Mac to another with no size limitations that I found DropCopy had a 2GB. I'm not saying you don't need it. Some people can and will use it, but the game is changing with Lion's imminent release in July where moving data between Mac's will be transparent to the user.

Works great. Drop the files, thats it.

Only file transfer app that is actually entertaining to use. Definitely worth a try.

This is a great product. Saves me a lot of time with managing our workgroups. A lot of nice touches by the developers and great support. The Sparkle update for 1.70 had trouble on 2 Macs this morning so I came here to download the whole package.

This page lists v. 1.68 of my favorite application in the world (which I suspect is a MacUpdate mistake rather than DropCopy's developer), but clicking "Download Now" will download the newer v. 1.69.

Just simple and 100% useful, saves me a lot of time at the University's computers lab i manage.

Fantastic app. Nice and very easy to use. I really like the send files via SFTP feature. I think it is just missing the possibility to lock the icon position on the desktop from the display panel in the preferences.

A novel application that allows you to share files or applications between computers - as long as they're on the same network. DropCopy is very easy to use, and effective.

Simple - easy to use, - unintrusive. I love this thing... Beto

I agree with PorkPieHat - a really great application.

I cannot understand why this app is rated anything other than 5.0. It's perfect in every way.

I can now use the same 1.6.6 between 10.4.10 PPC and 10.6.4. Thanks !

DropCpy is one of only a few must-have apps for me. I suspect anyone with more than one Mac at home or work would feel the same after testing it for a few days. And the price can't be beat.

I'm confused. The application is still being built as a universal binary, yet the system requirements keep saying 10.6 and Intel. What was the last version of DropCopy that would work on a PowerPC Mac under 10.5.8?

DropCopy 1.6.2 nomore works on PPC 10.4.10. Works fine, no trouble on SL.

Confirming, DropCopy 1.6.2 Universal with hidden Dock pref starts up as Developer indicates. Slimming non-intel code kicks in the annoying startup message, so stripping non-intel code breaks app signature. So- don't strip languages/non-intel code from DropCopy and all will be fine.

Been doing some digging around as to why 1.6.2 still gets the annoying message at startup ("Do you want to allow...") with a hidden dock icon. I followed up on re-signing the app as per the DropCopy FAQ and came up with this: $ codesign -v /Applications/DropCopy.app /Applications/DropCopy.app: a sealed resource is missing or invalid hmm. digging around some more I found this: $ codesign -dvvvv /Applications/DropCopy.app Executable=/Applications/DropCopy.app/Contents/MacOS/DropCopy Identifier=DropCopy Format=bundle with Mach-O universal (i386) CodeDirectory v=20100 size=2197 flags=0x2(adhoc) hashes=104+3 location=system CDHash=df60b9a49c6ae92a556bc9a2a32e856373ae6433 Signature=adhoc Info.plist entries=14 Sealed Resources rules=4 files=57 Internal requirements count=1 size=144 is it possible that the app must remain Universal to be signed? I strip all my non-intel code from all apps using XSlimmer - maybe DropCopy doesn't like to be slimmed? any thoughts?

since dropcopy 1.6 annoying popup do you want the application dropcopy.app to accept incoming network each time i start the computer. and still no answer from devellopers to fix that. any help?

Just does what it saays. Great!

Gosh! This is just what I wanted. Happy as Larry! I will give this 5 stars instead of the 4.5 I would have preferred, as I have just 1 niggle. The dropzone at top left, plus or minus a few pixels when you try and move it, is a pain if is enabled, and I prefer that option. This FREE tool is in every other regard, a most welcome addition to my LAN. Thank you!

-- Version 1.6 has been released.

I'm back to using DropCopy again. Had been using Ubertragen widget, but it seems abandoned and has some significant Snow Leopard issues. I liked Ubertragen better because it was a widget not an app, and I had access to it from any/every Space as a widget. The ideal way to run DropCopy is with NO dock icon, but that makes it "invisible" to Spaces and thus you can't pin it to a particular Space or make it appear in every Space. It only appears in the space in which the application is launched in. Not nearly as convenient as Ubertragen. If anyone knows of a way to make DropCopy appear in every Space AND NOT appear in the Dock, I'm all ears.

I've loved and depended on this app for a couple of years now; it's an essential part of my network's wellbeing. It's simple, streamlined, and accomplishes a much-needed function. And the file transfer sound effects are great! HOWEVER, new releases of DropCopy too often have the frustrating trait of being inaccessible via dock, menu bar or any other means. Yes, I can click-and-drag the icon around the desktop, but there's no way to access DropCopy's preferences. It is within its preferences that the checkbox exists to Hide Dock Icon. Apparently, v1.5.8 is preselected with Dock icon hidden, so there's no way to get to its preferences to choose otherwise. I've had to revert to an archived copy of v1.5.7, because v1.5.8 is literally unusable. (I've had to skip several release versions in the last year because of this issue.) Another irritation (though not a deal-killer like the one above) is that the download destination preference seems to frequently get "borrowed" from this setting on the other network machine, and thus if I don't catch it and reset it, the transfer says it was delivered, but in fact never arrives. But I've learned to check this setting first if files don't show up where they're supposed to. Having said that, I still consider DropCopy crucial to management of the Macs on my network. I just wish I could give it five stars,...

The COOLEST app I even installed! Seriously.

I use DropCopy to get around the fact that Apple's Screen Sharing has no provision for drag-and-drop transfers of files and folders. After installing it on both my Macs I can pass files back and forth with ease, and it's never given me any trouble at all.

I've got the menu bar icon in 1.4.7! And finally it can remember the dock preferences!!

As of the installation of 1.4.7 there is no menubar icon anymore ,no way to configure preferences and oddly the triangle next to the dock icon (to show the app is on) is missing even though the app is on. Previously the app worked tolerably well. Support has gotten back to me in a few hours.

DropCopy 1.4.7 on my Tiger (10.4.11) MacBook can't send files to DropCopy 1.4.7 on my Leopard (10.5.2) iMac. They can see each other, but the sending DropCopy always times out unsuccessfully, and the receiving DropCopy never pops up an alert for an incoming file (which it's configured to do). Both machines have their firewalls configured to allow DropCopy connections on port 5052. This problem first showed up between 1.4 on Tiger and 1.3 on Panther, and has continued through the minor versions of 1.4

Excellent little app! never have to worry about transferring files from mac to mac on memory sticks or external drives or CD just install the app and you can start transferring files so easily highly recommended, definitely worth trying if you have more than one mac and you are moving stuff around now you dont have to open sharing or play with network settings - what a delight - file transfer the way it should be!! only 1 little glitch - in the prefs I set the position to be bottom/right on my screen, but the app positioned itself top left... manually dragged it to where I wanted it to be, a minor bug perhaps?

Even though it is out of beta I'm still getting the same error as the beta gave me when trying to run it on Leopard on my Macbook Pero. "You Can't open the application "DropCopy" because it is not supported on this architecture"

When trying to run the Leopard beta (available on the developers website) on my Macbook Pro I get the message. "You Can't open the application "DropCopy" because it is not supported on this architecture" Running Leopard 10.5.2

Especially cool when used with iPhone!

Excellent user interface -couldn't be simpler and easier. Very quick reactions from the development team. For me it's the "family transfer device" by excellence :-)

Description says ver. 1.3.x requires Tiger (10.4) and to use ver. 0.5.3 for Panther (10.3). However, ver. 1.2.1 works fine on Panther (10.3.9). Is it the case that 1.3.x is merely UNSUPPORTED on Panther, or is it known definitely not to work?

Easy to use, highly effective and fast, this certainly is one of the coolest must-have apps for Mac. DropCopy rocks! A bummer, of course that Mac OS 7 and 8 are not supported, but we'll get over it.

I'd buy it for the office if it supported Panther, but not with the upgrade to Tiger included in the price. Don't get on my case about not upgrading... businesses upgrade when there's a business case for it, not because Dashboard's "cool". Half our Windows desktops are still running Windows 2000, for that matter.

Also, experiencing the hang when transferring files. Using an Airport to transfer files between MacBook and Desktop. Previous version works perfectly.

Similar report here of a file getting hung during the file exchange. I was only sending a second file, not like I was sending loads of stuff. Also, when sending a file, the MAC address seems to come out the other end as 'coming from', instead of listing the user at the other end like the way it does for IM'ing. BTW, I love the ability to send quick small messages. Looks promising and I adore the concept, look forward to a bug free version.

Gets hung up trying to send several types of files between an iMac G5 and a MacBook Pro. A txt file disappeared right after completing the transfer, then DropCopy got hung up as if the file was still being transferred. A png file appeared but I could only open it if I copied the file, then after waiting 10 min., I had to cancel the transfer. The the png file disappeared. Still needs some work, for now the best alternative is still teleport.

One Word: Fantastic! The 'Get Clipboard' functions is real nifty. ...and free! Keep up the good work.

It just gets better and better. Well done, indeed!!!

GREAT mini application! THANX

great little app.even i can work it---network stuff generally drives me mad but this is all i need.

This program has worked flawlessly for me. It's free yet much more useful than some programs which require payment.

Where is the sense in using software like this that changes operating systems and dumps you! It did work on 10.3.9 but now there is no replacment just the annoying notice about expired beta which never goes away!

This has been an enormously useful utility for my 4 node home network. It's been reliable for the most part, although I'd had trouble with one system never successfully transferring using bonjour discovery (though adding the IP directly solved it); don't know yet whether the 1.0RC will solve that. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the shareware change; one of my 4 nodes now shows up as "unlicensed" from each system because of the new 3 system freeware limit. On the one hand it's a good utility and worth some money; on the other hand I'm not entirely sure it's worth $25 to me. I also wish I could use DropCopy when my desktop is obscured; it can't copy either through the MenuExtra or the Dock.

This is a really good app. I've used it for two mounts now and it performs fully over 95% of the time. I'm working from 2 Mac's and it is really helpful, since I haven't set up any network transfer yet. I even sent the open-office app and it worked like a charm! Although I failed trying to send all of my documents in one go, after I had erased and formated the hard-disc on my iMac, but it shouldn't have worked anyway. Great stuff this one!

"a connection to 254.134.15.4 on port 5052 every time"… What the hell is that? I would like to have a clear answer from the programmer !

Blah. I give up on this app. It's never seemed to work right for the last few versions. I'd get clipboard notifications a day or so late -- if at all. Files sporadically actually go through. Notifications often don't actually happen. A shame... it had the potential to be really cool. What REALLY bothers me is that I discovered that DropCopy recently started opening a connection to 254.134.15.4 on port 5052 every time you send or receive something from another DropyCopy on the network! Not sure when it actually started doing this, but it is unacceptable behavior in my opinion.

Love this little app. Use it between my kids machines and mine, to transfer files in a snap. Everyone can find out how to send files. Works flawlessly !!!!!!!!!! And very small on the desktop. Keep up the good work :-)

Handy, but doesn't seem to work right. I can't get my Panther machine to send files to my Tiger machine, but I can send from Tiger to Panther. Weird.

Great app, but it is not so stable. An update would be great.

I wonder - why not implement DropCopy as a Pref Pane? I wrote the author about this, but never got a reply. oh Well. :)

Doesn't work for me under Tiger, either. Will there be an update?

It is broken under OS X 10.4 Tiger. One machine running Tiger, and all the other machines can't find dropcopy running on the Tiger one.

The program is quick and easy. I use it constantly to move files between my desktop and laptops. But it expires every month and forces the user to download another copy...not a new or improved version..its been the same version now for many months. This is a feature that is extremely annoying.

I have used both DropCopy and Schick (they do the same thing for those wondering). I prefer Schick. Why? Two reasons: 1. I can open the folder I am using to hold the file transfers from the Schick icon whereas with DropCopy you must navigate manually down to the folder you want. 2. Schick provides a small visual cue about how many files you currently have transfered to you. DropCopy doesn't have any notification except for a sound. If you aren't near the computer when the file arrives, you will not know one has arrived. With Schick, you will see immediately (it uses a small red box with a number, just as the mail.app icon can do) DropCopy is a fine program and free (and it isn't yet 1.0 to be fair), it's just that Schick has the clear edge with it's better accessibility to the drop folder and with it's more effective notification.

Extremely useful - quick, easy, and doesn't interfere with your workspace/screen-space. It's perfect if you need a quick and easy way to transfer files between Mac's on your local network with minimal fuss and effort.

I put it on all 4 of my Macs on a home wireless network. It worked fine once and then the app started disappearing from screens. It appeared to be open but no Drop Zone on the desktop and no icon in the menu bar. In one instance (we kept trying!) it just died in the middle of a transfer of about 2 GB of digital photos. Everybody is running 10.3.7 and using version 0.4 of DropCopy. Sorry, it seems like such a good idea but appears unstable on my mix of G4's, G5's and towers/laptops/iMacs.

I've used "Schick" and I've used "DropCopy" and I've got to say that DC has got the edge. The interface is much cleaner and more (dare I say it) Mac-like. It's just as free. And, yeah, the Mac can do the same thing with Filesharing, Rendevous, etc. but it takes several more steps. Once you set up DC, it just sits there quietly on your desktop ready for use. No passwords, no mounting. If you have more than one computer, it's a great little add on. Also keep in mind that it hasn't even reached 1.0. Things could be getting even better. The one feature I'd ask for is the ability to edit destinations, not just add them. Maybe there's a way, but I haven't figured it out yet.

iChat - Rendezvous mode, lets you easily transfer files. System Prefs - File Sharing, lets you easily transfer files. No need to run some 3rd party app for this. Though I do say; props for making something that you like, and offering it to the public for free use.

Clumsy and buggy with a severely limited feature set. What it cannot hold a candle to is an utterly fantastic piece of FREEware called "Schick". Schick not only does lightening fast file transfers of ANY file, irrespective of size or type, but it permist chatting between Rendvous Networked Macs.

Very nice app, and I started to use without problem on a PB 1,25Ghz and a G3 imac dv as well, both on 10.3.7. However, I have a crash on a G4 466 PM (10.3.7 also); "Component manager: attempting to find symbols in a component alias of type (regR/carP/xlbt)". The app launches, then displays the pref window and crashed; the same after reboot, but it works fine on another account. Any clue ?

DropCopy, will you marry me?

a thought-as far as i can tell, there's no way to make for a confirmation before accepting a file...if, say, someone on my school network had this, i could just start packing their computer with child porn. I could be wrong, but that could be a problem. Or a fun game.

Worked fantastically, does exactly what it says, pretty intuitive set up. a fine and convinient app, will be very useful foruse with other student over my school network

At first I thought: "Why?" But then I tried it and realized that it's a handy little app! Definitely makes dealing with multiple machines on the network much easier. No I just need a Windows version :) A couple of additional features would make this perfect: locking the position of the droplet and being able to hide the app's icon so it doesn't take up space in the doc. Other than that, perfect.

It works great ! But please make it work on 10.2.8.

I've had a few stability problems (quits after a transfer), but this is a really great idea and I'm eager to watch it develop. It's very, very simple to start up and configure. Couldn't make network transfers or working on two different machines easier. I would love to see some kind of synch feature so that you could select one folder that stayed the same on both machines. At any rate, keep up the good work.

for those who don't see the difference to ichat's chat feature - ichat's rendezvous chat works great - this is just another way to do it and the realestate it takes up on the screen is far less - my buddy list always gets in the way. But most importantly, dropcopy is compatible with exposé! you can grab a file, send every other window off the screen with exposé, and the dropcopy icon remains in place for you to drag onto.

Nice App. I Believe it just needs a little more cowbell.

The is a great program. In a classroom situation, this program allows students to easily send documents to me. It's a lot faster than Connect to Server and certainly is fewer steps. We are not allowed to use iChat on campus so this is a great solution. Thanks for making such a useful program.

Great idea - but poorly implemented. The most frustrating thing is that the window doesn't "float" so unless you can see the desktop you can't see the window, but even finder windows often obscure the desktop on my small screen - not to mention every other application I have open. In order to use it I need to choose "hide all" and then move windows around until the drop window is visible ... what a pain. It would be great if it worked together with something like Quicksilver!!! Oh, and it crashed on me...