# How to AirDrop a folder from the NotchStar shelf

> Drag a folder to the notch and drop it on the AirDrop zone. The macOS picker opens with the folder attached and you choose the other Mac.

Canonical: https://www.notchstar.com/help/send-a-folder-from-the-notch-shelf/
Last updated: 2026-11-04

Published 2026-11-04.

Drag the folder to the notch like any file and drop it on the AirDrop zone. The drop accepts any item that is a file on your disk, and a folder is one. The AirDrop picker then opens with the folder attached, and you choose the other Mac.

## Steps

1. Drag the folder out of Finder toward the notch.
2. Drop it on the **AirDrop** zone.
3. Pick the other Mac in the picker. On that Mac, accept the incoming item.

## Park it on the shelf first

If you are not ready to send, drop the folder on the **shelf** zone instead. It shows as an icon that points at the original folder. When you are ready, right click the icon and choose **AirDrop**, or click the **AirDrop** button beside the shelf. Nothing is copied or moved, and the shelf is emptied when you quit NotchStar.

## Receiving side

Apple says some items received on a Mac go to the Downloads folder (page checked 4 November 2026). Ask the recipient to look there if they cannot find the folder.

See also [AirDrop large files](https://www.notchstar.com/help/airdrop-large-files-from-the-notch/) and the [File Shelf page](https://www.notchstar.com/features/file-shelf/).

## Quick answers.

### Does the folder get copied when I drop it on the shelf?

No. The shelf keeps only the location of the folder. AirDrop sends the folder from where it is.

## Keep reading.

- [A shelf and an AirDrop zone in the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/features/file-shelf/): Park files in the notch while you work, then drag them out or AirDrop them. Drag a file toward the notch and the shelf opens by itself.
- [How to AirDrop a file from your Mac notch](https://www.notchstar.com/help/airdrop-a-file-from-the-notch/): Drag a file toward the notch and drop it on the AirDrop zone. The macOS AirDrop picker opens with the file attached. Pick a device to send.
- [Can you AirDrop large files from the NotchStar shelf](https://www.notchstar.com/help/airdrop-large-files-from-the-notch/): The shelf holds only a location, so a big file adds no copy or wait. Transfer speed and limits come from AirDrop and the devices, not NotchStar.
- [How to AirDrop several files at once from the notch](https://www.notchstar.com/help/send-several-files-from-the-notch-shelf/): Drop several files on the AirDrop zone together, or park them on the shelf and press the AirDrop button. One picker opens with all of them.

## More in Shelf and AirDrop.

- [How to drop a file on the NotchStar shelf](https://www.notchstar.com/help/drop-a-file-on-the-notch-shelf/): Drag a file toward the notch and the Shelf tab opens. Drop it in the dashed zone and it waits there until you drag it out or send it.
- [How to open the NotchStar shelf by dragging a file](https://www.notchstar.com/help/open-the-shelf-by-dragging-toward-the-notch/): Drag a file toward the top of the screen near the notch and NotchStar opens the Shelf by itself. Let go elsewhere and it closes again.
- [Why the NotchStar shelf does not open for text or images](https://www.notchstar.com/help/why-the-shelf-does-not-open-for-text-or-images/): Drag to open reacts to files only. Text and images dragged from a web page do not open the shelf. Save the image as a file first, then drag it.
- [How to AirDrop a file from your Mac notch](https://www.notchstar.com/help/airdrop-a-file-from-the-notch/): Drag a file toward the notch and drop it on the AirDrop zone. The macOS AirDrop picker opens with the file attached. Pick a device to send.
- [What the AirDrop zone in the NotchStar shelf does](https://www.notchstar.com/help/what-the-airdrop-zone-does/): The AirDrop zone does not keep files. Whatever you drop on it opens the macOS AirDrop picker with those files attached, and nothing is stored.
- [How to AirDrop from your Mac notch to an iPhone](https://www.notchstar.com/help/airdrop-from-the-notch-to-an-iphone/): Drop a file on the NotchStar AirDrop zone, then tap your iPhone in the picker. The iPhone must be nearby with AirDrop receiving turned on.