What the NotchStar shelf remembers: locations, not contents

The shelf remembers where each file is, not what is inside it. Dropping a file stores its location, the way an alias does. Nothing is copied or moved. When you drag an icon out, you are dragging the original file from its original folder.

What is kept

• The location of each file you dropped, held in memory while NotchStar runs.
• The name and icon, which are read from that location when the icon is drawn.

What is not kept

• A copy of the file. Dropping a 2 GB video adds no 2 GB to your disk.
• The contents, which NotchStar does not read to build the shelf. The privacy page says the same: the file shelf remembers where files are, not their contents.
• Anything after you quit. See what happens when you quit.

Why it matters

1. Speed. An icon appears at once, whatever the file size.
2. No duplicates. Edits you make to the original are what you drag out later.
3. A catch. If you move, rename or delete the original, the shelf entry no longer points to anything. Read why a file looks missing after moving it.

See the File Shelf page for the tool overview.