Photoshop Won’t Open – Fix Photoshop Drag and Drop Not Working Issue

Some users say that Drag and Drop in Photoshop is not Working once they start editing files. We also get emails from our readers saying that Photoshop won’t open, and some say Photoshop won’t let me drag and drop, forcing them to open a new image using the Photoshop menu option. So, let’s see how the Photoshop Fix for the drag-and-drop problem works.

For the issue of importing images into Photoshop not working, you don’t have to reinstall your Photoshop. We can fix it by slightly changing the system registry file. The problem has been there for a long time, and you can see it even in Photoshop’s official website feedback section. Many users are asking for a solution for the drag-and-drop issue in Photoshop.

How to Fix Photoshop Drag and Drop Not Working Issue

If your Photoshop won’t open any images and you can’t drag and drop Photoshop files, you can fix it quickly. To quickly fix the Photoshop software’s drag-and-drop problem, follow the steps below. Before proceeding, please note that the solution is for Windows machines running on Windows 7, Windows 10, or the latest Windows 11. The below Photoshop drag-and-drop issue fix won’t work for Mac and Linux as the file system differs entirely from Windows. However, you can follow the steps below to fix Photoshop drag and drop issues.

Step 1: Go to your search section on the Windows and type regedit. You will see the regedit Run command item. Click on it. (Windows search can be found within the Taskbar)

Step 2: In the Regedit window, double-click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

Step 3: Then double click on SOFTWARE.

Step 4: Then, you will see a big list. Find MICROSOFT and double-click on that.

Step 5: Then find WINDOWS and double-click to open it.

Step 6: Then double click on CurrentVersion.

Step 7: Then find Policies and double click on that.

Step 8: Then double click on System

Step 9: Now, you reached the main menu area. Look at the items available on the right side.
You will see EnableLUA—Double-click on that.

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Step 10: Now, a small window will open with the value of that item. You may see it by default; the Value data set is 1. You need to change it to 0 and do not change any other value (keep base as Hexadecimal)

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Step 11: Now click OK. It is now updated. Now, please restart your PC. After that, try Photoshop and see whether the drag-and-drop Photoshop option is working or not.

This was the simple and working fix for the Photoshop drag and drop not working issue on most Windows PCs. Unfortunately, as the software gets updated, the fix may not work on some newer versions, and we will find a way to fix them, too.

We hope the issue is now fixed for you. Please let us know if you still have any problems in the comment section below. If it works fine, you can start editing with some good textures and presets in Photoshop.

How to Fix the Photoshop Drag and Drop Problem without Registry Edit?

If you think the system registry edit is tricky and too much to do, you can also do a straightforward step.

Step 1: Open the control panel of your Windows machine.

Step 2: From the Control Panel, go to the Action Center.

Step 3: Change the User Control Settings from the Action Center.

Step 4: Move the slider and change the value to the lowest available, showing Never Notify.

Step 5: Done. Restart the computer and launch the Photoshop application to check whether the issue is resolved.

This solution is a quick fix and might not work for all PCs. If it is not working, you should try the above registry and edit the solution.

Do these Steps Fix Photoshop Drag and Drop Issues on Mac?

Unfortunately, the tricks mentioned above only work on Windows machines. The Fix Photoshop issue’s steps are the same for Windows 10 and 11. However, you can’t use it to fix Photoshop Issues on Mac. Being a completely different operating system, the file system and types are entirely different in the case of Mac.

Why Photoshop CS6 Won’t open File While Dragging?

Since the Photoshop files system is identical in almost all versions, you can use the same fix to solve the drag photos issue on Photoshop CS6.

Why does Photoshop won’t open Image Files While Dragging by working from the menu?

This is the same drag-and-drop issue with the Photoshop application. Since the drag and drop needs a special registry update, the option may sometimes not work. But the file open from the menu might work without any issue. So, until the Photoshop drag issue gets fixed, you can use the open file option to open Photoshop images.

Does this Photoshop Fix for Drag and Drop Work for the Latest Photoshop CC version

This solution mentioned above should work for all the versions. We have checked with our readers regarding the same, and we can see that the fix works for Photoshop CC 18, Photoshop CC 20, etc. So, in short, it will work on all the versions.

Is Administrator Privilege Needed to RUN the Program

You can try the same with and without the administrator privilege. You can use it if everything is working fine without the admin privilege. In rare cases, the issue might not get resolved without administrator privilege. In such a scenario, you can try again with admin privilege.

Is it Safe to EnableLUA on Windows For this Issue?

EnableLUA is a security control that gives users a Limited User Account privilege. In that stage, the system will show additional popups and dialogs before you install any software so that the system can notify you about the action. The notification won’t always be shown once the LUA is zero.

It doesn’t mean that this action will make your system vulnerable or your system will get affected. It only hides the notification popup which appears during each software installation. If you are using a good antivirus and not going to install third-party cracked software on your PC, there won’t be any serious issues regarding this.

Conversely, some professionals recommend not disabling the LUA due to this issue. But it is subjective, and you will not install untrusted software from any third-party website, no problem. However, always ensure everything is safe and trustworthy before installing any new software on the PC.

Does it work for the Portable Photoshop Version?

Portable Photoshop is not an official legal software; hence, we never recommend it. However, since portable Photoshop is also based on the original software, it should work technically, and the issues with Photoshop won’t open should be fixed. Still, it is not 100% guaranteed, and we never recommend portable Photoshop.

Does this Photoshop Drag and Drop Issue Fix Work on Windows 11?

Yes, the fix mentioned above for the Photoshop drag and drop will work for Windows 11, too. Since the registry tools used in all the Windows versions are almost the same, the same solution will work on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, etc.

42 thoughts on “Photoshop Won’t Open – Fix Photoshop Drag and Drop Not Working Issue”

  1. Hi, I did the same and it worked for me however I am not able now to open any application on my computer as it say “App/Photos can’t be open with a built-in administrator account.” So I changed the User Account Control Setting to Enable again for the apps/photos to open again which gets me back to the can’t drag photo to the photoshop problem. Can you help me fix this? Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Thanks it works like a magic..!!
    Here these below 2 things are to be done before thinking that it doesn’t works
    1. Restart PC and then check whether it is working or not.
    2. Try both ways i,e Run photoshop as administrator and not as administrator.

    Reply
  3. It did not work with me😪, i’ve been trying for 2 days, I so made😡 cause I can’t work.
    Any mother solution please?

    Reply
  4. Hey, I did this and it worked! But everytime I download a new texture pack or any art asset to use, it happens again. Is there something I can fix in the setting permanently so I don’t have to do this every single time I download a new design asset to create with?

    Reply
    • Hi Lexi,

      Sorry to hear that you faced the same issue on Mac too. Currently, the fix is only for Windows. For Mac, and we will take a look and update the artcile accordingly. Thank you for letting us know about that.

      Reply

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