Trackpad issues! scroll while dragndrop

On a MacBook Air running macOS 27.0, these are two separate behaviours.

For the Apps gesture, check System Settings → Trackpad. 

Apple documents the available trackpad gestures and their settings. 

If there is no option to disable the Apps gesture, there may be no user-facing setting for changing it. Apple: Use Multi-Touch gestures on your Mac

For the Finder scrolling issue, first verify whether two-finger scrolling works normally before and after dragging a file and whether it stops only while the file is being dragged. 

If available, test Finder with an external mouse. You can also enable Three Finger Drag under System Settings → Accessibility → Pointer Control → Trackpad Options and see whether the behaviour changes. Apple: Turn on three-finger drag

Next, test the same operation in a temporary user account. If the problem occurs there as well, it is less likely to be specific to the original user account.

Then test the Mac in Safe Mode. 

If the problem disappears in Safe Mode but returns after a normal startup, review System Settings >> General >> Login Items & Extensions. 

Temporarily disable appropriate third-party login items, background activity, and Finder-related extensions, restarting and testing after changes. Apple provides information about managing login items and background tasks here: Apple: Manage login items and background tasks on Mac

If the behaviour remains in both the temporary account and Safe Mode, third-party software specific to the original account becomes less likely to explain the problem, and further investigation of macOS, Finder, or the trackpad itself would be appropriate.

To turn off the trackpad gesture for Apps, the first step is to ignore the ChatGPT-generated reply that suggests there may no user-facing setting for changing it, since that's a typical LLM slop answer.

Go to System Settings > Trackpad > More Gestures tab and toggle OFF the Apps: Pinch with thumb and three fingers gesture.

More info: Change Trackpad settings on Mac - Apple Support (that is the support article that is actually relevant to your question, not the ChatGPT-suggested slop).

Regarding your drag-and-drop scrolling issue, I cannot replicate that. Dragging an item into a folder and positioning it at the bottom of the folder scrolls the list down (and at the top, scrolls it up). This list was actively scrolling when I took the screenshot.

The above also works with the destination folder in icon view. You can also click and drag, then hold the item over the destination folder with your thumb, and use two fingers to scroll the window up and down (the blue outline in the screenshot below is the 'starting place' of the list before I started two-finger scrolling).

If those methods are nor working for you, there are some troubleshooting steps to follow. Have you rebooted your Mac? If not, that's the first step. If that does not help, then see if the problem is present when you boot in safe mode. That process performs some system cleanup and clears caches, and also disables 3rd party extensions that may cause problems.

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

If that does not correct the issue, test in a new user account. A newly-created user account will have all settings at default, and if the issue does not occur in that new account then it provides guidance on what may need to be changed to correct the issue.

Add a user or group on Mac - Apple Support

Once the testing is complete, the new account can easily be deleted.

Delete a user or group on Mac – Apple Support

Those steps will help to isolate the problem.

It might help to download and run EtreCheck, written by a long-time forum member. The free version is fine. Post the full report using the Additional Text button. No personal information is revealed. 

Interesting...and I can replicate that behavior. Worth noting that this setting is new to Golden Gate. Here's the same settings pane from my Mac running Tahoe:

So, this appears to be a bug in macOS Golden Gate. Apple added a setting and it doesn't work correctly.

Bugs can be reported to Apple here:

Feedback - macOS - Apple

SergeyFat wrote:

Can't turn off trackpad gesture for "Apps". I don't need it! And why scroll in finder stop working while I drag'n'drop file?

System Settings->Trackpad, click "More gestures" and turn the marked one off:

I can approve that I read and tried all the suggestions so far, and that I'm in the same frustrating spot, of an advanced user with a very specific gesture I've been using for at least 20 years now, which has been broken by macOS 27.

I just updated to 27.0.1, but the gesture remains broken:

Used to click a file with the thumb, and drag it while scrolling with 2 other fingers exactly to where I wanted to drop it.

Right now even the columns in the column view do not react, when I drag left (higher in the folder hierarchy). That's an actual broken usability.

Either clicking and dragging a file with the Wacom pen, and attempting to scroll on the trackpad simultaneously; that scenario is broken as well.

Edit: The problem persists logging in with a fresh user (I'm anyway on a new, day old Mac mini).

I thought I was going crazy. I was certain this worked in macOS Sequoia, but it no longer works in macOS Golden Gate.

I used to select files in Finder, press and hold the mouse button to drag them, then use another finger to scroll through the Finder window until I found the folder where I wanted to drop them. Now I can’t do that in Golden Gate.

SergeyFat wrote:

Thanks for your reply. I'll try to figure out about scrolling. I have trouble only with second option when holding file with one finger and scrolling with another two. Same issue on my Macbook Air M5 and Mac mini M4.

Sometimes I will use my other hand to perform the scroll while my first hand is holding/dragging the selected items.

Check out the Accessibility option in System Settings to see if anything there will help.

Change Pointer Control settings for accessibility on Mac - Apple Support

Thanks for your reply. I'll try to figure out about scrolling. I have trouble only with second option when holding file with one finger and scrolling with another two. Same issue on my Macbook Air M5 and Mac mini M4.

As for the apps, I wasn't quite clear. I know where that switch is, but it doesn't work! When I tap it, nothing happens, when I try to slide it left, it slides back. I showed on video https://youtu.be/LTFqBCe_Cio

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

System Settings->Trackpad, click "More gestures" and turn the marked one off:

@Luis Sequeira1, have you tried this on your Mac running macOS 27.0? And if so, does it work?

For me, it does not. The toggle is there, but it cannot be set to the OFF position (neither clicking the toggle nor dragging it are effective). The other two toggles on that settings pane (Notification Center and Show Desktop) can be turned off and on normally.

neuroanatomist wrote:

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

System Settings->Trackpad, click "More gestures" and turn the marked one off:

@Luis Sequeira1, have you tried this on your Mac running macOS 27.0? And if so, does it work?

For me, it does not. The toggle is there, but it cannot be set to the OFF position (neither clicking the toggle nor dragging it are effective). The other two toggles on that settings pane (Notification Center and Show Desktop) can be turned off and on normally.

Sorry, I knew the toggle was there, but I hadn't actually tried.

Just like in your case, I cannot turn it off.

Luis Sequeira1 wrote:

Sorry, I knew the toggle was there, but I hadn't actually tried.

Just like in your case, I cannot turn it off.

Thanks for confirming. I went through the same cycle with the OP (suggested turning it off, only after the reply did I try...and fail; I then noticed it was a new setting not present in Tahoe).

Bug reported.

Upgraded today to 27.0.1 and nothing changed. Can't turn off "Apps" gesture and scroll while dragging not working even with a mouse on my Mac mini ) Amazing! By the way, I chat last week with support about this issue. I hope it will be delivered to the dev guys.

Click, drag and scroll works for me from one finder window to another. But for files within the same window, it does not. As soon as I select a file in a list, scrolling is locked for that finder window.

Today I was in the Apple store and tried to turn off the "apps" gesture on a demo macbook and it didn't work ) Same with drag'n'drop. So bad release...

No, it doesn't help.

Same issue here. New Mac Studio m5 OS27 - click and drag a file/folder and then try to scroll on Magic Trackpad never works.

Correct. Same for me. Works from one window to the other but not within the same window.