2-MINUTE READ · NEW IN FILEPANE 2.0.16

Sharing Cards: send files to WhatsApp - and any app - from your Mac

You right-click a photo in Finder, choose Share… and WhatsApp isn’t there. It never is. The macOS Share menu only lists apps that ship a share extension, and WhatsApp for Mac doesn’t have one. So the usual routine is: open WhatsApp, find the chat, click the paperclip, dig through folders for the file — and do it all again for the next chat.

FilePane 2.0.16 works around that with Sharing Cards: your files wait in a small card next to the app’s window, ready to drag in. And they work with any app, whether it has a share extension or not.

Share files to WhatsApp from your Mac

  1. Drop your files on FilePane — or select them in Finder and press ⌃⌥F.
  2. Choose Share ▸ WhatsApp. WhatsApp comes to the front and a small card with your files appears right next to its window, every file already selected.
  3. Drag the files from the card into any chat. Done.
Share ▸ WhatsApp — the card appears beside the WhatsApp window.

Sharing text or a link instead? WhatsApp opens with the message already typed — pick a chat and press Send.

Send the same files to several chats

Files don’t disappear from the card when you drag them. Each one gets a ✓ once it’s been sent, and stays put - so the family group, your partner and your mum all get the holiday photos from one share. Send only some of them? Click to pick files, use All / None or press ⌘A. Select files and press Remove (or ⌫) to take them off the card.

Real life: twelve photos from the weekend, three chats. One share, three drags — no paperclip, no folder digging.

A card that follows the app’s window

A Sharing Card belongs to its app, not to your screen. With WhatsApp, for example:

  • It sits beside the WhatsApp window and moves with it. Drag the card somewhere else and it remembers that spot relative to the window.
  • It gets out of the way when you switch to another app, minimise or close the WhatsApp window, or move to another Space — and comes back when you return.
  • It works in full screen and across Spaces.
  • It closes when you quit WhatsApp.
  • It never pulls you out of WhatsApp — clicking the card doesn’t switch apps.
  • It keeps track of your files — rename or move one in Finder and the card still sends the right file.
Share more files while a card is open and FilePane asks whether to Add them or Replace what’s there; files already on the card aren’t added twice.

Sending photos to people you don’t know well? Turn on strip metadata in the Share panel and GPS location and camera details are removed before the files reach the card.

Use numeric keys for quicker sharing. Strip metadata before sharing. Access quick settings.
No scripting, no web interface, no clipboard of any app is touched: FilePane never controls the app or touches your account aligned to those apps. It only puts your files next to the window - you do the final drag.

A Sharing Card for any app - even without a share extension

WhatsApp is just the first app with a Sharing Card. Any app you can drag files into can have one: Mail, Slack, Discord, Telegram, Notion, Keynote, a browser upload page… It doesn’t matter whether the app has a share extension. Add apps in Settings ▸ Sharing ▸ Sharing Cards ▸ Add App…. Each one gets its own row in the Share list - for example “Mail · Sharing Card”, right below the normal Mail row.

Each app keeps its own card and a card only shows up while you’re in its app.
Sharing card follows app's active window. You can drag it to any place on the screen, if needed

Real life: sharing to Mail normally starts a brand-new email with attachment. With a Mail Sharing card you drag the attachments straight into the reply you already have open.

Make the Share list yours

The Share panel used to show every service macOS offers, in macOS order. Now it’s yours to shape in Settings ▸ Sharing:
  • Reorder — drag the rows. The number keys follow your order: 1–9, then 0 for the tenth.
  • Hide what you never use — untick it. Hidden rows never reach the Share panel.
  • Quick changes on the spot — the gear button in the Share panel hides or shows any row instantly, and opens Sharing Settings.
  • New apps show up by themselves — install an app with a share extension and its row appears at the end of the list.
  • Start over any time — Restore Defaults puts the original order back and keeps WhatsApp as your card app.
Your order, your keys - hide the rest.

Want an app’s own share extension switched off system-wide? Manage macOS share extensions… at the bottom of the Sharing tab opens the right System Settings pane.

Sharing Card or Shelf? Which one to use

FilePane has a second place to keep files: the Shelf. They look alike, but they solve different problems.

The Shelf is for collecting. It’s one floating tray for files from anywhere — gather them now, deliver them when you get there:
  • Fill it any way you like — press ⌃S and drop files on it; select files in Finder and press ⌃⌥S; press ⌃⇧S to shelve whatever’s on your clipboard; press S on the actions bar to shelve the current file.
  • Send results straight to it — every action that makes a file (Zip, Resize, Convert, Compress, OCR, Watermark…) has a “Shelf the result” checkbox; ⇧↩ runs the action and shelves the output in one go.
  • It stays — files are still there after a restart, until you drag them out. Drag one out and it leaves the Shelf, so there’s nothing to clean up.
  • It hides when you don’t need it — ⌘M tucks it into a slim tab at the edge of the screen; drag a file over the tab and it pops open. While you drag, a small mini-shelf appears beside the drop area if the Shelf isn’t open.
A Sharing Card is for sending. It belongs to one app, follows that app’s window, and keeps files on it so you can send them again and again.
Sharing CardShelf
Made forSending files into one app — chats, replies, documentsCollecting files from anywhere, to deliver later
Where it livesNext to that app’s window — follows it, hides when you leave the appOne floating tray you place yourself; tucks into an edge tab
How files get thereShare ▸ the app’s row⌃S and drop, ⌃⌥S on a Finder selection, ⌃⇧S clipboard, “Shelf the result”
After you drag a file outIt stays (✓) — send it to the next chat tooIt leaves the Shelf — nothing left to clean up
How long it lastsUntil you close the card or quit the appAcross restarts, until you drag files out
How manyOne card per appOne Shelf

Rule of thumb: gathering files from different places for later? Shelf. Sending the same files into chats, replies or documents in one app? Sharing Card.

FAQ

Why isn’t WhatsApp in the Share menu on my Mac?

The macOS Share menu only lists apps that ship a share extension. WhatsApp for Mac doesn’t have one, so it never appears when you right-click ▸ Share in Finder, Photos or any other app.

How do I send a file to WhatsApp from Finder?

With FilePane, drop the file on FilePane (or select it in Finder and press ⌃⌥F), choose Share ▸ WhatsApp, then drag the file from the card into a chat.

Can I send the same photos to several WhatsApp chats?

Yes. Files stay on the card after you drag them, marked with a ✓, so you can drag them into as many chats as you like.

Does FilePane use WhatsApp Web, automation or my clipboard?

No. FilePane never controls WhatsApp, never logs in anywhere and never touches your clipboard. It only places your files next to the WhatsApp window — you do the final drag.

Can I share text or a link to WhatsApp?

Yes. Shared text or a link opens WhatsApp with the message already typed — pick a chat and press Send.

Which apps can have a Sharing Card?

Any app you can drag files into: Mail, Slack, Discord, Telegram, Notion, Keynote, a browser upload page and so on. Add it in Settings ▸ Sharing ▸ Sharing Cards.

What’s the difference between a Sharing Card and the Shelf?

A Sharing Card belongs to one app and follows its window, and files stay on it so you can send them again. The Shelf is a single floating tray for collecting files from anywhere; it stays across restarts, and a file leaves it when you drag it out.

New to FilePane? How FilePane works covers the basics in five minutes.

Questions or ideas? support@mymixapps.com

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