Dock Icons will not move in Yosemite

I am able to rearrange the dock icons for a period of time after each restart, though I have not been able to determine the length of time. Then I am not able to rearrange the dock icons again.

I have tried the solutions found here: Can't rearrange Dock icons

The killall Dock command did not do anything.

Deleting the com.apple.dock.plist file only seemed to work due to the restart because after a while the issue came back.

Is there a way to fix this issue so that I do not have to restart every time I want to rearrange icons?

Solution 1:

Did you try this?

Finder and Dock issues in OSX 10.10.1

I had the same exact problem and it was definitely caused by Pushbullet extension in Chrome. Disabled completely the extension, restarted the system and the dock started working. Don't know if it was caused specifically by the "Universal copy & paste" option being enabled or the extension as a whole, would have to investigate this further. Hope this helps.

Solution 2:

In Terminal.app type:

defaults read com.apple.dock contents-immutable

If it comes back with 1 then

Make a backup of the plist file and then try this command to unlock the Dock?

defaults write com.apple.dock contents-immutable -bool no; killall Dock

Solution 3:

Seems that pushbullet is the culprit (thanks @mysz). Specifically the chrome extension for pushbullet, uncheck universal copy and paste by visiting the extension's setting page. Do a restart and the problem should be fixed

Solution 4:

Is it possible you're unwittingly holding down the command key while dragging. The command key temporarily "locks" the Dock, so that drags to/from the Dock do not affect it. This is new in Yosemite. The purpose is two-fold:

• When dragging a document to the Dock, it prevents icons already present from "dancing away" from the one you're dragging, making it easier to drop a document onto an app in the Dock.

• When dragging a document from the Dock, it lets the Dock know you intend to drop it somewhere (such as on an application or into your Finder sidebar) and are not trying to remove it.

You might object "I would know if I were holding down the command key." But it's possible you are inadvertently enabling "Sticky Keys". By default, Sticky Keys is turned on/off by pressing the shift key five times in a row. This is easy to do if you are playing a game that uses the shift key as a fire button.

When Sticky Keys is turned on, tapping any of the modifier keys (command, control, shift, option) makes the modifier key "stick", even after you lift your finger from the key, until you press a non-modifier key. The purpose is to facilitate use of the computer by someone who can press only one key at a time.

Note that dragging something to/from the Dock is a mouse action, not a "non-modifier key", and does not release the sticky modifier.

Tapping a modifier key twice in a row locks it, similar to how Caps Lock works. The key behaves as if pressed until you tap it again to unlock it.

If Sticky Keys has become activated, it's easy to press the command key intending to invoke some keyboard shortcut, and then change your mind. You lift your finger from the key, but Dock (and all your other apps) think you're still holding the key down.