How to Merge and Split Stacks in Edge-Drop

Stacks are Edge-Drop's answer to "I want to drag these five files into Slack at once." A stack is a bundle of up to 10 related items merged into a single shelf card, which can be dragged out as a batch into any target that accepts multiple file drops. This article covers how to merge items into a stack, what the 10-item cap means in practice, which item types are compatible, how stacks appear under filters, and how to split a stack back into separate items. For the downstream workflow — dragging a stack into a target app — see how to drag an item out of Edge-Drop into any app. For the onboarding context, see the first ten minutes with Edge-Drop.

What a stack is

A stack is a collection of up to 10 items, merged into a single shelf card. The stack card shows a count badge and a preview of the first item (or a stacked-cards visual, depending on version). When the stack is dragged out, all constituent items are dropped together as a batch — a single OLE drag operation that delivers multiple file handles to the target.

The stack is a logical grouping, not a copy. The constituent items remain in the history store; the stack is a view over them. Splitting the stack does not delete the items; it removes the grouping.

Stacks are useful when:

• Multiple files go to the same destination. Five screenshots into a Slack thread, three PDFs into an email attachment, two image assets into a Photoshop document.
• A batch of related text snippets goes together. Three lines of a meeting note, two lines of a standup format.
• A user wants to keep a working set together visually. A stack of four image assets for a current design task, kept as a single card until the task is done.

The 10-item cap

A stack can hold at most 10 items. The cap is enforced by Edge-Drop's Behaviour setting Maximum stack size, which defaults to 10 and can be lowered (but not raised above 10) in the settings panel. For the broader settings map, see Edge-Drop settings map: Behaviour, Position, Appearance.

When the cap is reached, attempting to add another item to the stack is rejected — the new item stays in the unpinned section as a standalone item. The user can either split the stack and start a new one, or remove an item from the stack to make room.

The cap exists because larger stacks produce drag-drop operations that some target apps handle poorly. Explorer, for example, accepts multiple file drops reliably up to around 50 files but can show degraded performance above that; other apps have lower thresholds. Ten is a conservative cap that keeps the drag-drop reliable across target apps.

For the broader argument about file bundles, see dragging several files as one stack and merging two clipboard items into a collection.

Compatible item types

A stack can contain mixed types — text, links, images, and files can all be in the same stack. There is one constraint: the stack must be drag-out-able as a batch, which means the constituent items must be expressible as a coherent drop set. In practice:

The "target-dependent" rows are where stacks get fragile. Some target apps accept only one format per drop operation (e.g., a browser address bar accepts only one URL, not multiple). For these targets, a mixed stack may deliver only the first item, or only the items of the format the target accepts. The robust combinations are homogeneous stacks: all images, all files, or all images-and-files.

For the longer treatment of which targets accept what, see how to drag an item out of Edge-Drop into any app and why some apps accept paste but reject drag.

How to merge items into a stack

The merge gesture is drag-to-flyout within the shelf.

1. Open the shelf.
2. Click and hold on the first item to merge.
3. Drag the item onto another item in the shelf. A flyout appears indicating the merge target.
4. Release the mouse button. The two items merge into a single stack card.
5. To add more items to the stack, repeat: drag an item onto the stack card.
6. The stack card shows a count badge (e.g., "3 items").

The order of items in the stack follows the order they were added. The first item added is the bottom of the stack; the last item added is the top.

If the merge gesture does not work, check that the Maximum stack size is not reached and that the target item is not already part of a full stack. See the troubleshooting section below.

How to split a stack

Splitting a stack returns the constituent items to the shelf as standalone items.

1. Open the shelf.
2. Right-click the stack card.
3. Choose Split from the context menu.
4. The stack card is replaced by the constituent items, in their original positions in the shelf.

Splitting does not delete the items. The items remain in the history store with their original timestamps; the stack was a grouping, not a separate copy.

For the broader "ungroup" treatment, see ungrouping a file bundle back into separate items.

Removing a single item from a stack

To remove a single item from a stack without splitting the whole stack:

1. Right-click the stack card.
2. Choose Expand (or similar, depending on version) to see the constituent items.
3. Right-click the item to remove.
4. Choose Remove from stack (or drag the item out of the expanded view).
5. The item returns to the shelf as a standalone item; the stack now contains one fewer item.

The exact gestures depend on the version; check the in-app hint or how to read Edge-Drop's in-app changelog for the current version's behaviour.

How stacks appear under filters

A stack appears in the filter view of any of its constituent items' formats. That is, a stack containing two images and a text snippet appears under All, Images, and Text. The stack card is the same regardless of which filter is active; only its visibility changes.

This is intentional — the stack is reachable from any filter that would show at least one of its items. For the full filter treatment, see how to filter text, links, images, and files.

How stacks combine with pins

A stack can be pinned. Pinning a stack pins the stack card, not the constituent items individually. If the stack is later split, the constituent items return to the unpinned section (unless they were individually pinned before being merged).

For the full pin treatment, see how to pin and unpin items in Edge-Drop.

How stacks combine with search

Search matches a stack if any constituent item matches the search substring. The stack card appears in the search results with a count badge indicating how many of its constituent items matched (or just the count of all items, depending on version).

For the full search treatment, see how to search clipboard history in Edge-Drop.

Dragging a stack out

Dragging a stack out is the same gesture as dragging a single item: click and hold the stack card, drag onto the target, release. The target receives all constituent items as a batch.

What the target receives depends on the target's drop handler:

For the longer target matrix, see how to drag an item out of Edge-Drop into any app and dropping clipboard images into Word, Slack, and Explorer.

Troubleshooting stacks

A few failure modes:

• Merge gesture does not work. The target item may already be in a full stack (10 items). Or the target item may be the stack itself and the user is trying to merge the stack onto itself. Or the Maximum stack size is set to 1 (effectively disabling stacks). Check the Behaviour tab.
• Stack does not drag out as a batch. The target app may not accept multiple file drops. Try dragging into a different target (Explorer) to confirm the stack itself is intact.
• Split does not restore items. The items may have been deleted by an auto-delete timer while in the stack. Split returns the items that remain in the history store; deleted items are gone.
• Stack count is wrong. The count badge reflects the number of items in the stack at the time of the badge update. If items were added or removed via a different path (e.g., a sync conflict — though Edge-Drop has no sync), the count may be stale. Re-merge to refresh.
• Settings revert after restart. A second Edge-Drop instance is overwriting config.json (e.g., both a Store build and a GitHub build are installed). Uninstall one. See how to uninstall Edge-Drop cleanly.

For the broader troubleshooting path, see internal drag vs external drag in clipboard UIs.

What stacks do not do

Stacks are a grouping mechanism. They do not:

• Sync across machines. Edge-Drop has no cloud sync.
• Persist across restart unless pinned. An unpinned stack is cleared on restart if "Clear unpinned on restart" is on. Pin the stack to keep it.
• Bypass the 4 MB per-item cap on Win+V. That cap is a Win+V constraint, not an Edge-Drop constraint; Edge-Drop does not impose a per-item size cap. See Windows clipboard 4 MB cap: what gets dropped for the Win+V side.
• Convert items to a different format. A text item in a stack with images remains a text item; dragging the stack into a target may deliver the text and the images separately.
• Expose the constituent items to drag-out individually. A stack is a batch drag; to drag a single item, split the stack first (or use the expand gesture, depending on version).

For the broader product behaviour, see Edge-Drop settings map: Behaviour, Position, Appearance.

When NOT to use stacks

Stacks are the wrong tool when:

• The target accepts only one item per drop. A browser address bar, a single-line text field. Drag the items individually instead.
• The items are not actually related. A stack is a logical grouping; merging unrelated items creates noise.
• The user needs to drag items to different destinations. Stacks are for batch drops to a single destination. Individual items to different destinations should be dragged individually.
• The user is on a 4 GB RAM machine. Edge-Drop's 130–160 MB footprint is a real cost; stacks do not change that. See when not to use Edge-Drop.

Summary

Merge items into a stack by dragging one item onto another in the shelf. The stack holds up to 10 items, can contain mixed types (with homogeneous stacks being the most reliable for drag-out), and appears under any filter that would show at least one of its constituent items. Split a stack by right-clicking and choosing Split — the constituent items return to the shelf as standalone items, with their original timestamps. Drag a stack out as a batch by clicking and dragging the stack card onto the target. Stacks do not sync across machines, do not persist across restart unless pinned, and do not bypass target apps' drop constraints. They are the right tool for batch drops to a single destination; for individual drops, drag items individually.

Related reading

• How to Drag an Item Out of Edge-Drop Into Any App
• How to Click-to-Paste Without Stealing Focus
• How to Install Edge-Drop on Windows 10 and 11
• What Local-First Software Means for Clipboard Apps

Sources

• Microsoft Learn — Shell Clipboard Formats — official reference for the HDROP format Edge-Drop uses to bundle multiple files into a single stack drag
• Microsoft Learn — IDropSource and IDropTarget — Win32 reference for the OLE drag-drop mechanism Edge-Drop uses to deliver a stack as a batch drop
• Microsoft Support — Using the clipboard on Windows — official description of the Windows clipboard surface that Edge-Drop's stacks extend with multi-item grouping
• Microsoft Learn — Window Styles — WS_EX_NOACTIVATE — documents the no-activate style that lets the shelf remain non-focus-stealing during stack drag-out
• Edge-Drop — GitHub README — official source of truth for the merge/split gestures, the 10-item cap, and the Maximum stack size setting

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