Is it my fault, or Windows'™ fault that my drag-n-drop broke

[LowlyOP]

Sometime in the last few months i noticed i was no longer able to drag files from a Windows Explorer window, only from say, the reaper Media Browser. I can still drag audio to plugins hosted inside reaper, yet not Reaper itself. Used to work 100%. Is this a setting or something? Or did a Windows update render this function fubar?

[toleolu]

When you try to drag and drop, does it throw any kind of error, or does it just do nothing?

[serr]

Originally Posted by LowlyOP

I can still drag audio to plugins hosted inside reaper

Hold on...
Can you actually drag-drop audio files on a plugin icon and have it process that audio offline?! (Reading that statement literally there.) Just like you do with apps that support that in the dock? (OS dock, not Reaper's 'dock')

[karbomusic]

This happens if you run reaper explicitly as admin, it's a security/sandbox thing.

[LowlyOP]

Originally Posted by karbomusic

This happens if you run reaper explicitly as admin, it's a security/sandbox thing.

Wow.. I'm going to test this now, thanks - but when did this become a thing? I was fairly certain I've had the admin setting ticked in the launch option for longer than this behavior started.


Thanks again though I'll post back if that doesn't work.

[karbomusic]

Originally Posted by LowlyOP

Wow.. I'm going to test this now, thanks - but when did this become a thing? I was fairly certain I've had the admin setting ticked in the launch option for longer than this behavior started.


Thanks again though I'll post back if that doesn't work.

For years since it's part of Windows - basically when you run as admin, you (as you) are logged into the desktop etc. but Reaper is running as the admin account. The DnD doesn't work because those two accounts are sandboxed from each other (for security reasons) and DnD is trying to move from one security context to the other.

[LowlyOP]

Thank you for the explanation. I have always thought "run as admin" to be like "give me full control" (placebo effect seeing that badge on my icons), even tho nothing outside of system-related stuff showed any real benefit.

[karbomusic]

Originally Posted by LowlyOP

I have always thought "run as admin" to be like "give me full control" (placebo effect seeing that badge on my icons), even tho nothing outside of system-related stuff showed any real benefit.

Ah, makes sense and it can be confusing sometimes. You have as many rights if you are in the administrators group (which you are I'm sure). If you need to do something that needs elevated rights the OS will ask you to click OK.

Actually, thinking about this, I'd have to go back and check, but reaper may not be running as the actual admin account, but rather gives Reaper an elevated admin token per your request, so that separation between your normal account and this elevated instance still exists. Since Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) is running as your non-elevated account, and reaper with the elevated token, the OS won't let drag and drop move the file across that barrier. It would be insecure as that would allow something like malware to also cross that barrier and it would then have full rights to your machine.

Another point for all:

I trust reaper but I can't say I trust the myriad of plugins available; if they load in reaper, and reaper is running as admin, they also have those rights.