# When dragging an unselected image in a rich text editor, it is uploaded repeatedly

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/when-dragging-an-unselected-image-in-a-rich-text-editor-it-is-uploaded-repeatedly/402566
**Category:** Bug
**Tags:** composer
**Created:** [9 במאי,‏ 2026,‏ 1:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/when-dragging-an-unselected-image-in-a-rich-text-editor-it-is-uploaded-repeatedly/402566 "2026-05-09T13:40:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 16

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Noble\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ad7895/32.png) [@Noble\_Fish](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Noble_Fish)
#### Post date: [12 במאי,‏ 2026,‏ 6:14am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/when-dragging-an-unselected-image-in-a-rich-text-editor-it-is-uploaded-repeatedly/402566/16 "2026-05-12T06:14:46Z")

</div>

> [@denvergeeks](#):
>
> Could it be that this issue is limited to this particular image?

No, there are multiple images on my own website that can reproduce the issue, but I haven’t done much investigation on Meta and have only found this one case so far.

> [@denvergeeks](#):
>
> In this latter scenario, are you saying think that 2 different instances/copies of the image/file are being uploaded and that 2 files are then being stored on the server?

No, in fact Discourse is smarter than we thought. For example:  
A user on my website uploaded an image, and under the Markdown editor it appears like this:

```md
...
![pic|370x494, 40%](upload://jqrVvqCoYL0wuOvUZWTDwhYw8IU.jpeg)
...

```

I obtained its full link through the browser’s developer tools: `https://example.com/uploads/default/original/1X/8826bc6c1be0e501979df4a004b9b2ae51c50320.jpeg` . So I referenced the image in the editor using the full link format:

```md
![image](https://example.com/uploads/default/original/1X/8826bc6c1be0e501979df4a004b9b2ae51c50320.jpeg)

```

After dragging without clicking (triggering an upload) in the rich-text editor, the content in the Markdown editor becomes:

```md
![image](https://example.com/uploads/default/original/1X/8826bc6c1be0e501979df4a004b9b2ae51c50320.jpeg)

![image|370x494](upload://jqrVvqCoYL0wuOvUZWTDwhYw8IU.jpeg)

```

It can be seen that although Discourse shows that dragging triggers an upload, the image actually appears as `![image|370x494](upload://jqrVvqCoYL0wuOvUZWTDwhYw8IU.jpeg)` , which corresponds to the same attachment originally uploaded by that user as `https://example.com/uploads/default/original/1X/8826bc6c1be0e501979df4a004b9b2ae51c50320.jpeg` .

- Dragging an image referenced in the `![image|370x494](upload://jqrVvqCoYL0wuOvUZWTDwhYw8IU.jpeg)` format also results in the same handling.

From this perspective, triggering an upload again does not actually take up additional storage space — only the first uploaded file truly occupies server storage. So it’s just a user experience issue: users get confused about “why does dragging an image (when I click and then drag without releasing the mouse) fail to move as expected, but instead shows an ongoing upload and duplicates the image?”

---

_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/when-dragging-an-unselected-image-in-a-rich-text-editor-it-is-uploaded-repeatedly/402566)._