When you drag an item to the Dock, what is actually placed there?

When you drag an item to the Dock on a Mac, what is placed there is an alias of the item. An alias is essentially a pointer or a link that references the original item rather than copying the item itself. This means that when you click on the alias in the Dock, it will open the original item in its original location, ensuring that any changes made to the original file will be reflected in the content accessed through the Dock.

This mechanism is efficient as it saves space and avoids cluttering the Dock with duplicate copies of items. By using aliases, users can streamline their access to frequently used applications or files without duplicating them, keeping the system organized.