Drag and Drop

A common method for manipulating files (and sometimes text) in a GUI system. The user moves the pointer over an icon representing a file and presses a mouse button. He holds the button down while moving the pointer (“dragging” the file) to another place, usually a directory viewer or an icon for some application program, and then releases the button (“dropping” the file). Holding certain keys on the keyboard at the same time can often modify the meaning of this action (copy or move for example). Some systems also use this technique for objects other than files, e.g. portions of text in a word processor. Modern operating systems, including Windows and the Mac OS, even allow you to drag and drop between applications. You can, for example, create a picture with a draw program, select it, and then drag it into a document that you are editing with a word processor.