1.3.5 - Windows - Model Window - Drag and Drop
What is the purpose of drag and drop?
There is a shortcut in MindModel which allows you to add certain types of nouns to your model by dragging and dropping items onto the Model Window. This shortcut uses the Windows feature called "drag and drop."
The purpose of drag and drop is to allow you to copy information from one program to another, without having to cut and paste.
What are some examples of types of data that can be dragged and dropped onto the Model Window?
You can drag files from Windows Explorer and drop them as document nouns. Note that these files can be of any type: text files, word processing documents, pictures, applications, etc.
NOTE: For more information on this topic, refer to the section: Advanced Q&A: Linking Pictures to Nouns in Your Model.
You can drag url's (web site addresses) from the "Address" area in Internet Explorer, Netscape, or other web browsers and drop them as web site nouns into MindModel.
You can drag text from any word processor (such as Microsoft Word) that supports drag and drop, and drop it as a text noun.
Experiment with your favorite applications to see which ones work with this feature.
How do I get ready to drag and drop?
Before you drag and drop, you need to resize the window that contains the entire MindModel application (not just the Model Window) so that it doesn't take up the entire screen of your computer.
Then you need to make sure that both the application that contains the data you want to store in MindModel, and MindModel, are both visible on your computer screen at the same time.
We'll call the application that contains the data the "source" application.
OK, I'm ready. How do I do it?
Once you've got both windows visible on your screen (the MindModel application and the source application), click and hold on the item you want to drag. With the left mouse button still down, drag onto any place in the Model Window that isn't covered with a user-interface item, such as a list, a button, etc.
When the cursor is over an area of the Model Window where you can't drop something, the cursor will appear as a circle with a line through it, or some similar symbol. This international symbol for "don't do that" means that you haven't yet found a valid place to drop what you're dragging.
Once you've moved the cursor over an area of the Model Window where you can drop something, the cursor will appear as a small arrow, or some similar symbol. This means that you have found a valid place to drop what you're dragging.
When you release the mouse button with the cursor over a valid drop area, MindModel will open the Add/Edit Noun Form, with the information you've dropped already entered into the form. To add the noun to your model, just click the OK button in the Add/Edit Noun Form.
As with any MindModel feature, feel free to contact us if you need additional help.
Power-User Tip: Dragging and dropping can be used as a quick way to add file path nouns to your model. When you drag and drop a document from Windows into MindModel, MindModel creates a document noun and a statement of the type: document: <has the file path> file path:. Once you've dragged and dropped the document noun, you can use the Add/Edit Statement Wizard to link the file path to another noun, such as a person. For example, if you wanted to add a picture to a person so that a clickable link to the picture appeared when you selected the person noun in the Nouns List, you could follow these steps:
1) Drag and drop the picture from Windows to MindModel.
MindModel creates a document noun for the picture, a file path noun for the file path, and a statement linking the two.
2) Find the person you want to link to the picture.
3) Select the person noun in the Nouns List.
4) Use the Add/Edit Statement Wizard to add a statement of the type:
person: <has the file path> file path:
linking the person to the picture's file path.
Since step #1 (above) already added a file path noun for the picture, you can select the file path in the Object tab of the Add/Edit Statement Wizard. You don't have to type in the file path.
5) Select the person noun in the Nouns List.
MindModel will display a clickable link in the Noun Summary Window.
Clicking the link will open the picture of the person.
For more information on clickable links to files, refer to the section: Advanced Q&A: Linking Pictures to Nouns in Your Model.