Drag-and-Drop in the Graphics Editor

Drag-and-Drop

The Graphics application supports the dragging of nodes and their properties from System Browser, the Graphics Viewer, and the Contextual pane to the canvas and various fields in the Graphics Editor views. After a drag-and-drop, the name and the address of the data point reference display in the target field.

Information

NOTE:
In order to drag a node or object properties to the Graphics Editor, you must have the proper licensing or user access.

Drag Source

All object nodes from any of the System Browser applications, regardless of where they exist within the folder’s hierarchy, are drag sources that can be dropped on to a receiving field, a drop target. In the case of the Graphics Viewer, the properties of any object that has a valid reference to an object associated with it, such as a selection reference, expression, or evaluation, is a valid drag source. These properties can be dragged over to the Graphics Editor or onto another application pane or view that accepts drag source.

In the Graphics Editor, you can drag an item from the canvas or one of the views when you are in Runtime mode.

Drop Target

All text or field boxes in the Graphics Editor are valid drop targets for the data point reference nodes. Generally, the data point references are dropped into the Expression field of the Evaluation Editor or used in the animation symbol for a substitution.

When you drop a node, the full path or hierarchy of the name display in the field name, separated with the separator from the hierarchy, for example User1:\Campus1\Building1\Floor1.

Drag Data

The drag data depends on the type of reference associated with the element or object when the drag was initiated.

• Evaluation: Data point I.D. of all unique referenced objects from all expressions
• Selection Reference: Data point of the Selection Reference property
• Symbol: Data point of the Object Reference, the associated object

Drag-and-Drop Symbol Instance \ Object Reference Replacement

You can use drag-and-drop to replace an existing symbol instance on a graphic with a data point from System Browser. When you drag a data point from System Browser and hover over one of the symbol instances, after a few seconds, the symbol instance is automatically selected. Press SHIFT and release the mouse button, to replace the symbol instance. The Object Reference of the symbol instance is also changed. If you do not press SHIFT, then a separate and new symbol instance is created.

Drag-and-Drop Multiple Objects from System Browser

You can drag multiple objects from System Browser to the Graphics Editor. When you drag multiple objects, the objects display in the Alignment wrapped mode when dropped on the canvas. This means the objects display side-by-side in a row, and wrap to the next row as needed. When you initially drop the objects on the canvas and release the mouse button, the objects remain selected. You can also cascade the objects. Undo the wrap align step by pressing CTRL+Z or clicking , and the objects display in a cascaded format on your canvas.

Information

NOTE 1:
When you drag a node from the System Browser or the Graphics Viewer to the Graphics Editor, only the name of the data point reference displays in the Graphics Editor. The description does not display but it may be visible in System Browser, depending on the display view.
NOTE 2:
While some nodes might belong to a hidden or another hierarchy, the structure should match the System Browser structure.

Drag-and-Drop Cursor Image

You can drag any item, including search results, displayed in the Symbol Browser, Graphics Viewer, and Contextual pane to the Graphics Editor if you have the application and licensing rights to the Graphics Editor. Objects in the Graphics Viewer are always a drag source, and the Graphics Editor is a drag source and drop target. Both support selecting single and multiple items. The cursor image changes depending on whether or not the view accepts drops. You can cancel dragging by pressing the ESC key or by moving the cursor outside the boundary of the Graphics Editor window.

Table of Graphics Drop Targets

Many fields in the Graphics Editor views, such as the Text property field, are valid drop targets for normal text from other applications.

You can also drag point references from System Manager, the Graphics Viewer, and the Contextual pane into select fields in the Graphics Editor.

The following fields are drop targets for valid data point references:

Tips on Using Drag-and-Drop

• When you drag a node from the System Browser or the Graphics Viewer to the Graphics Editor, the full name of the data point reference in the Graphics Editor only consists of text and numbers. No characters are included from the node, even if they are visible in the System Browser. For example, a node titled, “Floor#1” in the System Browser, is displayed as “Floor1” after it has been dragged into the Graphics Editor. The # sign is not carried over.
• While, some nodes might belong to a hidden or another hierarchy, the structure should match the System Browser structure.