by Barb Binder 
I was walking to my airline gate recently and overheard an elderly woman complaining to a younger woman as they passed me. All I heard was, "Why do they give us so many ways of doing the same thing?"
Who knows what she was talking about, but it made me smile because I hear the same thing all the time in my various Adobe training classes.
One of the (many) benefits to having spent so many years delivering software training is that I've had the opportunity to observe all of the various learning styles and workflow techniques. I try to let each of my students know early on that even though some of us might be dedicated right mouse button clickers, others (like me) prefer keyboard commands, and still others like to rely exclusively on the menus. It's all good... we can still be friends. My statement usually diffuses the otherwise inevitable frustration that can accompany learning more than one way to do the same thing.
With that thought in mind, let's discuss FrameMaker's drag and drop feature. It's just another way to move (or copy) text and elements. To move something, just select it, press down on your left mouse button, and drag the text or element to its new location.
If you'd prefer to copy, just hold down the Control key and do the same thing. (If you see a question mark, FrameMaker is telling you that you are trying to move/copy your object to an invalid location.)
Dragging and dropping also works within column rows and tables, as long as you add the Alt key to move and Control + Alt to copy.
And as long as you purchase FrameMaker 10 within the next fifteen minutes (I'm just kidding!), you can also drag and drop across other applications that support the drag and drop feature.
As I said earlier, I'm a happy keyboard shortcut gal... the drag and drop feature isn't likely to change the way I use FrameMaker. I'm betting that some of you are going to love the drag and drop feature and begin using it right away. That's okay. We can still be friends.
About the author: Barbara Binder is the president and founder of Rocky Mountain Training. Barbara has been a trainer for nearly two decades and has been recognized by Adobe as one of the top trainers world-wide.
Looking to learn Adobe FrameMaker We offer Beginner and Advanced classes.
Comments