Drag and Drop in PowerPoint

DragandDrop is a PowerPoint macro which when applied to any object will allow it to be moved around the screen in SlideShow mode. I thought this wasn't possible, but since reading this TES staffroom thread and having tried it out for myself, I know that not to be the case.

The presentation which contains the macro was created by Hans Werner Hofmann / Ute Simon and can be downloaded from here. It is free to use for educational purposes. Instructions on how to apply the macro can be found within the presentation.

Essentially, it is a question of adding a slide to the presentation which contains the object you wish to move. You right click the object, select Action Settings and then Run macro: DragandDrop. Delete the other slides as the macro will remain embedded in the presentation and run it in SlideShow mode. Now when you hover the cursor over the object it will become a hand as if it is a hyperlink. However, if you click the object , you will find that it then follows the cursor anywhere on the screen!

This macro could be very useful to any language teacher who likes using PowerPoint for whole class teaching with a data projector and or interactive whiteboard. You could use it to drag and drop:

• weather symbols on a map
• a car/person around a street map when teaching directions
• markers for playing games such as snakes and ladders, noughts and crosses or blockbusters
• eyes and hair on a person's face

You could also use it to match pictures with phrases. Here is a useful technique for converting a text box into an image.

1. Create your text box and then cut or copy it.
2. Go to the Edit menu in PowerPoint.
3. In the drop down menu, select Paste Special.
4. In the dialogue box that comes up, select Picture (Windows Metafile)
5. Click OK and your text box should appear as an image. This means that you won't be able to edit the text, but you can apply the macro to it so you can move it around the screen.

I'll be speaking about the DragandDrop macro at next week's Specialist Schools and Academies Trust Annual Languages Conference as part of my presentation The wonderful thing about triggers is triggers are wonderful things! I'll be explaining other practical techniques to make PowerPoint more interactive such as triggers, Action Buttons, Slide Transitions and keyboard shortcuts. The day after, Ewan McIntosh and I will be presenting a session called Mr McIntosh goes to school on examples of how new technologies are being used in languages classrooms in Scotland and England.

To see some more examples of the potential of the DragandDrop macro and some supporting material, go to this site created by ICT teacher Steve Bath.

Comments

[Dave Foord]

An excellent resource, and thank you Joe for sharing it. If this sort of resource catches your fancy - then I have made some other PowerPoint resources available at http://www.a6training.co.uk/resources_powerpoint.php

[Earl]

Thank you for showing me how to do drag and drop. Unfortunately when I applied that function to the icon in my presentation I lost the ability to hyperlink the icon to another slide. Is there any way to get it to do both? Can you have an icon that can have a text box pop up when you put your cursor on it as well as have it drag and drop?

[Joe Dale]

Hi Earl,

Great question. As far as I know once you've applied the drag and drop macro, you can't add anything else to it like a hyperlink, trigger or animation.

Unless someone else proves me wrong!

[penny]

Hi Joe!
I've been trying to get drag and drop to work in my ppt presentations, but can't remember exactly what to do - I've clicked on all the links above and the one containing the presentation explaining how to do it - but I can't access this presentation. Don't suppose you could post an idiot's guide to doing this at some stage or give me some pointers as to how to be able to access the instructional ppt?
enjoy France.

[Joe Dale]

Hi Penny,

Watch this 'idiot's guide' which explains how to do it:
http://joedale.typepad.com/integrating_ict_into_the_/files/drag_and_drop_tutorial.wmv

[Ruth Bourchier]

Hi Joe,
I followed your wonderful idiots guide which worked beautifully until I went to play it in slide show mode and the items wouldn't move. I went to 'macro's' under tools and clicked on 'record new macro' to see if that would make any difference but got stuck when it asked for 'pdraganddrop password'. Where does one obtain this from and is it relevant anyway to running the slideshow? I tried to run it on both my laptop which has a red button beside the 'record new macro' (presumably because permission is denied) and on my personal pc which isn't linked in to any larger network and which has a blue button beside 'record new macro. What am I doing wrong?

[Ruth Bourchier]

Hi again Joe,
Further to my last message I've tried again and this time the enable macros window came up at the beginning which it wasn't doing originally. Now it's working perfectly and I've made some neat slides which I've managed to incorporate custom animation into as well. I'm delighted as now I'll be able to share it with colleagues!!
Merci mille fois.

[Eli]

the link to the ppt no longer works...

[Joe Dale]

Hi Eli,

You can download it from here:
http://tinyurl.com/2yx6nj

Joe

:)

[Hen]

Hi, I've got the drag and drop to work, but I want to display the ppt through webct. Is there anyway of doing this so it displays within the frame rather than downloads? I've tried exporting to html but, whilst it keep normal animations, doesn't allow drag and drop...

Thanks,
Helen

[Joe Dale]

Hi Helen,

Sorry. I haven't a clue.

[Dai Hughes]

Please can you tell where I can download Draganddrop. I am a science teacher trying to crate an interactive powerpoint and this sounds as if it is exactly the macro I need. The link above does not find it anymore.
Kind regards
dai

[Joe Dale]

Hi Dai,

Here it is again:
http://tinyurl.com/2yx6nj

Best wishes

Joe

[Hans W. Hofmann]

Hi,

I am glad to hear that DragAndDrop to Powerpoint has such a great fan club.

I got many posts to increase its functionality.
You can find the original source in www.lemitec.de
http://www.lemitec.de/load.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6
and a Quiz-Example...

Enjoy
Hans W. Hofmann

[Deborah Orton]

Hi Joe,
I downloaded your Drag and Drop Macro and it works wonderfully. Could you please tell me how I return the objects to their original position when I close the presentation? I don't want to have to reposition them every time I show the presentation. I tried to do it with marking it final, so that it would be read only but it disabled the macro somehow. Thanks in advance.
DebO.

[Deborah Orton]

Hi Joe again,
I found my answer re: returning objects to original position. It was included in the Word Doc. that I also downloaded (I think it was from your site - I looked at a few). Answer: save as a PPS, and then click file to show as read only.
Thanks again for wonderful macro.
DebO.

[Joe Dale]

Hi Deb,

Thanks for your helpful comment.

I've added your top tip to the new and improved post about the drag and drop macro I wrote last month.

Have a look:
http://joedale.typepad.com/integrating_ict_into_the_/2009/06/improved-drag-and-drop-in-powerpoint-.html

[Thomas Brandt]

Hi
I've got a problem when I use the draganddrop on textlabels. When I try to drag the textlabel over a picture the label will disappear under the picture. Can't get it above even if I try to set the order.

[Joe Dale]

Hi Thomas,

Many people have asked me this question and until recently I didn't know a solution. However, Sharon Fountain got in contact with me and suggested the following:

Insert an autoshape over the whole slide and then make it transparent by selecting No Fill in formatting.

Remember to place the objects you want to drag and drop off the slide before you add the transparent autoshape and make sure you order them so they are at the front.

That should work. Good luck and thanks again to Sharon.

[Maryjane Bennett]

hello, I can use the drag and drop macro perfectly on my laptop, but my Mimio pen will not function in the same way. Does anyone else have a Mimio?

[Joe Dale]

Hi Maryjane,

If you Mimio pen is acting as a mouse then it should work. Have you tried the improved macro I blogged about here?
http://joedale.typepad.com/integrating_ict_into_the_/2009/06/improved-drag-and-drop-in-powerpoint-.html

Best wishes

Joe

[Pavel]

Hi Joe,
Thanks for your tool!!! For using the drag-and-drop macro on whiteboard I need to start dragging by pressing the mouse button (or the pen) - not by release. Otherwise I don't see the trail of dragging. Do you understand? Can you modify the macro or give me the macro-password for try it by myself?

Best Wishes,
Pavel

[Joe Dale]

Hi Pavel,

Just to clarfy Hans Hofmann made the macro not me. You will have to contact him about particular functionality. Have you seen he has already improved the macro here http://joedale.typepad.com/integrating_ict_into_the_/2009/06/improved-drag-and-drop-in-powerpoint-.html

[Bob]

What a shame that Hans decided to password protect the macro. As it stands it is virtually unusable. But, I am unable to modify the code because of the protection.