Drag and Drop: Trouble with feedback for every question

[keeney1228banks]

Hello!

Using the drag and drag wizard, I've created a working interaction, with the goal to have a feedback box appear after each source item is dragged to a target item.

For the target object, I used Drag and Drop -> Format -> Object Actions, and applied a Show command (and later one tried this with an Execute Advanced Action). It mostly works: When the user drags the item to the target zone, a text box appears.

However, I also wanted a button to appear along with the text box, so that the user can easily close the text box in order to select the next item. Even though the Object Actions worked okay with a text box, it hasn't been working if I also try to have a button appear. I also tried this by using Object Actions, with an Advanced Actions, where the Object Action shows a text box and a button.

When I try to have a button appear as part of the set up, the Object Action doesn't seem to have any effect. Not only does the invisible button not appear on top of the text box, but the text box also does not appear.

There are of course a lot of options a developer can select as part of the drag and drop, so I'm afraid I am unsure which options may have this effect.

Ironically, I had it working, but as I continued to play with this interaction, I can't figure out how I made it work in the first place!

[Lilybiri]

I was playing with hyperlink events recently (for lightboxes). You can use a X character as close button and use it to create a a hyperlink event to close the text caption.

[keeney1228banks]

Lilybiri:

Actually, that's almost exactly what I was trying!   Although, instead of a hyperlink, it was an Action or Advanced Action. The trouble is, if I use a button as part of the Object Action, neither the button nor the text box appears when the interaction is used. If an Advanced Action would show a text box and button as part of the Object Action, nothing happens. But if I remove the button, then the Object Action behaviors okay and the text box appears (this happens the same way if I use Show or if I use Advanced Actions).

Thank you for the idea, regardless!

[Lilybiri]

There is some confusion in terminology. A Hyperlink is not a replacement for an advanced or shared action, it is an event able to trigger a simple or an advanced acrtion. Too bad that a shared action is not (yet?) possible. I just double-checked and my proposed solution works perfectly. I created a text caption - could be a shape as well - in which I have one paragraph that has one big character X. I used the X to attach a standard advanced acttion that will hide the text caption (which includes the X, thus the event to close the text caption disappears as well). I should blog about hyperlink events, have a feeling that they are 'under-used' and much more powerful than expected.

[keeney1228banks]

Thanks again for the idea, Lilybiri!

I found a workaround for my issue, since there still doesn't seem to be an option to use buttons as part of an Object Action in a drag-and-drop interaction.

[Allen_Partridge]

You've nearly got it. I'd recommend that you create a lightbox with a group by grouping the close button and any other items that you want to open when you drop the dragsource. I think in this case you also might want to create a 'type' for the drag source items - to prevent extra steps.

1. Before you do the drag and drop, create your lightbox dialog. Usually that's a shape for a background, and a close box shape, Add images, whatever you like. Be sure to make the close box shape a button. You'll want to first create the group by selecting all the items in the group and then CTRL+G to create a group. Name the group appropriately.

2. Make the action for the close box icon to 'Hide' and select the group of the lightbox to hide. Be sure to uncheck the continue option.

3. create your dragsource items - marking each as dragsource - and define a type (I did ovalDudes in the example.)

4. create a dropTarget

5. select the dropTarget and chose the options button - you'll see a dialog box with Actions: None by default.

6. Click that Action option for type (ovalDudes or whatever you defined) alternately - you can click it over and over for each item or type that you want to trigger the lightbox. you can obviously use this to trigger different lightbox dialogs too.

7. Select Show - and then select the name of the group (lightbox group) that you created before.

[Lilybiri]

Did you try the hyperlinka approach? It can trigger almost the same list of

actions as a button. My blog post is almost ready to explain that use

case..

[keeney1228banks]

Allen:

That's a great how-to list! Thanks for putting that together. I thought I was doing all that, and it still wasn't working. Obviously I was doing something wrong then, because when I repeated the steps it worked out okay! Thanks for the help!

[Allen_Partridge]

I'll expect a cookie. I like soft bake chocolate chip.