One of the most important new functions of iOS 11 is drag & drop. In this article, we’ll show you how it works and what you can do with it.
This is how drag & drop works on the iPad
Drag & drop was created to make you more productive when working on your iPad. With this feature you can move information between different apps. This way, not only images can be moved, but also text and other elements that you could use in another app.
You don’t have to do anything special to use drag & drop except make sure your iPad is running iOS 11. You hold down a piece of text, image or other element for a long time, after which it lights up. Then drag it to its destination within the app you have open or another app.
To find a destination for your selected item, you can use multitouch. While holding the object, you can open the dock by swiping up and opening another app. Another handy solution is to open your second app in Split View or Slide Over. In that case, you can immediately swipe everything between the two apps back and forth.
Drag & drop also works on the iPhone, but in a limited form. You can only move items within specific apps. For example, you can drag text and images from one note to another within the Notes app. Only on iPad you can move items between different apps.
These apps already support it
To be able to use drag & drop, app makers must build in support for it. You can now add items to the popular lists app Todoist dragging, you can remove passwords 1Password to other apps and supports the email app Astro dragging files. For now it is mainly writing apps and productivity apps that work with drag & drop, but in time you will be able to drag files between apps virtually anywhere on your iPad.