# Drag-and-Drop With the Data Source View

/text/shared/guide/dragdrop_beamer.xhp
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
converted from old format - fpe
drag and drop; data source view
data source view; drag and drop
copying;from data source view
pasting;from data source view
mw added "pasting;"
Drag-and-Drop With the Data Source View
A fast way of copying from a data source into a text or spreadsheet document, or of creating forms based on a data source, is by drag-and-drop.

Mouse pointer copying data
Copying with Drag-and-Drop

If you want to reverse a drag-and-drop, position the cursor in your document and choose Edit - Undo.
It is also possible to copy by drag-and-drop from a document into a data source:
A text table or the selected range of a spreadsheet can be dragged using drag-and-drop to a table container in the data source explorer.
Plain text can be copied using drag-and-drop from one document to a data field in the data source view.
Using data in a text document
You can insert a database field in a text document by dragging a field name from the column header of the data source view into the document. This is especially useful when designing form letters. Simply drag the desired fields - home address, form of address, and so on - into your document.
To insert a complete record, select the corresponding header and drag it into the document. When you release the mouse button, the Insert database columns dialog appears, in which you can decide whether to use all database fields, and whether to copy the data into the document as text, a table or fields. All currently selected records will be inserted.
Applying data to a table document
You can insert one or more records into the current sheet of a spreadsheet by selecting the rows in the data source view and dragging and dropping them into the spreadsheet. The data is inserted at the place where you release the mouse button.
Inserting controls in a text form
When you create a text form linked to a database, you can generate controls by drag-and-drop from the data source view.
When you drag a database column into the text document, you insert a field. If you hold down Shift+Command Ctrl while dragging, a text field is inserted, grouped with an appropriate label field. The text field already contains all the database information that you need for the form.