In MicrosoftWindows, you can drag objects (text, graphics, etc) from one window to another by selecting them, dragging it with your mouse, and dropping it into the new window.

XFree86 does this a bit differently. Drag and drop is a two stage process. You select the item you want to move. You don't physically have to drag the item, you just move the mouse to where you want to go, and then you drop using the middle mouse button. 1?2?

This uses the Primary selection buffer. See http://www.jwz.org/doc/x-cut-and-paste.html for the rationale.

This is not CutAndPaste.

See also the XDND, the Drag and Drop Protocol for the X Window System.

1? (Note, if you have a two button mouse, there's an option in the X configuration to set "Emulate3Buttons", where you can hit both left and right mice buttons and send a "3rd mouse button click" 2? (Note, if you have a one button mouse, the F11 and F12 keys on the keyboard will usually act as a middle and right mousebutton. You can also get a 3-button MightyMouse or use any regular three-button USB mouse.)