Thoughtful file dropping in Wakamaifondue

Wakamaifondue is a web tool to inspect font contents, and it starts by you dropping a font file (.ttf, .otf, or .woff) into a browser.

It handles file dropping so thoughtfully, it’s worth pausing and recognizing it:

Here’s what’s great about it:

  • You can drop the file anywhere. There is no designated small drop area like in some other apps; every last pixel of the window is ready to receive your file, so you can drop without worrying.
  • You get a hover state confirming you are safe to drop.
  • You can drop the file on other screens, too!

Why is all this important? Because dropping a file into a browser is a notoriously frustrating experience. If the tab doesn’t claim the file, left to its own devices the browser will do anything from replacing the current tab with the contents of the file, through opening a new tab, to… starting to download the file you just dropped and ask you for its new location!

It is frustrating when a failure more of an action is not just that action failing – already here, repeating a drag is more work than e.g. repeating a keystroke – but also you having to do extra clean-up steps.

Wakamaifondue gets this right, and allowing to drop a file on any screen in particular is very thoughtful. Your cursor holding a file indicates your intentions rather strongly – when you see a person wearing a wedding dress, you don’t think “I wonder what they’re up to today?” – so there should be no need to switch to a certain mode or to navigate to an “import screen” beforehand.