A method simplified drag and drop operations of display icons. This method calculates a projected path for an icon based on the past movement of the icon. The method highlights the “best fit” target icon as the mouse pointer moves across the screen. As the mouse pointer moves, or changes direction, the “best fit” target icon can change, with the current best-fit icon being highlighted. In addition to highlighting the target icon, a line or arrow from the mouse pointer to the target icon is maintained. The line presents the predicted path in a very noticeable, visual way. As the best-fit target icon changes, the line is re-drawn to point to the current best-fit icon. Regardless of how the target icon is visually indicated, releasing the mouse button will cause the drop operation to be completed “into” target. Completion of the drop could be instantaneous, or could be rendered with animation of some sort to indicate moving from the source to the target.