Microhandling has been developed mainly in two branches: robotic microhandling and self-assembly. This paper identifies common elements of the both handling strategies, namely potential trapping, ambient environment, disturbance rejection, perturbation, surface and material properties and hierarchical positioning. By analyzing these elements, we propose a unified view of both branches and discuss ways to combine them on demand. As an example, we discuss a hybrid handling strategy that combines the advantages of both branches of microhandling.