Drag and Drop Events
Implement drag and drop functionality
AdvancedTopic: Events Programs
JavaScript Drag and Drop Events Program
This program helps you to learn the fundamental structure and syntax of JavaScript programming.
// Method 1: HTML5 Drag and Drop API
const draggable = document.getElementById('draggable');
const dropzone = document.getElementById('dropzone');
// Make element draggable
draggable.draggable = true;
// Drag events on source
draggable.addEventListener('dragstart', function(e) {
console.log('Drag started');
e.dataTransfer.setData('text/plain', draggable.id);
e.dataTransfer.effectAllowed = 'move';
draggable.style.opacity = '0.5';
});
draggable.addEventListener('dragend', function(e) {
console.log('Drag ended');
draggable.style.opacity = '1';
});
// Drop events on target
dropzone.addEventListener('dragover', function(e) {
e.preventDefault(); // Allow drop
e.dataTransfer.dropEffect = 'move';
dropzone.style.backgroundColor = 'lightblue';
});
dropzone.addEventListener('dragleave', function(e) {
dropzone.style.backgroundColor = '';
});
dropzone.addEventListener('drop', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
console.log('Dropped');
const data = e.dataTransfer.getData('text/plain');
const element = document.getElementById(data);
dropzone.appendChild(element);
dropzone.style.backgroundColor = '';
});
// Method 2: Custom drag implementation
let isDragging = false;
let currentX, currentY, initialX, initialY;
const customDraggable = document.getElementById('customDraggable');
customDraggable.addEventListener('mousedown', function(e) {
isDragging = true;
initialX = e.clientX - customDraggable.offsetLeft;
initialY = e.clientY - customDraggable.offsetTop;
customDraggable.style.cursor = 'grabbing';
});
document.addEventListener('mousemove', function(e) {
if (isDragging) {
e.preventDefault();
currentX = e.clientX - initialX;
currentY = e.clientY - initialY;
customDraggable.style.left = currentX + 'px';
customDraggable.style.top = currentY + 'px';
}
});
document.addEventListener('mouseup', function() {
if (isDragging) {
isDragging = false;
customDraggable.style.cursor = 'grab';
}
});
// Method 3: Drag with touch support
customDraggable.addEventListener('touchstart', function(e) {
isDragging = true;
const touch = e.touches[0];
initialX = touch.clientX - customDraggable.offsetLeft;
initialY = touch.clientY - customDraggable.offsetTop;
});
document.addEventListener('touchmove', function(e) {
if (isDragging) {
e.preventDefault();
const touch = e.touches[0];
currentX = touch.clientX - initialX;
currentY = touch.clientY - initialY;
customDraggable.style.left = currentX + 'px';
customDraggable.style.top = currentY + 'px';
}
});
document.addEventListener('touchend', function() {
isDragging = false;
});
// Method 4: Drag with constraints
function dragWithConstraints(element, minX, minY, maxX, maxY) {
let isDragging = false;
let startX, startY, offsetX, offsetY;
element.addEventListener('mousedown', function(e) {
isDragging = true;
startX = e.clientX;
startY = e.clientY;
offsetX = element.offsetLeft;
offsetY = element.offsetTop;
});
document.addEventListener('mousemove', function(e) {
if (isDragging) {
let newX = offsetX + (e.clientX - startX);
let newY = offsetY + (e.clientY - startY);
// Apply constraints
newX = Math.max(minX, Math.min(maxX, newX));
newY = Math.max(minY, Math.min(maxY, newY));
element.style.left = newX + 'px';
element.style.top = newY + 'px';
}
});
document.addEventListener('mouseup', function() {
isDragging = false;
});
}
// Method 5: Sortable list
const sortableList = document.getElementById('sortableList');
sortableList.addEventListener('dragstart', function(e) {
if (e.target.tagName === 'LI') {
e.target.style.opacity = '0.5';
e.dataTransfer.effectAllowed = 'move';
e.dataTransfer.setData('text/html', e.target.innerHTML);
}
});
sortableList.addEventListener('dragover', function(e) {
e.preventDefault();
const afterElement = getDragAfterElement(sortableList, e.clientY);
const dragging = document.querySelector('.dragging');
if (afterElement == null) {
sortableList.appendChild(dragging);
} else {
sortableList.insertBefore(dragging, afterElement);
}
});
function getDragAfterElement(container, y) {
const draggableElements = [...container.querySelectorAll('li:not(.dragging)')];
return draggableElements.reduce((closest, child) => {
const box = child.getBoundingClientRect();
const offset = y - box.top - box.height / 2;
if (offset < 0 && offset > closest.offset) {
return { offset: offset, element: child };
} else {
return closest;
}
}, { offset: Number.NEGATIVE_INFINITY }).element;
}Output
// Output depends on drag and drop interaction
Understanding Drag and Drop Events
Drag and drop enables interactive UI.
HTML5 Drag and Drop API
•draggable: Make element draggable
•dragstart: Drag begins
•dragend: Drag ends
•dragover: Over drop target
•dragleave: Leave drop target
•drop: Item dropped
Data Transfer
•setData(): Set drag data
•getData(): Get drop data
•effectAllowed: Allowed effects
•dropEffect: Visual feedback
Custom Implementation
•Mouse events
•Touch events
•Position tracking
•Constraints
Use Cases
•File uploads
•Sortable lists
•Drag to reorder
•Interactive games
Best Practices
•Provide visual feedback
•Handle touch events
•Add constraints
•Test accessibility
Let us now understand every line and the components of the above program.
Note: To write and run JavaScript programs, you need to set up the local environment on your computer. Refer to the complete article Setting up JavaScript Development Environment. If you do not want to set up the local environment on your computer, you can also use online IDE to write and run your JavaScript programs.