Make a draggable element
Written byPhuoc Nguyen
Created
03 Mar, 2020
Last updated
07 May, 2021
Category
Level 3 — Advanced
Assume that we want to turn the following element to draggable element:
html
<div id="dragMe" class="draggable">Drag me</div>
The element needs to have the following styles:
css
.draggable {
/* Indicate the element draggable */
cursor: move;
/* It will be positioned absolutely */
position: absolute;
/* Doesn't allow to select the content inside */
user-select: none;
}
In order to make it draggable, we need to handle three events:
`mousedown`
on the element: Track the current position of mouse`mousemove`
on`document`
: Calculate how far the mouse has been moved, and determine the position of element`mouseup`
on`document`
: Remove the event handlers of`document`
js
// The current position of mouse
let x = 0;
let y = 0;
// Query the element
const ele = document.getElementById('dragMe');
// Handle the mousedown event
// that's triggered when user drags the element
const mouseDownHandler = function (e) {
// Get the current mouse position
x = e.clientX;
y = e.clientY;
// Attach the listeners to `document`
document.addEventListener('mousemove', mouseMoveHandler);
document.addEventListener('mouseup', mouseUpHandler);
};
const mouseMoveHandler = function (e) {
// How far the mouse has been moved
const dx = e.clientX - x;
const dy = e.clientY - y;
// Set the position of element
ele.style.top = `${ele.offsetTop + dy}px`;
ele.style.left = `${ele.offsetLeft + dx}px`;
// Reassign the position of mouse
x = e.clientX;
y = e.clientY;
};
const mouseUpHandler = function () {
// Remove the handlers of `mousemove` and `mouseup`
document.removeEventListener('mousemove', mouseMoveHandler);
document.removeEventListener('mouseup', mouseUpHandler);
};
ele.addEventListener('mousedown', mouseDownHandler);
TipThis post uses the Attach event handlers inside other handlers tip
#Use cases
We can use the technique in this post to
- Create a range slider
- Create an image comparison slider
- Create resizable split views
- Drag to scroll
- Resize columns of a table
#Demo
#See also
- Attach event handlers inside other handlers
- Attach or detach an event handler
- Calculate the mouse position relative to an element
- Create a range slider
- Create an image comparison slider
- Create resizable split views
- Drag and drop element in a list
- Drag and drop table column
- Drag and drop table row
- Drag to scroll
- Make a resizable element
- Resize columns of a table
- Set css style for an element
- Show a ghost element when dragging an element
- Zoom an image
Questions? 🙋
Do you have any questions about front-end development? If so, feel free to create a new issue on GitHub using the button below. I'm happy to help with any topic you'd like to learn more about, even beyond what's covered in this post.
While I have a long list of upcoming topics, I'm always eager to prioritize your questions and ideas for future content. Let's learn and grow together! Sharing knowledge is the best way to elevate ourselves 🥷.
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Phước Nguyễn