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jQuery UI Draggable

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jQuery UI Draggable

jQuery UI draggable() method is used to make any DOM element draggable. Once the element is made draggable, you can move it by clicking on it with the mouse and drag it anywhere within the viewport.

Syntax:

You can use the draggable () method in two forms:

First Method

The draggable (option) method specifies that an HTML element can be moved in the HTML page. Here, the option parameter specifies the behavior of the elements involved.

Syntax:

You can use one or more options at a time using JavaScript object. In the case of multiple options, you should use commas to separate them. For example:

Following is a list of different options that can be used with this method:

Option Description
addclasses If this option is set to false, it will prevent the UI-draggable class from being added in the list of selected DOM elements. By default its value is true.
appendto It specifies the element in which the draggable helper should be appended to while dragging. By default its value is “parent”.
axis This option constrains dragging to either the horizontal (x) or vertical (y) axis. Its possible values are:”x”, “y”.
cancel This option is used to prevent dragging from starting on specified elements. By default its value is “input,textarea, button,select,option”.
connecttosortable This option is used to specify a list whose elements are interchangeable. At the end of placement, the element is part of the list. By default its value is “false”.
containment Constrains dragging to within the bounds of the specified element or region. By default its value is “false”.
cursor It is used to specify the CSS property of the cursor when the element moves. It represents the shape of the mouse pointer. By default its value is “auto”.
cursorat It sets the offset of the dragging helper relative to the mouse cursor. Coordinates can be given as a hash using a combination of one or two keys: { top, left, right, bottom }. By default its value is “false”.
delay It specifies the delay in milliseconds, after which the first movement of the mouse is taken into account. The displacement may begin after that time. By default its value is “0”.
disabled It disables the ability to move items when set to true. Items cannot be moved until this function is enabled (using the draggable (“enable”) instruction). By default its value is “false”.
distance The number of pixels that the mouse must be moved before the displacement is taken into account. By default its value is “1”.
grid It snaps the dragging helper to a grid, every x and y pixels. The array must be of the form [ x, y ]. By default its value is “false”.
handle If specified, restricts dragging from starting unless the mousedown occurs on the specified element(s). By default its value is “false”.
helper It allows for a helper element to be used for dragging display. By default its value is “original”.
iframefix It prevents iframes from capturing the mousemove events during a drag. By default its value is “false”.
opacity Opacity of the element moved when moving. By default its value is “false”.
refreshpositions If set to true, all droppable positions are calculated on every mousemove. By default its value is “false”.
revert It indicates whether the element is moved back to its original position at the end of the move. By default its value is “false”.
revertduration It indicates the duration of displacement (in milliseconds) after which the element returns to its original position (see options.revert). By default its value is “500”.
scope It is used to group sets of draggable and droppable items, in addition to droppable’s accept option. By default its value is “default”.
scroll when set to true (the default), the display will scroll if the item is moved outside the viewable area of the window. by default its value is “true”.
scrollsenstivity It indicates how many pixels the mouse must exit the window to cause scrolling of the display. By default its value is “20”.
scrollspeed It indicates the scrolling speed of the display once scrolling begins. By default its value is “20”.
snap It adjusts the display of the item being moved on other elements (which are flown). By default its value is “false”.
snapmode It specifies how the adjustment should be made between the moved element and those indicated in options.snap. By default its value is “both”.
snaptolerance It specifies the maximum number of pixels in the difference in position necessary to establish the adjustment. By default its value is “20”.
stack It controls the z-index of the set of elements that match the selector, always brings the currently dragged item to the front. It is very useful in things like window managers. By default its value is “false”.
zindex z-index for the helper while being dragged. By default its value is “false”.

jQuery UI Draggable() method example 1

Let’s take an example to demonstrate draggable functionality passing no parameters to the draggable() method.

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jQuery UI Draggable() method example 2

How to use disable, distance and delay:

Let’s take an example to demonstrate the usage of three important options disabled, delay and distance in the drag function of jQuery UI.

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jQuery UI Draggable() method example 3

Move content by duplicating:

Let’s take an example to demonstrate how to move an element that is clone of the selected element. This is done by using option helper with value clone.

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jQuery UI Draggable() method example 4

Get current option value:

Let’s take an example to show how you can get a value of any option at any time during your script execution. The value of cursor and cursorAt option is set at the time of execution.

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Second Method

The draggable (action, params) method is used to perform an action like prevent displacement. Here action is specified as a string and one or more params can be provided based on the given action.

Syntax:

Following is a list of actions used with this method:

Action Description
destroy() It is used to remove drag functionality completely. The elements are no longer movable. This will return the element back to its pre-init state.
disable() It is used to disable drag functionality. Elements cannot be moved until the next call to the draggable(“enable”) method.
enable() It is used to reactivates drag management. The elements can be moved again.
option(optionname) It gets the value currently associated with the specified optionname. Here optionname is name of the option to get and is of type string.
option() It gets an object containing key/value pairs representing the current draggable options hash.
option(optionname, value) It sets the value of the draggable option associated with the specified optionname. Here optionname is the name of the option to set and value is the value to set for the option.
option(options) It sets one or more options for the draggable. Here options is a map of option-value pairs to set.
widget() It returns a jQuery object containing the draggable element.

jQuery UI Draggable() method example 5

Let’s take an example to see the use of actions from the above table. The following example demonstrates the use of “disable” and “enable” action.

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