Web/API/DataTransfer/getData

The DataTransfer.getData() method retrieves drag data (as a DOMString) for the specified type. If the drag operation does not include data, this method returns an empty string.

Example data types are text/plain and text/uri-list.

Syntax

dataTransfer.getData(format);

Arguments

format: A DOMString representing the type of data to retrieve.

Return value

DOMString: A DOMString representing the drag data for the specified format. If the drag operation has no data or the operation has no data for the specified format, this method returns an empty string.

Caveats

Data availability: The HTML5 Drag and Drop Specification dictates a drag data store mode. This may result in unexpected behavior, being DataTransfer.getData() not returning an expected value.

Example

This example shows the use of the DataTransfer object's getData() and setData() methods.

HTML Content

<div id="div1" ondrop="drop(event)" ondragover="allowDrop(event)">
    <span id="drag" draggable="true" ondragstart="drag(event)">drag me to the other box</span>
</div>
<div id="div2" ondrop="drop(event)" ondragover="allowDrop(event)"></div>

CSS Content

#div1, #div2 {
    width:100px;
    height:50px;
    padding:10px;
    border:1px solid #aaaaaa;
}

JavaScript Content

function allowDrop(allowdropevent) {
    allowdropevent.target.style.color = 'blue';
    allowdropevent.preventDefault();
}

function drag(dragevent) {
    dragevent.dataTransfer.setData("text", dragevent.target.id);
    dragevent.target.style.color = 'green';
}

function drop(dropevent) {
    dropevent.preventDefault();
    var data = dropevent.dataTransfer.getData("text");
    dropevent.target.appendChild(document.getElementById(data));
    document.getElementById("drag").style.color = 'black';
}

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'getData()' in that specification.	Living Standard
HTML 5.1The definition of 'getData()' in that specification.	Recommendation	Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`getData`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE ?	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS No support No	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Compatibility unknown: Compatibility unknown