When a drag occurs, a translucent image is generated from the drag target (the element the dragstart
event is fired at), and follows the mouse pointer during the drag. This image is created automatically, so you do not need to create it yourself. However, if a custom image is desired, the DataTransfer.setDragImage()
method can be used to set the custom image to be used. The image will typically be an <image>
element but it can also be a <canvas>
or any other visible element.
The method's x
and y
coordinates define how the image should appear relative to the mouse pointer. These coordinates define the offset into the image where the mouse cursor should be. For instance, to display the image so that the pointer is at its center, use values that are half the width and height of the image.
This method must be called in the dragstart
event handler.
Syntax
void dataTransfer.setDragImage(img | element, xOffset, yOffset);
Arguments
- img | element
- An image
Element
element to use for the drag feedback image. - If
Element
is an img element, then set the drag data store bitmap to the element's image (at its intrinsic size); otherwise, set the drag data store bitmap to an image generated from the given element (the exact mechanism for doing so is not currently specified). - xOffset
- A
long
indicating the horizontal offset within the image. - yOffset
- A
long
indicating the vertical offset within the image.
Return value
- void
Example
This example shows how to use the setDragImage()
method. Note the example refers to an image file named example.gif
. If that file is present, it will be used as the drag image and if that file is not present, the browser will use its default drag image.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang=en>
<title>Example of DataTransfer.setDragImage()</title>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
<style>
div {
margin: 0em;
padding: 2em;
}
#source {
color: blue;
border: 1px solid black;
}
#target {
border: 1px solid black;
}
</style>
<script>
function dragstart_handler(ev) {
console.log("dragStart");
// Set the drag's format and data. Use the event target's id for the data
ev.dataTransfer.setData("text/plain", ev.target.id);
// Create an image and use it for the drag image
// NOTE: change "example.gif" to an existing image or the image will not
// be created and the default drag image will be used.
var img = new Image();
img.src = 'example.gif';
ev.dataTransfer.setDragImage(img, 10, 10);
}
function dragover_handler(ev) {
console.log("dragOver");
ev.preventDefault();
}
function drop_handler(ev) {
console.log("Drop");
ev.preventDefault();
// Get the data, which is the id of the drop target
var data = ev.dataTransfer.getData("text");
ev.target.appendChild(document.getElementById(data));
}
</script>
<body>
<h1>Example of <code>DataTransfer.setDragImage()</code></h1>
<div>
<p id="source" ondragstart="dragstart_handler(event);" draggable="true">
Select this element, drag it to the Drop Zone and then release the selection to move the element.</p>
</div>
<div id="target" ondrop="drop_handler(event);" ondragover="dragover_handler(event);">Drop Zone</div>
</body>
</html>
Specifications
Specification | Status | Comment |
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'setDragImage()' in that specification. | Living Standard | |
HTML 5.1The definition of 'setDragImage()' in that specification. | Recommendation | Not included in W3C HTML5 Recommendation |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, please check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
Update compatibility data on GitHub
Desktop | Mobile | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
setDragImage
|
Chrome
Full support Yes |
Edge
Full support 18 |
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
See also
- Drag and drop
- Drag Operations
- Recommended Drag Types
- Dragging and Dropping Multiple Items
- DataTransfer test - Paste or Drag
DataTransfer.setDragImage() by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.