Click and hold means pressing a mouse or other pointer button on an interface item and keeping it pressed. Keep the pointer still for a stationary hold; move it while the button is still pressed and the action becomes a drag. On a touchscreen, the comparable sustained touch is usually called a “long press” or “select and hold.”
What happens during a click and hold?
The action starts when you press the primary mouse button while the pointer is over a target. It remains a hold while you keep the button down, and ends when you release it. The target might be a control, text, or another interface item; what the hold does depends on the application.
A completed click generally involves both pressing and releasing the primary pointer button. Holding the button down is therefore not, by itself, the same as completing a click. The W3C Pointer Events specification defines click activation but does not set a universal time limit for a click and hold. The required duration, if any, depends on the interface.
How is a hold different from a drag?
In a stationary hold, you keep the pointer over the target without repositioning it. In a drag, you keep the button pressed while moving the pointer, then release it at a new location. WCAG 2.2 describes dragging as establishing a start point, pressing and holding while repositioning the pointer, and releasing at the endpoint.
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For example, holding down on an item without moving the pointer is a hold. Keeping the button down while moving the item elsewhere is a drag. The movement, not simply the length of time the button is down, distinguishes the two.
What should you do on a touchscreen?
Use the term that matches the device: click with a mouse, tap on a touchscreen, and “long press” or “select and hold” for a sustained touch. To give clear instructions, name both the input and the expected movement: for example, “Press and hold the mouse button without moving the pointer,” or “Touch and hold the item.” If the user should move the pointer or finger, say so explicitly.
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Why does the distinction matter for accessibility?
Some people have difficulty holding a pointer button accurately or moving a pointer along a path. Under WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.5.7, functionality that requires dragging movements must have an alternative pointer method. For a range slider, for instance, an alternative could let someone click or tap elsewhere on the track to set the value instead of requiring them to drag the thumb. See the W3C explanation of dragging movements.
For custom web controls, the W3C Pointer Events specification recommends using the device-independent click event for activation rather than relying only on mouse-specific events such as mousedown or mouseup: “For maximum accessibility, content authors are encouraged to use the click event type when defining activation behavior for custom controls, rather than other pointing-device event types such as mousedown or mouseup, which are more device-specific.” See the W3C Pointer Events specification.
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Click and hold or long press should not be confused with a multipoint or path-based gesture. NYU Digital Accessibility lists click-and-hold and long press as examples of single-point activation in its guidance on WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.5.1; dragging is addressed separately by WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.5.7.
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