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What Drag and Drop Can Do: Move, Copy, or Reorder Items

Drag and drop is an on-screen action: select an item, move it to a destination, and release it. What happens next depends on the app.

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Drag and drop means selecting an on-screen item, moving it to a destination, and releasing it there. Depending on the software, that can move or copy an item, place it inside another object, or change its order. If you do not complete the action, it can be canceled.

How drag and drop works

A typical pointer-based action has three parts:

  1. Select: Press or otherwise select the item you want to act on.
  2. Move: Keep the item selected while moving the pointer toward the destination.
  3. Release: Let go when the pointer is over the intended destination.

For example, you might move a file into a folder or rearrange an item in a list. The result depends on the app: an operation may move or copy an item, place it inside another item, or change its position. Interfaces differ, so dragging does not mean the same specific action everywhere.

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What happens behind a web drag-and-drop action?

The HTML Standard describes drag and drop on the web as an event-based mechanism: an action starts at one point, may pass over other locations, and ends at a drop point or is canceled. This describes how the web mechanism works, not one universal appearance or interaction pattern for every device or website. WHATWG HTML Standard: Drag and Drop

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How to use drag and drop without dragging

Dragging can be difficult for someone who cannot reliably press and hold while moving a pointer, including some people using adapted pointing devices. WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion 2.5.7 says: “All functionality that uses a dragging movement for operation can be achieved by a single pointer without dragging, unless dragging is essential or the functionality is determined by the user agent and not modified by the author.” W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 2.5.7

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A select-then-destination option can provide an alternative: select the item, then choose where it should go. For list reordering, controls that let someone choose an item’s new position can avoid the need to drag. The alternative should achieve the same result and make the item and destination clear.

How keyboard access differs from a no-drag alternative

A single-pointer alternative and keyboard access address different needs. W3C keyboard guidance says functionality should be operable through a keyboard interface; for example, an app might offer cut-and-paste as an alternative to dragging. A no-drag pointer option, by contrast, can help someone who can use a pointer but cannot perform a dragging movement. W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 2.1.1

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Pointer gestures are a separate consideration too: choosing an item and then selecting its destination is one possible way to avoid a dragging movement. W3C: Understanding Success Criterion 2.5.1

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Drag and drop on iPhone and iPad

Apple’s design guidance describes drag and drop on iOS and iPadOS with touchscreen gestures, pointing devices, and full keyboard-access mode, and recommends offering alternative ways to complete drag-and-drop actions. These are platform recommendations; individual apps may not implement every method. Apple Human Interface Guidelines: Drag and Drop

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