dragselect

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DragSelect

easily add a selection algorithm to your application/website.

Project Page: Demo & Info

https://thibaultjanbeyer.github.io/DragSelect/

Key-Features

• No dependencies
• Accessibility (a11y)
• Add drag selection
• Choose which elements can be selected
• Great browser support, works even like a charm on IE10
• Lightweight, only
• DragSelect was written with Performance in mind
• Supports SVG
• Supports mobile (touch interaction)
• Free & open source under MIT License
• Ease of use

Why?

Because apparently there is nothing that does not require jquery out there yet.
This is better than https://jqueryui.com/selectable/ and has no dependencies. We use it currently in a professional rich interface application where we have a file management system. The user can select files to organize them and change their metadata, with this plugin our users are able to select multiple files and perform batch/bulk-operations (applying changes to multiple files at once). We also started using it in production for a huge, graphical cloud hosting manager with a lot of active users. Users can select multiple servers, storages, etc. on an artboard to perform multi-operations, re-organize them or batch-delete. We’re running it since January 18' it’s super helpful and very stable, let’s keep it that way. I can easily think of dozens other possibilites this can be used for. I’m really keen to know how you use it in your projects, please let me know.

Installation

easy

Just download the file (minified) and add it to your document:

<script src="https://thibaultjanbeyer.github.io/DragSelect/ds.min.js"></script>

npm

npm install --save-dev dragselect

bower

bower install --save-dev dragselect

That's it, you're ready to rock!
Of course you can also just include the code within your code to save a request.

DragSelect supports module.exports, AMD Modules with define and has a fallback to global namespace for maximum out of the box support.

Usage

Now in your JavaScript you can simply pass elements to the function like so:

simple

Choose which elements can be selected:

new DragSelect({
  selectables: document.getElementsByClassName('selectable-nodes')
});

complete

All options are optional. You could also just initiate the Dragselect by new DragSelect(); without any option.

var ds = new DragSelect({
  selectables: document.getElementsByClassName('selectable-nodes'), // node/nodes that can be selected. This is also optional, you could just add them later with .addSelectables.
  selector: document.getElementById('rectangle'), // draggable element. By default one will be created.
  area: document.getElementById('area'), // area in which you can drag. If not provided it will be the whole document.
  customStyles: false,  // If set to true, no styles (except for position absolute) will be applied by default.
  multiSelectKeys: ['ctrlKey', 'shiftKey', 'metaKey'],  // special keys that allow multiselection.
  multiSelectMode: false,  // If set to true, the multiselection behavior will be turned on by default without the need of modifier keys. Default: false
  autoScrollSpeed: 3,  // Speed in which the area scrolls while selecting (if available). Unit is pixel per movement. Set to 0 to disable autoscrolling. Default = 1
  onDragStart: function(element) {}, // fired when the user clicks in the area. This callback gets the event object. Executed after DragSelect function code ran, befor the setup of event listeners.
  onDragMove: function(element) {}, // fired when the user drags. This callback gets the event object. Executed before DragSelect function code ran, after getting the current mouse position.
  onElementSelect: function(element) {}, // fired every time an element is selected. (element) = just selected node
  onElementUnselect: function(element) {}, // fired every time an element is de-selected. (element) = just de-selected node.
  callback: function(elements) {} // fired once the user releases the mouse. (elements) = selected nodes.
});

// if you add the function to a variable like we did, you have access to all its functions
// and can now use start() and stop() like so:
ds.getSelection();  // returns all currently selected nodes
ds.addSelectables(document.getElementsByClassName('selectable-node'));  // adds elements that can be selected. Intelligent algorithm never adds elements twice.
ds.break();  // used in callbacks to disable the execution of the upcoming code. It will not teardown the functionality.
ds.stop();  // will teardown/stop the whole functionality
ds.start();  // reset the functionality after a teardown
// and many more, see "methods" section in documentation

You can also use the "shift", "ctrl" or "command" key to make multiple independent selections.

Mobile/Touch useage

Keep in mind that using DragSelect on a mobile/touch device will also turn off the default scroll behaviour (on click + drag interaction). In 99% of the usecases, this is what you want. If DragSelect is only one part of a website, and you still want to be able to scroll the page on mobile, you can use an area property. This way the scroll behaviour remains for all the rest of the page.

Accessibility (a11y)

DragSelect is accessibly by default:

TLDR; => Your selectables should be buttons: <button type="button"></button>.

Obviously, keyboard users won’t get the full visual experience but it works similarely to the OS default behaviour. You can select items using the default select keys (usually space or enter) and also multiselect when using a modifier key at the same time (unfortunately this does not work in firefox for now since FF doesn’t add the modifier key in the event object when using the keyboard). There is one little thing you have to do tho’: the selectables have to be pressable (clickable)! To achieve this, they should be of type <button type="button"></button>.

Properties:

property	type	usage
selectables	DOM elements (nodes)	OPTIONAL. The elements that can be selected
selector	single DOM element (node)	OPTIONAL. The square that will draw the selection. Autocreated by default
area	single DOM element (node)	OPTIONAL. The square in which you are able to select
customStyles	boolean	OPTIONAL. If true, no styles will be automatically applied (except position: absolute). Default: false
multiSelectKeys	array	OPTIONAL. An array of keys that allows switching to the multi-select mode (see the multiSelectMode option). The only possible values are keys that are provided via the event object. So far: ctrlKey, shiftKey, metaKey and altKey. Provide an empty array [] if you want to turn off the funcionality. Default: ['ctrlKey', 'shiftKey', 'metaKey']
multiSelectMode	boolean	OPTIONAL. Add newly selected elements to the selection instead of replacing them. Default = false
autoScrollSpeed	integer	OPTIONAL. The speed in which the area scrolls while selecting (if available). The unit is pixel per movement. Set to 0.0001 to disable autoscrolling. Default = 1
selectedClass	string	OPTIONAL. The class name assigned to the selected items. Default = see classes
hoverClass	string	OPTIONAL. The class name assigned to the mouse hovered items. Default = see classes
selectorClass	string	OPTIONAL. The class name assigned to the square selector helper. Default = see classes
selectableClass	string	OPTIONAL. The class name assigned to the elements that can be selected. Default = see classes
onDragStartBegin	function	OPTIONAL. Fired when the user clicks in the area. This callback gets the event object. Executed before DragSelect function code runs
onDragStart	function	OPTIONAL. Fired when the user clicks in the area. This callback gets the event object. Executed after DragSelect function code ran, befor the setup of event listeners
onDragMove	function	OPTIONAL. Fired when the user drags. This callback gets the event object. Executed before DragSelect function code ran, after getting the current mouse position
onElementSelect	function	OPTIONAL. Fired every time an element is selected. This callback gets a property which is the selected node
onElementUnselect	function	OPTIONAL. Fired every time an element is de-selected. This callback gets a property which is the de-selected node
callback	function	OPTIONAL. Callback function that gets fired when the selection is released. This callback gets a property which is an array that holds all selected nodes

Methods:

When the function is saved into a variable var foo = new DragSelect() you have access to all its inner functions. There are way more than listed here. Here are just the most usable:

method	properties	usage
stop	/	Will teardown/stop the whole functionality
start	/	Reset the functionality after a teardown
break	/	Used in callbacks to disable the execution of the upcoming code. It will not teardown the functionality
getSelection	/	Returns all currently selected nodes
addSelection	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (callback), Boolean (dontAddToSelectables)	adds one or multiple elements to the selection. If boolean is set to true: callback will be called afterwards. By default, it checks if all elements ere alos in the list of selectables and adds them if not (can be turned off by setting the last boolean to true)
removeSelection	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (callback), Boolean (removeFromSelectables)	removes one or multiple elements to the selection. If boolean is set to true: callback will be called afterwards. If last bolean is set to true, it also removes them from the possible selectable nodes if they were.
toggleSelection	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (callback), Boolean (special)	toggles one or multiple elements to the selection. If element is not in selection it will be added, if it is already selected, it will be removed. If boolean is set to true: callback will be called afterward. If last boolean is set to true, it also removes selected elements from possible selectable nodes & doesn’t add them to selectables if they are not.
setSelection	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (callback), Boolean (dontAddToSelectables)	sets the selection to one or multiple elements. If boolean is set to true: callback will be called afterwards. By default, it checks if all elements ere alos in the list of selectables and adds them if not (can be turned off by setting the last boolean to true)
clearSelection	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (callback)	remove all elements from the selection. If boolean is set to true: callback will be called afterwards.
addSelectables	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (addToSelection)	Adds elements that can be selected. Don’t worry, a smart algorithm makes sure that nodes are never added twice. If boolean is set to true: elements will also be added to current selection.
removeSelectables	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (removeFromSelection)	Remove elements that can be selected. If boolean is set to true: elements will also be removed from current selection.
getSelectables	/	Returns array with all nodes that can be selected.
setSelectables	DOM elements (nodes), Boolean (removeFromSelection), Boolean (addToSelection)	Sets all elements that can be selected. Removes all current selectables (& their respective applied classes). Adds the new set to the selectables set. Thus, replacing the original set. First boolean if old elements should be removed from the selection. Second boolean if new elements should be added to the selection.
getInitialCursorPosition	/	Returns the registered x, y coordinates the cursor had when first clicked
getCurrentCursorPosition	/	Returns current/last registered x, y coordinates of the cursor
getCursorPositionDifference	Boolean (usePreviousCursorDifference)	Returns object with the x, y difference between the initial and the last cursor position. If the argument is set to true, it will instead return the x, y difference to the previous selection
getCursorPos	Event, Node (_area), Boolean (ignoreScroll)	Returns the cursor x, y coordinates based on a click event object. The click event object is required. By default, takes scroll and area into consideration. Area is this.area by default and can be fully ignored by setting the second argument explicitely to false. Scroll can be ignored by setting the third argument to true.

Classes

name	trigger
.ds-selected	On elements that are selected
.ds-hover	On elements that are currently hovered
.ds-selector	On the selector element
.ds-selectable	On elements that can be selected

note: you can change the class names setting the respective property on the constructor, see Properties section.

Have Fun!

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