sortablejs

What is sortablejs?

The sortablejs package is a JavaScript library for creating reorderable drag-and-drop lists on modern web browsers and touch devices. It does not require any jQuery dependency and provides a simple API for developers to enable sortable functionality in their web applications.

What are sortablejs's main functionalities?

Basic list sorting

This code snippet enables drag-and-drop sorting on the list with the ID 'items'. It creates a Sortable instance that allows list items to be reordered by dragging.

var el = document.getElementById('items');
var sortable = Sortable.create(el);

Grouping and sharing between lists

This code snippet connects two lists, allowing items to be dragged from one list to another. Both lists share the same 'group' property, enabling the sharing of items.

var el1 = document.getElementById('list1');
var el2 = document.getElementById('list2');
Sortable.create(el1, {
  group: 'shared',
  animation: 150
});
Sortable.create(el2, {
  group: 'shared',
  animation: 150
});

Saving and restoring list order

This code snippet demonstrates how to save the order of the list to localStorage and restore it when the page is reloaded. The 'store' option is used to provide custom 'get' and 'set' functions for storing the order.

var el = document.getElementById('items');
var sortable = Sortable.create(el, {
  store: {
    get: function (sortable) {
      var order = localStorage.getItem(sortable.options.group.name);
      return order ? order.split('|') : [];
    },
    set: function (sortable) {
      var order = sortable.toArray();
      localStorage.setItem(sortable.options.group.name, order.join('|'));
    }
  }
});

Customizing drag handle

This code snippet shows how to specify a custom drag handle for list items. Only elements with the class 'my-handle' will be draggable.

var el = document.getElementById('items');
var sortable = Sortable.create(el, {
  handle: '.my-handle',
  animation: 150
});

Other packages similar to sortablejs

react-beautiful-dnd

A React-centric drag-and-drop library that provides a powerful, opinionated solution for building complex drag-and-drop interfaces. It differs from sortablejs in that it is built specifically for React and offers a more extensive set of features for React developers.

dragula

A simple drag-and-drop library that is similar to sortablejs but with a focus on simplicity and touch support. It provides a minimal API and is easy to get started with, but it may not have as many features as sortablejs.

dnd-kit

A modern drag-and-drop toolkit for building accessible and performant drag-and-drop interfaces. It is framework-agnostic and offers a comprehensive set of utilities for building complex drag-and-drop systems. It is more modular and flexible than sortablejs but may require more setup.

README

Sortable

Sortable is a JavaScript library for reorderable drag-and-drop lists.

Demo: http://sortablejs.github.io/Sortable/

Features

• Supports touch devices and modern browsers (including IE9)
• Can drag from one list to another or within the same list
• CSS animation when moving items
• Supports drag handles and selectable text (better than voidberg's html5sortable)
• Smart auto-scrolling
• Advanced swap detection
• Built using native HTML5 drag and drop API
• Supports
  • Meteor
  • AngularJS
    • 2.0+
    • 1.*
  • React
    • ES2015+
    • Mixin
  • Knockout
  • Polymer
  • Vue
• Supports any CSS library, e.g. Bootstrap
• Simple API
• CDN
• No jQuery required (but there is support)

Articles

• Swap Thresholds and Direction (December 2, 2018)
• Sortable v1.0 — New capabilities (December 22, 2014)
• Sorting with the help of HTML5 Drag'n'Drop API (December 23, 2013)

Install

Via npm

$ npm install sortablejs --save

Via bower:

$ bower install --save sortablejs

Usage

<ul id="items">
	<li>item 1</li>
	<li>item 2</li>
	<li>item 3</li>
</ul>

var el = document.getElementById('items');
var sortable = Sortable.create(el);

You can use any element for the list and its elements, not just ul/li. Here is an example with divs.

---

Options

var sortable = new Sortable(el, {
	group: "name",  // or { name: "...", pull: [true, false, 'clone', array], put: [true, false, array] }
	sort: true,  // sorting inside list
	delay: 0, // time in milliseconds to define when the sorting should start
	touchStartThreshold: 0, // px, how many pixels the point should move before cancelling a delayed drag event
	disabled: false, // Disables the sortable if set to true.
	store: null,  // @see Store
	animation: 150,  // ms, animation speed moving items when sorting, `0` — without animation
	easing: "cubic-bezier(1, 0, 0, 1)", // Easing for animation. Defaults to null. See https://easings.net/ for examples.
	handle: ".my-handle",  // Drag handle selector within list items
	filter: ".ignore-elements",  // Selectors that do not lead to dragging (String or Function)
	preventOnFilter: true, // Call `event.preventDefault()` when triggered `filter`
	draggable: ".item",  // Specifies which items inside the element should be draggable
	ghostClass: "sortable-ghost",  // Class name for the drop placeholder
	chosenClass: "sortable-chosen",  // Class name for the chosen item
	dragClass: "sortable-drag",  // Class name for the dragging item
	dataIdAttr: 'data-id',

	swapThreshold: 1, // Threshold of the swap zone
	invertSwap: false, // Will always use inverted swap zone if set to true
	invertedSwapThreshold: 1, // Threshold of the inverted swap zone (will be set to swapThreshold value by default)
	direction: 'horizontal', // Direction of Sortable (will be detected automatically if not given)

	forceFallback: false,  // ignore the HTML5 DnD behaviour and force the fallback to kick in

	fallbackClass: "sortable-fallback",  // Class name for the cloned DOM Element when using forceFallback
	fallbackOnBody: false,  // Appends the cloned DOM Element into the Document's Body
	fallbackTolerance: 0, // Specify in pixels how far the mouse should move before it's considered as a drag.

	scroll: true, // or HTMLElement
	scrollFn: function(offsetX, offsetY, originalEvent, touchEvt, hoverTargetEl) { ... }, // if you have custom scrollbar scrollFn may be used for autoscrolling
	scrollSensitivity: 30, // px, how near the mouse must be to an edge to start scrolling.
	scrollSpeed: 10, // px
	bubbleScroll: true, // apply autoscroll to all parent elements, allowing for easier movement

	dragoverBubble: false,
	removeCloneOnHide: true, // Remove the clone element when it is not showing, rather than just hiding it
	emptyInsertThreshold: 5, // px, distance mouse must be from empty sortable to insert drag element into it


	setData: function (/** DataTransfer */dataTransfer, /** HTMLElement*/dragEl) {
		dataTransfer.setData('Text', dragEl.textContent); // `dataTransfer` object of HTML5 DragEvent
	},

	// Element is chosen
	onChoose: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		evt.oldIndex;  // element index within parent
	},

	// Element is unchosen
	onUnchoose: function(/**Event*/evt) {
		// same properties as onEnd
	},

	// Element dragging started
	onStart: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		evt.oldIndex;  // element index within parent
	},

	// Element dragging ended
	onEnd: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		var itemEl = evt.item;  // dragged HTMLElement
		evt.to;    // target list
		evt.from;  // previous list
		evt.oldIndex;  // element's old index within old parent
		evt.newIndex;  // element's new index within new parent
	},

	// Element is dropped into the list from another list
	onAdd: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		// same properties as onEnd
	},

	// Changed sorting within list
	onUpdate: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		// same properties as onEnd
	},

	// Called by any change to the list (add / update / remove)
	onSort: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		// same properties as onEnd
	},

	// Element is removed from the list into another list
	onRemove: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		// same properties as onEnd
	},

	// Attempt to drag a filtered element
	onFilter: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		var itemEl = evt.item;  // HTMLElement receiving the `mousedown|tapstart` event.
	},

	// Event when you move an item in the list or between lists
	onMove: function (/**Event*/evt, /**Event*/originalEvent) {
		// Example: https://jsbin.com/nawahef/edit?js,output
		evt.dragged; // dragged HTMLElement
		evt.draggedRect; // DOMRect {left, top, right, bottom}
		evt.related; // HTMLElement on which have guided
		evt.relatedRect; // DOMRect
		evt.willInsertAfter; // Boolean that is true if Sortable will insert drag element after target by default
		originalEvent.clientY; // mouse position
		// return false; — for cancel
		// return -1; — insert before target
		// return 1; — insert after target
	},

	// Called when creating a clone of element
	onClone: function (/**Event*/evt) {
		var origEl = evt.item;
		var cloneEl = evt.clone;
	},

	// Called when dragging element changes position
	onChange: function(/**Event*/evt) {
		evt.newIndex // most likely why this event is used is to get the dragging element's current index
		// same properties as onEnd
	}
});

---

group option

To drag elements from one list into another, both lists must have the same group value. You can also define whether lists can give away, give and keep a copy (clone), and receive elements.

• name: String — group name
• pull: true|false|["foo", "bar"]|'clone'|function — ability to move from the list. clone — copy the item, rather than move. Or an array of group names which the elements may be put in. Defaults to true.
• put: true|false|["baz", "qux"]|function — whether elements can be added from other lists, or an array of group names from which elements can be added.
• revertClone: boolean — revert cloned element to initial position after moving to a another list.

Demo:

• https://jsbin.com/hijetos/edit?js,output
• https://jsbin.com/nacoyah/edit?js,output — use of complex logic in the pull and put
• https://jsbin.com/bifuyab/edit?js,output — use revertClone: true

---

sort option

Sorting inside list.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/jayedig/edit?js,output

---

delay option

Time in milliseconds to define when the sorting should start.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/zosiwah/edit?js,output

---

swapThreshold option

Percentage of the target that the swap zone will take up, as a float between 0 and 1.

Read more: https://github.com/SortableJS/Sortable/wiki/Swap-Thresholds-and-Direction#swap-threshold

Demo: http://sortablejs.github.io/Sortable#thresholds

---

invertSwap option

Set to true to set the swap zone to the sides of the target, for the effect of sorting "in between" items.

Read more: https://github.com/SortableJS/Sortable/wiki/Swap-Thresholds-and-Direction#forcing-inverted-swap-zone

Demo: http://sortablejs.github.io/Sortable#thresholds

---

invertedSwapThreshold option

Percentage of the target that the inverted swap zone will take up, as a float between 0 and 1. If not given, will default to swapThreshold.

Read more: https://github.com/SortableJS/Sortable/wiki/Swap-Thresholds-and-Direction#dealing-with-swap-glitching

---

direction option

Direction that the Sortable should sort in. Can be set to 'vertical', 'horizontal', or a function, which will be called whenever a target is dragged over. Must return 'vertical' or 'horizontal'.

Read more: https://github.com/SortableJS/Sortable/wiki/Swap-Thresholds-and-Direction#direction

Example of direction detection for vertical list that includes full column and half column elements:

Sortable.create(el, {
	direction: function(evt, target, dragEl) {
		if (target !== null && target.className.includes('half-column') && dragEl.className.includes('half-column')) {
			return 'horizontal';
		}
		return 'vertical';
	}
});

---

touchStartThreshold option

This option is similar to fallbackTolerance option.

When the delay option is set, some phones with very sensitive touch displays like the Samsung Galaxy S8 will fire unwanted touchmove events even when your finger is not moving, resulting in the sort not triggering.

This option sets the minimum pointer movement that must occur before the delayed sorting is cancelled.

Values between 3 to 5 are good.

---

disabled options

Disables the sortable if set to true.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/sewokud/edit?js,output

var sortable = Sortable.create(list);

document.getElementById("switcher").onclick = function () {
	var state = sortable.option("disabled"); // get

	sortable.option("disabled", !state); // set
};

---

handle option

To make list items draggable, Sortable disables text selection by the user. That's not always desirable. To allow text selection, define a drag handler, which is an area of every list element that allows it to be dragged around.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/numakuh/edit?html,js,output

Sortable.create(el, {
	handle: ".my-handle"
});

<ul>
	<li><span class="my-handle">::</span> list item text one
	<li><span class="my-handle">::</span> list item text two
</ul>

.my-handle {
	cursor: move;
	cursor: -webkit-grabbing;
}

---

filter option

Sortable.create(list, {
	filter: ".js-remove, .js-edit",
	onFilter: function (evt) {
		var item = evt.item,
			ctrl = evt.target;

		if (Sortable.utils.is(ctrl, ".js-remove")) {  // Click on remove button
			item.parentNode.removeChild(item); // remove sortable item
		}
		else if (Sortable.utils.is(ctrl, ".js-edit")) {  // Click on edit link
			// ...
		}
	}
})

---

ghostClass option

Class name for the drop placeholder (default sortable-ghost).

Demo: https://jsbin.com/henuyiw/edit?css,js,output

.ghost {
  opacity: 0.4;
}

Sortable.create(list, {
  ghostClass: "ghost"
});

---

chosenClass option

Class name for the chosen item (default sortable-chosen).

Demo: https://jsbin.com/hoqufox/edit?css,js,output

.chosen {
  color: #fff;
  background-color: #c00;
}

Sortable.create(list, {
  delay: 500,
  chosenClass: "chosen"
});

---

forceFallback option

If set to true, the Fallback for non HTML5 Browser will be used, even if we are using an HTML5 Browser. This gives us the possibility to test the behaviour for older Browsers even in newer Browser, or make the Drag 'n Drop feel more consistent between Desktop , Mobile and old Browsers.

On top of that, the Fallback always generates a copy of that DOM Element and appends the class fallbackClass defined in the options. This behaviour controls the look of this 'dragged' Element.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/sibiput/edit?html,css,js,output

---

fallbackTolerance option

Emulates the native drag threshold. Specify in pixels how far the mouse should move before it's considered as a drag. Useful if the items are also clickable like in a list of links.

When the user clicks inside a sortable element, it's not uncommon for your hand to move a little between the time you press and the time you release. Dragging only starts if you move the pointer past a certain tolerance, so that you don't accidentally start dragging every time you click.

3 to 5 are probably good values.

---

scroll option

If set to true, the page (or sortable-area) scrolls when coming to an edge.

Demo:

• window: https://jsbin.com/dosilir/edit?js,output
• overflow: hidden: https://jsbin.com/xecihez/edit?html,js,output

---

scrollFn option

Defines function that will be used for autoscrolling. el.scrollTop/el.scrollLeft is used by default. Useful when you have custom scrollbar with dedicated scroll function.

---

scrollSensitivity option

Defines how near the mouse must be to an edge to start scrolling.

---

scrollSpeed option

The speed at which the window should scroll once the mouse pointer gets within the scrollSensitivity distance.

---

bubbleScroll option

If set to true, the normal autoscroll function will also be applied to all parent elements of the element the user is dragging over.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/kesewor/edit?html,js,output

---

dragoverBubble option

If set to true, the dragover event will bubble to parent sortables. Works on both fallback and native dragover event. By default, it is false, but Sortable will only stop bubbling the event once the element has been inserted into a parent Sortable, or can be inserted into a parent Sortable, but isn't at that specific time (due to animation, etc).

Since 1.8.0, you will probably want to leave this option as false. Before 1.8.0, it may need to be true for nested sortables to work.

---

removeCloneOnHide option

If set to false, the clone is hidden by having it's CSS display property set to none. By default, this option is true, meaning Sortable will remove the cloned element from the DOM when it is supposed to be hidden.

---

emptyInsertThreshold option

The distance (in pixels) the mouse must be from an empty sortable while dragging for the drag element to be inserted into that sortable. Defaults to 5. Set to 0 to disable this feature.

Demo: https://jsbin.com/becavoj/edit?js,output

---

Event object (demo)

• to:HTMLElement — list, in which moved element
• from:HTMLElement — previous list
• item:HTMLElement — dragged element
• clone:HTMLElement
• oldIndex:Number|undefined — old index within parent
• newIndex:Number|undefined — new index within parent

move event object

• to:HTMLElement
• from:HTMLElement
• dragged:HTMLElement
• draggedRect:DOMRect
• related:HTMLElement — element on which have guided
• relatedRect:DOMRect
• willInsertAfter:Boolean — true if will element be inserted after target (or false if before)

---

Method

option(name:String[, value:*]):*

Get or set the option.

closest(el:String[, selector:HTMLElement]):HTMLElement|null

For each element in the set, get the first element that matches the selector by testing the element itself and traversing up through its ancestors in the DOM tree.

toArray():String[]

Serializes the sortable's item data-id's (dataIdAttr option) into an array of string.

sort(order:String[])

Sorts the elements according to the array.

var order = sortable.toArray();
sortable.sort(order.reverse()); // apply

save()

Save the current sorting (see store)

destroy()

Removes the sortable functionality completely.

---

Store

Saving and restoring of the sort.

<ul>
	<li data-id="1">order</li>
	<li data-id="2">save</li>
	<li data-id="3">restore</li>
</ul>

Sortable.create(el, {
	group: "localStorage-example",
	store: {
		/**
		 * Get the order of elements. Called once during initialization.
		 * @param   {Sortable}  sortable
		 * @returns {Array}
		 */
		get: function (sortable) {
			var order = localStorage.getItem(sortable.options.group.name);
			return order ? order.split('|') : [];
		},

		/**
		 * Save the order of elements. Called onEnd (when the item is dropped).
		 * @param {Sortable}  sortable
		 */
		set: function (sortable) {
			var order = sortable.toArray();
			localStorage.setItem(sortable.options.group.name, order.join('|'));
		}
	}
})

---

Bootstrap

Demo: https://jsbin.com/visimub/edit?html,js,output

<!-- Latest compiled and minified CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css"/>


<!-- Latest Sortable -->
<script src="http://SortableJS.github.io/Sortable/Sortable.js"></script>


<!-- Simple List -->
<ul id="simpleList" class="list-group">
	<li class="list-group-item">This is <a href="http://SortableJS.github.io/Sortable/">Sortable</a></li>
	<li class="list-group-item">It works with Bootstrap...</li>
	<li class="list-group-item">...out of the box.</li>
	<li class="list-group-item">It has support for touch devices.</li>
	<li class="list-group-item">Just drag some elements around.</li>
</ul>

<script>
    // Simple list
    Sortable.create(simpleList, { /* options */ });
</script>

---

Static methods & properties

Sortable.create(el:HTMLElement[, options:Object]):Sortable

Create new instance.

---

Sortable.active:Sortable

Link to the active instance.

---

Sortable.utils

• on(el:HTMLElement, event:String, fn:Function) — attach an event handler function
• off(el:HTMLElement, event:String, fn:Function) — remove an event handler
• css(el:HTMLElement):Object — get the values of all the CSS properties
• css(el:HTMLElement, prop:String):Mixed — get the value of style properties
• css(el:HTMLElement, prop:String, value:String) — set one CSS properties
• css(el:HTMLElement, props:Object) — set more CSS properties
• find(ctx:HTMLElement, tagName:String[, iterator:Function]):Array — get elements by tag name
• bind(ctx:Mixed, fn:Function):Function — Takes a function and returns a new one that will always have a particular context
• is(el:HTMLElement, selector:String):Boolean — check the current matched set of elements against a selector
• closest(el:HTMLElement, selector:String[, ctx:HTMLElement]):HTMLElement|Null — for each element in the set, get the first element that matches the selector by testing the element itself and traversing up through its ancestors in the DOM tree
• clone(el:HTMLElement):HTMLElement — create a deep copy of the set of matched elements
• toggleClass(el:HTMLElement, name:String, state:Boolean) — add or remove one classes from each element
• detectDirection(el:HTMLElement):String — automatically detect the direction of the element as either 'vertical' or 'horizontal'

---

CDN

<!-- jsDelivr :: Sortable :: Latest (https://www.jsdelivr.com/package/npm/sortablejs) -->
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/sortablejs@latest/Sortable.min.js"></script>

---

Contributing (Issue/PR)

Please, read this.

---

MIT LICENSE

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.