files/en-us/web/api/datatransfer/setdata/index.md
{{APIRef("HTML Drag and Drop API")}}
The DataTransfer.setData() method sets the drag
operation's drag data to the specified data and type. If
data for the given type does not exist, it is added at the end of the drag data store,
such that the last item in the {{domxref("DataTransfer.types","types")}} list will be
the new type. If data for the given type already exists, the existing data is replaced
in the same position. That is, the order of the
{{domxref("DataTransfer.types","types")}} list is not changed when replacing data of the
same type.
Example data types are text/plain and text/uri-list.
setData(format, data)
format
data
None ({{jsxref("undefined")}}).
In this example we can drag a {{HTMLElement("p")}} element into a target {{HTMLElement("div")}} element.
In the dragstart handler, we use setData() to add the id of the <p> element to the {{domxref("DataTransfer")}} object.
In the drop handler we retrieve the id and use it to move the <p> element into the target.
<div>
<p id="source" 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">Drop Zone</div>
<button id="reset">Reset example</button>
div {
margin: 0.5em 0;
padding: 2em;
}
#target,
#source {
border: 1px solid black;
padding: 0.5rem;
}
.dragging {
background-color: pink;
}
const source = document.querySelector("#source");
source.addEventListener("dragstart", (ev) => {
console.log("dragStart");
// Change the source element's background color
// to show that drag has started
ev.currentTarget.classList.add("dragging");
// Clear the drag data cache (for all formats/types)
ev.dataTransfer.clearData();
// Set the drag's format and data.
// Use the event target's id for the data
ev.dataTransfer.setData("text/plain", ev.target.id);
});
source.addEventListener("dragend", (ev) =>
ev.target.classList.remove("dragging"),
);
const target = document.querySelector("#target");
target.addEventListener("dragover", (ev) => {
console.log("dragOver");
ev.preventDefault();
});
target.addEventListener("drop", (ev) => {
console.log("Drop");
ev.preventDefault();
// Get the data, which is the id of the source element
const data = ev.dataTransfer.getData("text");
const source = document.getElementById(data);
ev.target.appendChild(source);
});
const reset = document.querySelector("#reset");
reset.addEventListener("click", () => document.location.reload());
{{EmbedLiveSample("Dragging an element", "", 250)}}
{{Specifications}}
{{Compat}}