How to make a javaScript swipe

Learn how to create a swiping animation in Javascript with a step-by-step tutorial and example code.

Creating a JavaScript Swipe

Creating a JavaScript swipe is a relatively simple process that allows you to add a touch-based interaction to your web page. Swipes are often used to indicate a certain action or provide navigation between pages. In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a basic swipe interaction with JavaScript.

The first step in creating a JavaScript swipe is to add an event listener to the element that you want to be swipeable. The event listener should listen for a “touchstart” event, which is fired when a user touches the element.

// Add an event listener to the element
element.addEventListener("touchstart", function(e) {
  // Get the coordinates of the touch
  var x = e.touches[0].clientX;
  var y = e.touches[0].clientY;

  // Store the coordinates in an object
  var start = {
    x: x,
    y: y
  };
});

Once the “touchstart” event has been fired, we need to store the coordinates of the touch in an object. This will allow us to track the movement of the touch and determine if a swipe has occurred.

The next step is to create a “touchmove” event listener. This event will fire when the user moves their finger across the screen. We need to store the current coordinates of the touch and compare them to the original coordinates stored in the “start” object.

// Add an event listener to the element
element.addEventListener("touchmove", function(e) {
  // Get the coordinates of the touch
  var x = e.touches[0].clientX;
  var y = e.touches[0].clientY;

  // Calculate the difference between the starting coordinates and the current coordinates
  var dx = start.x - x;
  var dy = start.y - y;
});

Once we have the differences between the starting coordinates and the current coordinates, we can use these values to determine if a swipe has occurred. We can use a few simple if statements to determine if a swipe has occurred in any of the four directions.

// Check if a swipe has occurred
if (dx > 50) {
  // Swiped left
} else if (dx < -50) {
  // Swiped right
} else if (dy > 50) {
  // Swiped up
} else if (dy < -50) {
  // Swiped down
}

In the above code, we are checking if the difference between the starting coordinates and the current coordinates is greater than 50. If it is, then we know a swipe has occurred. We can then use the values to determine which direction the user swiped in.

Finally, we need to add an event listener for the “touchend” event. This event will fire when the user lifts their finger off the screen. We can use this event to reset the starting coordinates and prepare for the next swipe.

// Add an event listener to the element
element.addEventListener("touchend", function(e) {
  // Reset the starting coordinates
  start = {
    x: null,
    y: null
  };
});

And that’s it! We now have a working JavaScript swipe interaction. We can use the values from the “touchstart”, “touchmove”, and “touchend” events to determine which direction the user swiped in and run any code we need.