How to implement a drag-and-drop div from scratch with JavaScript?

Question

It should be a combination of CSS and JavaScript. The steps to do should be:

1. Make it on top of all other elements (which property to specify?)
2. Catch t

Answer 1

1. make it absolute positioned, with a high z-index.
2. check for onmousedown of the div.
3. use the event's mouseX and mouseY attributes to move the div.

Here's an example from Javascript, the Definitive Guide (updated here):

/**
 *  Drag.js:    drag absolutely positioned HTML elements.
 *
 *  This module defines a single drag() function that is designed to be called
 *  from an onmousedown event handler. Subsequent mousemove event will
 *  move the specified element. A mouseup event will terminate the drag.
 *  If the element is dragged off the screen, the window does not scroll.
 *  This implementation works with both the DOM Level 2 event model and the
 *  IE event model.
 *
 *  Arguments:
 *
 *      elementToDrag: the element that received the mousedown event or
 *          some containing element. It must be absolutely positioned. Its
 *          style.left and style.top values will be changed based on the user's
 *          drag.
 *
 *      event: ethe Event object for the mousedown event.
 *
 *  Example of how this can be used:
 *       
 *      
 *      

 *      
 *      

 *      Drag Me 
 *      
 *      
 *      
This is a test. Testing, testing, testing.
This is a test.
Test.
 *      
 *
 *  Author: David Flanagan; Javascript: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly)
 *  Page: 422
 **/
 function drag(elementToDrag, event)
 {
     // The mouse position (in window coordinates)
     // at which the drag begins
     var startX = event.clientX, startY = event.clientY;

     // The original position (in document coordinates) of the
     // element that is going to be dragged. Since elementToDrag is
     // absolutely positioned, we assume that its offsetParent is the
     //document bodt.
     var origX = elementToDrag.offsetLeft , origY = elementToDrag.offsetTop;

     // Even though the coordinates are computed in different
     // coordinate systems, we can still compute the difference between them
     // and use it in the moveHandler() function. This works because
     // the scrollbar positoin never changes during the drag.
     var deltaX = startX - origX, deltaY = startY - origY;

     // Register the event handlers that will respond to the mousemove events
     // and the mouseup event that follow this mousedown event.
     if (document.addEventListener) //DOM Level 2 event model
     {
         // Register capturing event handlers
         document.addEventListener("mousemove", moveHandler, true);
         document.addEventListener("mouseup", upHandler, true);
     }
     else if (document.attachEvent) //IE 5+ Event Model
     {
         //In the IE event model, we capture events by calling
         //setCapture() on the element to capture them.
         elementToDrag.setCapture();
         elementToDrag.attachEvent("onmousemove", moveHandler);
         elementToDrag.attachEvent("onmouseup", upHandler);
         // Treat loss of mouse capture as a mouseup event.
         elementToDrag.attachEvent("onclosecapture", upHandler);
     }
     else //IE 4 Event Model
     {
         // In IE 4, we can't use attachEvent() or setCapture(), so we set
         // event handlers directly on the document object and hope that the
         // mouse event we need will bubble up.
         var oldmovehandler = document.onmousemove; //used by upHandler()
         var olduphandler = document.onmouseup;
         document.onmousemove = moveHandler;
         document.onmouseup = upHandler;
     }

     // We've handled this event. Don't let anybody else see it.
     if (event.stopPropagation) event.stopPropagation();    //  DOM Level 2
     else event.cancelBubble = true;                        //  IE

     // Now prevent any default action.
     if (event.preventDefault) event.preventDefault();      //  DOM Level 2
     else event.returnValue = false;                        //  IE

     /**
      * This is the handler that captures mousemove events when an element
      * is being dragged. It is responsible for moving the element.
      **/
      function moveHandler(e)
      {
          if (!e) e = window.event; //  IE Event Model

          // Move the element to the current mouse position, adjusted as
          // necessary by the offset of the initial mouse-click.
          elementToDrag.style.left = (e.clientX - deltaX) + "px";
          elementToDrag.style.top = (e.clientY - deltaY) + "px";

          // And don't let anyone else see this event.
          if (e.stopPropagation) e.stopPropagation();       // DOM Level 2
          else e.cancelBubble = true;                       // IE
      }

      /**
       * This is the handler that captures the final mouseup event that
       * occurs at the end of a drag.
       **/
       function upHandler(e)
       {
           if (!e) e = window.event;    //IE Event Model

           // Unregister the capturing event handlers.
           if (document.removeEventListener) // DOM event model
            {
                document.removeEventListener("mouseup", upHandler, true);
                document.removeEventListener("mousemove", moveHandler, true);
            }
            else if (document.detachEvent)  //  IE 5+ Event Model
            {
                elementToDrag.detachEvent("onlosecapture", upHandler);
                elementToDrag.detachEvent("onmouseup", upHandler);
                elementToDrag.detachEvent("onmousemove", moveHandler);
                elementToDrag.releaseCapture();
            }
            else    //IE 4 Event Model
            {
                //Restore the original handlers, if any
                document.onmouseup = olduphandler;
                document.onmousemove = oldmovehandler;
            }

            //  And don't let the event propagate any further.
            if (e.stopPropagation) e.stopPropagation(); //DOM Level 2
            else e.cancelBubble = true;                 //IE
       }
 }

 function closeMe(elementToClose)
 {
     elementToClose.innerHTML = '';
     elementToClose.style.display = 'none';
 }

 function minimizeMe(elementToMin, maxElement)
 {
     elementToMin.style.display = 'none';
 }