Conditionally block scrolling/touchmove event in mobile safari

Question

iOS 5 now allows native overflow: scroll support.

What I\'d like to do is disable the touchmove event for everything except elements that have the \'scrolla

Answer 1

Here's a (mostly) working solution for disabling vertical scrolling for all but overflowed elements:

(CoffeeScript):

# Vertical scrolling behavior overrides.
#
# This disables vertical scrolling on the page for touch devices, unless the user is scrolling
# within an overflowed node.  This requires some finessing of the touch events.
#
# **NOTE:** This code ends up disabling bounce behavior if the user tries to scroll on a node that
# is already at its upper or lower limit.
window$   = $(window)
initialY  = null
nodeStack = []

# When a user begins a (potential) drag, we jot down positional and node information.
#
# The assumption is that page content isn't going to move for the duration of the drag, and that
# it would also be awkward if the drag were to change/stop part way through due to DOM
# modifications.
window$.bind 'touchstart', (evt) ->
  initialY  = evt.originalEvent.pageY
  nodeStack = $(evt.target).parents().andSelf().filter(':not(body, html)').get().reverse()
  nodeStack = nodeStack.map (node) -> $(node)

window$.bind 'touchend touchcancel', (evt) ->
  initialY  = null
  nodeStack = []

# We override the `touchmove` event so that we only allow scrolls in allowable directions,
# depending on where the user first began the drag.
window$.bind 'touchmove', (evt) ->
  return evt.preventDefault() if initialY == null
  # A positive direction indicates that the user is dragging their finger down, thus wanting the
  # content to scroll up.
  direction = evt.originalEvent.pageY - initialY

  for node$ in nodeStack
    nodeHeight    = node$.height()
    # For some reason, the node's scrollHeight is off by 2 pixels in all cases.  This may require
    # tweaking depending on your DOM.  Concerning.
    scrollHeight  = node$[0].scrollHeight - 2
    nodeScrollTop = node$.scrollTop()

    # If we have a scrollable element, we want to only allow drags under certain circumstances:
    if scrollHeight > nodeHeight
      # * The user is dragging the content up, and the element is already scrolled down a bit.
      return if direction > 0 and nodeScrollTop > 0
      # * And the reverse: the user is dragging the content down, and the element is up a bit.
      return if direction < 0 and nodeScrollTop < scrollHeight - nodeHeight

  # Otherwise, the default behavior is to disable dragging.
  evt.preventDefault()