How to implement swipe gestures for mobile devices?

Question

I have an application made in AngularJS which has arrow key navigation to switch views.

I want to implement this navigation using swipe for touch devices. I tried jGestures library but it doesn't go well with swipe. I have been recommended NOT to use jquery mobile.

Is there any other way to implement swipe?

EDIT: It does not detect swipe cleanly. I tested it on multiple devices, including iPad and it takes multiple swipes to do an action(routing in my case).

Answer 1

I made this function for my needs.

Feel free to use it. Works great on mobile devices.

function detectswipe(el,func) {
  swipe_det = new Object();
  swipe_det.sX = 0; swipe_det.sY = 0; swipe_det.eX = 0; swipe_det.eY = 0;
  var min_x = 30;  //min x swipe for horizontal swipe
  var max_x = 30;  //max x difference for vertical swipe
  var min_y = 50;  //min y swipe for vertical swipe
  var max_y = 60;  //max y difference for horizontal swipe
  var direc = "";
  ele = document.getElementById(el);
  ele.addEventListener('touchstart',function(e){
    var t = e.touches[0];
    swipe_det.sX = t.screenX; 
    swipe_det.sY = t.screenY;
  },false);
  ele.addEventListener('touchmove',function(e){
    e.preventDefault();
    var t = e.touches[0];
    swipe_det.eX = t.screenX; 
    swipe_det.eY = t.screenY;    
  },false);
  ele.addEventListener('touchend',function(e){
    //horizontal detection
    if ((((swipe_det.eX - min_x > swipe_det.sX) || (swipe_det.eX + min_x < swipe_det.sX)) && ((swipe_det.eY < swipe_det.sY + max_y) && (swipe_det.sY > swipe_det.eY - max_y) && (swipe_det.eX > 0)))) {
      if(swipe_det.eX > swipe_det.sX) direc = "r";
      else direc = "l";
    }
    //vertical detection
    else if ((((swipe_det.eY - min_y > swipe_det.sY) || (swipe_det.eY + min_y < swipe_det.sY)) && ((swipe_det.eX < swipe_det.sX + max_x) && (swipe_det.sX > swipe_det.eX - max_x) && (swipe_det.eY > 0)))) {
      if(swipe_det.eY > swipe_det.sY) direc = "d";
      else direc = "u";
    }

    if (direc != "") {
      if(typeof func == 'function') func(el,direc);
    }
    direc = "";
    swipe_det.sX = 0; swipe_det.sY = 0; swipe_det.eX = 0; swipe_det.eY = 0;
  },false);  
}

function myfunction(el,d) {
  alert("you swiped on element with id '"+el+"' to "+d+" direction");
}

To use the function just use it like

detectswipe('an_element_id',myfunction);

detectswipe('an_other_element_id',my_other_function);

If a swipe is detected the function "myfunction" is called with parameter element-id and "l,r,u,d" (left,right,up,down).

Example: http://jsfiddle.net/rvuayqeo/1/

Answer 2

Have you tried Hammerjs? It supports swipe gestures by using the velocity of the touch. http://eightmedia.github.com/hammer.js/

Answer 3

There is also an AngularJS module called angular-gestures which is based on hammer.js: https://github.com/wzr1337/angular-gestures

Answer 4

The simplest solution I've found that doesn't require a plugin:

document.addEventListener('touchstart', handleTouchStart, false);        
document.addEventListener('touchmove', handleTouchMove, false);
var xDown = null;                                                        
var yDown = null;  

function handleTouchStart(evt) {                                         
    xDown = evt.touches[0].clientX;                                      
    yDown = evt.touches[0].clientY;                                      
}; 

function handleTouchMove(evt) {
    if ( ! xDown || ! yDown ) {
        return;
    }
    var xUp = evt.touches[0].clientX;                                    
    var yUp = evt.touches[0].clientY;
    var xDiff = xDown - xUp;
    var yDiff = yDown - yUp;

    if ( Math.abs( xDiff ) > Math.abs( yDiff ) ) {/*most significant*/
        if ( xDiff > 0 ) {
        /* left swipe */ 
        } else {
        /* right swipe */
        }                       
    } else {
        if ( yDiff > 0 ) {
        /* up swipe */ 
        } else { 
        /* down swipe */
        }                                                                 
    }
    /* reset values */
    xDown = null;
    yDown = null;                                             
};

Answer 5

Shameless plug I know, but you might want to consider a jQuery plugin that I wrote:

https://github.com/benmajor/jQuery-Mobile-Events

It does not require jQuery Mobile, only jQuery.

Answer 6

Hammer time!

I have used Hammer JS and it work with gesture. Read details from here: https://hammerjs.github.io/

Good thing that it is much more light weight and fast then jQuery mobile. You can test it on their website as well.

Answer 7

I like your solution and implemented it on my site - however, with some little improvements. Just wanted to share my code:

function detectSwipe(id, f) {
    var detect = {
        startX: 0,
        startY: 0,
        endX: 0,
        endY: 0,
        minX: 30,   // min X swipe for horizontal swipe
        maxX: 30,   // max X difference for vertical swipe
        minY: 50,   // min Y swipe for vertial swipe
        maxY: 60    // max Y difference for horizontal swipe
    },
        direction = null,
        element = document.getElementById(id);

    element.addEventListener('touchstart', function (event) {
        var touch = event.touches[0];
        detect.startX = touch.screenX;
        detect.startY = touch.screenY;
    });

    element.addEventListener('touchmove', function (event) {
        event.preventDefault();
        var touch = event.touches[0];
        detect.endX = touch.screenX;
        detect.endY = touch.screenY;
    });

    element.addEventListener('touchend', function (event) {
        if (
            // Horizontal move.
            (Math.abs(detect.endX - detect.startX) > detect.minX)
                && (Math.abs(detect.endY - detect.startY) < detect.maxY)
        ) {
            direction = (detect.endX > detect.startX) ? 'right' : 'left';
        } else if (
            // Vertical move.
            (Math.abs(detect.endY - detect.startY) > detect.minY)
                && (Math.abs(detect.endX - detect.startX) < detect.maxX)
        ) {
            direction = (detect.endY > detect.startY) ? 'down' : 'up';
        }

        if ((direction !== null) && (typeof f === 'function')) {
            f(element, direction);
        }
    });
}

Use it like:

detectSwipe('an_element_id', myfunction);

Or

detectSwipe('another_element_id', my_other_function);

If a swipe is detected the function myfunction is called with parameter element-id and 'left', 'right', 'up' oder 'down'.