The Pointer sensor responds to Pointer events. It is the default sensors used by the DragDropManager if none are defined.

Pointer events are DOM events that are fired for a pointing device. They are designed to create a single DOM event model to handle pointing input devices such as a mouse, pen/stylus or touch (such as one or more fingers).

The pointer is a hardware-agnostic device that can target a specific set of screen coordinates. Having a single event model for pointers can simplify creating Web sites and applications and provide a good user experience regardless of the user’s hardware.

Source: MDN

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Usage

import {PointerSensor} from '@dnd-kit/dom/sensors';

const sensors = [
  PointerSensor.configure({
    activationConstraints: {
      distance: {value: 5},
      delay: {value: 200, tolerance: 10},
    },
  }),
];

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API Reference

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Options

The PointerSensor accepts the following options:

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activationConstraints
{distance?: DistanceConstraint; delay?: DelayConstraint}

The Pointer sensor supports two types activation constraints, distance and delay. These activation constraints are not mutually exclusive, they can be used simultaneously. In case both constraints are used, the Pointer sensor will activate as soon as one of the constraints is met.

distance

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value
number

The amount of distance the pointer must move before the drag operation is initiated.

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tolerance
{x?: number, y?: number}

The amount of distance the pointer can move in a given axis before the drag operation is canceled.

This property is useful when the drag operation is restricted to a single axis. For example, if dragging is restricted to the y-axis, you can set the tolerance on the x-axis to be close to zero to only register movement in the y-axis as a valid distance constraint.

delay

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value
number

Represents the duration in milliseconds that a draggable item needs to be held by the primary pointer for before a drag start event is emitted.

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tolerance
number | {x?: number, y?: number}

The tolerance property represents the amount of movement of the pointer calculated in pixels that is tolerated before the drag operation is aborted. If the pointer is moved during the delay duration and the tolerance is set to zero, the drag operation will be immediately aborted. If a higher tolerance is set, for example, a tolerance of 5 pixels, the operation will only be aborted if the pointer is moved by more than 5 pixels during the delay.

This property is particularly useful for touch input, where some tolerance should be accounted for when using a delay constraint, as touch input is typically far less precise than mouse input.

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