23 Drag Handle Ownership. 23 of 95.
23/GESTURE PHYSICS/23 of 95
Drag Handle Ownership
Only the grip should pick up the item.
Best experienced with a pointer.
The problem
When the entire row starts a drag, text selection, link clicks, and nested controls fight the drag gesture for every pointer down.
The solution
Only the handle initiates drag; the rest of the row stays interactive.
Experiment
Play with the values
4px
How it works
- Pointer down on a row is not enough to start a drag.
- The event target is checked to see whether it is the grip handle.
- Presses on the rest of the row are ignored for dragging so text and controls still work.
- A drag starts only from the handle.
- The row body stays interactive for selection, editing, and clicks.
- Reorder commits on drop, after the handle-owned drag ends.
Seen in
Task lists
Rows stay clickable for open/edit while the grip alone reorders.
Playlist editors
Track titles and play buttons do not steal or start accidental drags.
Kanban cards
Card body remains selectable while a handle owns the move gesture.
Settings panels
Reorderable preference rows keep toggles and inputs free of drag conflicts.