How to Effectively Run Swipe Detection on Multiple Elements in JavaScript

Discover how to modify your JavaScript swipe detection function so it operates on multiple elements simultaneously, ensuring a seamless user experience across all instances.
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This video is based on the question stackoverflow.com/q/71118523/ asked by the user 'Kyle Underhill' ( stackoverflow.com/u/6263953/ ) and on the answer stackoverflow.com/a/71119480/ provided by the user 'Jon P' ( stackoverflow.com/u/4665/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Effectively Run Swipe Detection on Multiple Elements in JavaScript

JavaScript is a powerful tool for creating engaging user interactions on web pages. However, it can pose challenges when dealing with multiple instances of the same functionality. A common scenario arises when trying to implement swipe detection on multiple elements, and finding that it only works on the first one. In this guide, we'll tackle this problem and walk through how to adapt your swipe detection function so it operates seamlessly across all relevant elements.

The Problem: Swipe Detection on Multiple Elements

If you've been working with a swipe detection function, such as the one structured as detectswipe(el, func), you may have found that when swiping on elements marked with a specific attribute like data-animate="swipe", the function only executes for the first element that matches this criteria. This can lead to a frustrating user experience, as the desired function doesn't activate on subsequent elements.

Example of Original Code

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In the above example, the function detectswipe is called to monitor elements with the swipe data attribute, but only registers the first instance.

The Solution: Modify Your Function

To ensure that your swipe detection function operates on every instance of the targeted elements, we need to modify it to retrieve all matching elements and iterate through them, setting up the necessary event listeners for each individual element.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

Use querySelectorAll: Instead of using querySelector, which only gets the first match, we switch to querySelectorAll to retrieve all elements that match the selector.

Iterate Over Each Element: We use a loop such as forEach to add event listeners to each element individually.

Setup Event Listeners: Add touchstart, touchmove, and touchend event listeners to each element within the loop.

Here’s an updated version of the detectswipe function that reflects these changes:

Updated Code Example

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By utilizing querySelectorAll and iterating through each element, we've successfully modified the swipe detection function to work on multiple instances of data-animate="swipe". This enhancement ensures that every swipe is detected and the associated function is executed, providing a much better experience for users interacting with your web application.

Implement these changes in your code, and enhance the interactivity of your web pages today!