DataTransferItemList: clear() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since November 2016.

The DataTransferItemList method clear() removes all DataTransferItem objects from the drag data items list, leaving the list empty.

The drag data store in which this list is kept is only writable while handling the dragstart event. While handling drop, the drag data store is in read-only mode, and this method silently does nothing. No exception is thrown.

Syntax

js
clear()

Parameters

None.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

This example shows the use of the clear() method.

HTML

html
<div>
  <p id="source" draggable="true">
    Select this element, drag it to the Drop Zone and then release the selection
    to move the element.
  </p>
</div>
<div id="target">Drop Zone</div>

CSS

css
div {
  margin: 0em;
  padding: 2em;
}
#source {
  color: blue;
  border: 1px solid black;
}
#target {
  border: 1px solid black;
}

JavaScript

js
const source = document.getElementById("source");
const target = document.getElementById("target");

source.addEventListener("dragstart", (ev) => {
  console.log("dragStart");

  // Add this element's id to the drag payload so the drop handler will
  // know which element to add to its tree
  const dataList = ev.dataTransfer.items;
  dataList.add(ev.target.id, "text/plain");

  // Add some other items to the drag payload
  dataList.add("<p>Paragraph…</p>", "text/html");
  dataList.add("http://www.example.org", "text/uri-list");
});

source.addEventListener("dragend", (ev) => {
  console.log("dragEnd");
  const dataList = ev.dataTransfer.items;

  // Clear any remaining drag data
  dataList.clear();
});

target.addEventListener("drop", (ev) => {
  console.log("Drop");
  ev.preventDefault();

  // Loop through the dropped items and log their data
  for (const item of ev.dataTransfer.items) {
    if (item.kind === "string" && item.type.match(/^text\/plain/)) {
      // This item is the target node
      item.getAsString((s) => {
        ev.target.appendChild(document.getElementById(s));
      });
    } else if (item.kind === "string" && item.type.match(/^text\/html/)) {
      // Drag data item is HTML
      item.getAsString((s) => {
        console.log(`… Drop: HTML = ${s}`);
      });
    } else if (item.kind === "string" && item.type.match(/^text\/uri-list/)) {
      // Drag data item is URI
      item.getAsString((s) => {
        console.log(`… Drop: URI = ${s}`);
      });
    }
  }
});

target.addEventListener("dragover", (ev) => {
  console.log("dragOver");
  ev.preventDefault();

  // Set the dropEffect to move
  ev.dataTransfer.dropEffect = "move";
});

Result

Specifications

Specification
HTML
# dom-datatransferitemlist-clear-dev

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
clear
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 13 (Release date: 2011-08-02)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 12 (Release date: 2015-07-29)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 50 (Release date: 2016-11-15)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 12 (Release date: 2012-06-14)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 6 (Release date: 2012-07-25)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 18 (Release date: 2012-06-27)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – Full support
Firefox for Android 50 (Release date: 2016-11-15)
footnote Full support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 14 (Release date: 2013-05-21)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 6 (Release date: 2012-09-10)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 1 (Release date: 2013-04-27)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 4.4 (Release date: 2013-12-09)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 6 (Release date: 2012-09-10)
footnote Full support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support