How to implement swipe gestures for mobile devices?

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/


I (UlysseBN) made a new version of this script based on this one which use more modern JavaScript, it looks like it behaves better on some cases. If you think it should rather be an edit of this answer let me know, if you are the original author and you end up editing, I’ll delete my answer.

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