DataTransferItem: getAsString() method

The DataTransferItem.getAsString() method invokes the given callback with the drag data item's string data as the argument if the item's kind is a Plain unicode string (i.e. kind is string).

Syntax

js
getAsString(callbackFn)

Parameters

callbackFn

A callback function that receives following arguments:

data

The DataTransferItem's string data.

Return value

None (undefined).

Examples

This example shows the use of the getAsString() method as an inline function in a drop event handler.

js
function dropHandler(ev) {
  console.log("Drop");
  ev.preventDefault();
  const data = ev.dataTransfer.items;
  for (let i = 0; i < data.length; i += 1) {
    if (data[i].kind === "string" && data[i].type.match("^text/plain")) {
      // This item is the target node
      data[i].getAsString((s) => {
        ev.target.appendChild(document.getElementById(s));
      });
    } else if (data[i].kind === "string" && data[i].type.match("^text/html")) {
      // Drag data item is HTML
      console.log("… Drop: HTML");
    } else if (
      data[i].kind === "string" &&
      data[i].type.match("^text/uri-list")
    ) {
      // Drag data item is URI
      console.log("… Drop: URI");
    } else if (data[i].kind === "file" && data[i].type.match("^image/")) {
      // Drag data item is an image file
      const f = data[i].getAsFile();
      console.log("… Drop: File");
    }
  }
}

Specifications

Specification
HTML Standard
# dom-datatransferitem-getasstring-dev

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also