Drag and Drop in GWT using gwt dnd - gwt

Question

I have been really struggling to get Drag and Drop working in GWT. Last 3 days, I was trying to create a basic drag and drop application and failed. Currently I can drag it around, but I am unable to drop to any location.
How can we solve it? Do we need to modify onDragEnd - I am under the impression that unless I specifically have to do something, I dont have to? I am quite confused.
Also, how do I limit the drop to any single area? I do understand that we can do it using DropController. But I have defined the panels using UiBinder, so how do I get that panel back to link in the DropController? i.e. RootPanel.get() gives me the basic root panel and not the actual panel I want. I tried RootPanel.get("field-id"), but that is showing null even if that id is available. What am I doing wrong?
The code I have written is as follows:
public class TestPanel extends Composite implements
DragHandler, HasMouseDownHandlers, HasMouseUpHandlers, HasMouseMoveHandlers, HasMouseOutHandlers {
interface Binder extends UiBinder<Widget, TestPanel> { }
private static final Binder binder = GWT.create(Binder.class);
#UiField AbsolutePanel absolutePanel;
private PickupDragController TestDragController;
private Image img = new Image("./testicon.png");
public TestPanel(){
initWidget(binder.createAndBindUi(this));
absolutePanel.add(img);
TestDragController = new PickupDragController(RootPanel.get(), false);
AbsolutePositionDropController dropController = new AbsolutePositionDropController(
RootPanel.get());
TestDragController.registerDropController(dropController);
TestDragController.addDragHandler(this);
TestDragController.makeDraggable(this, getDragHandle());
}
private Widget getDragHandle() {
return img;
}
#Override
public void onDragEnd(DragEndEvent event) { }
#Override
public void onDragStart(DragStartEvent event) { }
#Override
public void onPreviewDragEnd(DragEndEvent event) throws VetoDragException { }
#Override
public void onPreviewDragStart(DragStartEvent event) throws VetoDragException { }
#Override
public HandlerRegistration addMouseDownHandler(MouseDownHandler handler) {
return addDomHandler(handler, MouseDownEvent.getType());
}
#Override
public HandlerRegistration addMouseUpHandler(MouseUpHandler handler) {
return addDomHandler(handler, MouseUpEvent.getType());
}
#Override
public HandlerRegistration addMouseMoveHandler(MouseMoveHandler handler) {
return addDomHandler(handler, MouseMoveEvent.getType());
}
#Override
public HandlerRegistration addMouseOutHandler(MouseOutHandler handler) {
return addDomHandler(handler, MouseOutEvent.getType());
}
}
and the testpanel uibinder looks like the following:
<g:AbsolutePanel ui:field="absolutePanel" styleName="{style.panel}">
</g:AbsolutePanel>
If somebody can help me out, I will be very much obliged.
K
P.S: To explain more: I was able to solve the first question by updating onDragEnd as the following:
#Override
public void onDragEnd(DragEndEvent event) {
DragContext context = event.getContext();
RootPanel.get().add(context.draggable, context.desiredDraggableX, context.desiredDraggableY);
}
but, I am not sure whether this is the correct solution - since I think I should not be doing the positioning myself.

Answer 1

If you're new to GWT dnd, why don't you try the working demo ?
There is a lot of examples and all the source code is available.
(And no, you're not supposed to do the positionning yourself)

Answer 2

You have to add a DragOverHandler on the drop target(s): even if it does nothing, it defines the component as a drop target.
Of course, you still need to define the DropHandler too on this component (and optionally, DragEnterHandler and DragLeaveHandler for visual feedback, in general).
The DragEndHandler is called even if the target isn't reached (drag abandoned in a non-drop area), it is used to change the state of the dragged object, you might need to set a way for the DropHandler to communicate success on dropping to the DragEndHandler (shared variable, EventBus, etc.).