mouseDragged

mouseDragged is an event-handling method in Java's AWT/Swing event model. It is defined by the MouseMotionListener interface and is invoked when the user moves the mouse while a button is pressed, i.e., during a drag, over a component that has registered the listener.

During a dragging operation, a component receives successive MouseEvent objects via mouseDragged, each describing the cursor position and state. The event includes the x and y coordinates (relative to the component), the source component, and information about modifier keys and the input state.

mouseDragged is distinct from mouseMoved, which is fired when the mouse moves with no button pressed. A single component can receive both events if it registers a MouseMotionListener.

Common uses include implementing drag-and-drop-like interactions, interactive drawing, or object manipulation within a GUI. In code, developers typically implement MouseMotionListener (or extend MouseAdapter) and override mouseDragged to update visuals or state as the cursor moves.

Notes: the handler is called repeatedly as the cursor moves, so long-running work should not block the Event Dispatch Thread; heavy processing should be deferred. For coordinate handling, convert coordinates to other spaces if needed, and consider starting the drag after a threshold has been met. The standard APIs also provide a Drag and Drop framework for more complex scenarios.