Development · Tip
How to Build Drag-to-Compare on a Chart
Implementation recipe for building interactive drag-to-compare micro-interactions on charts
A step-by-step walkthrough detailing how to implement a drag-to-compare interaction using React and SVG. It layers two charts and uses an invisible overlay rect to capture pointer events, computing differences between two points dynamically.
How it works
Approach: two charts, one absolutely positioned over the other; the top one is hidden. On drag start, change the visible chart's opacity (0.2) to reveal the comparison chart. On pointer down, save the nearest chart (x,y) to state as comparisonPoint; on move, update point via findNearestPointToMouse(event). Use an invisible <rect> with onPointerDown/onPointerUp/onPointerMove/onPointerLeave handlers (fillOpacity 0). On pointer up/leave, clear the points. Dollar and percent change are computed from the difference of current and comparison point; tooltip centering and reveal amount derive from the same difference.
What it's for
- Build a custom comparison interaction for financial or analytics charts
- Calculate and display real-time delta and percentage changes between points on drag
- Capture smooth touch and mouse pointer events across an SVG chart area
Key points
- Stacked chart architecture using absolute positioning and opacity transitions
- Invisible SVG overlay rect with zero fill opacity to handle pointer events
- State tracking for initial comparison point and active hovered point
- Real-time value and percentage difference calculations
- Dynamic tooltip positioning centered between the two active points
Pricing
Free
Details
- Type
- Tip
- Category
- Development
- Topic
- Data Visualization
- Platforms
- Web
- For
- Frontend engineers and UI designers building data visualizations
- Tags
- charts, react, svg, dataviz, ui, interaction design
Why it was saved
- @brotzky: Concrete React/SVG recipe for the interaction
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Updated