Mouse_Events

Mouse events

What is covered

In this tutorial we will see how to install mouse event listeners on components in Compose for Desktop.

Mouse event listeners

Click listeners

Click listeners are available in both Compose on Android and Compose for Desktop, so code like this will work on both platforms:

import androidx.compose.foundation.ExperimentalFoundationApi
import androidx.compose.foundation.background
import androidx.compose.foundation.combinedClickable
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Column
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxHeight
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxWidth
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.sp
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    var count by remember { mutableStateOf(0) }
    Box(contentAlignment = Alignment.Center, modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth()) {
        var text by remember { mutableStateOf("Click magenta box!") }
        Column {
            @OptIn(ExperimentalFoundationApi::class)
            Box(
                modifier = Modifier
                    .background(Color.Magenta)
                    .fillMaxWidth(0.7f)
                    .fillMaxHeight(0.2f)
                    .combinedClickable(
                        onClick = {
                            text = "Click! ${count++}"
                        },
                        onDoubleClick = {
                            text = "Double click! ${count++}"
                        },
                        onLongClick = {
                            text = "Long click! ${count++}"
                        }
                    )
            )
            Text(text = text, fontSize = 40.sp)
        }
    }
}

combinedClickable supports only the Primary button (Left Mouse Button) and touch events. If there is a need to handle other buttons differently, please have a look at Modifier.onClick below (note: Modifier.onClick is currently avilable only for Desktop-JVM platform).

Mouse move listeners

Let's create a window and install a pointer move listener on it that changes the background color according to the mouse pointer position:

import androidx.compose.foundation.background
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.wrapContentSize
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerEventType
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.onPointerEvent
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalComposeUiApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    var color by remember { mutableStateOf(Color(0, 0, 0)) }
    Box(
        modifier = Modifier
            .wrapContentSize(Alignment.Center)
            .fillMaxSize()
            .background(color = color)
            .onPointerEvent(PointerEventType.Move) {
                val position = it.changes.first().position
                color = Color(position.x.toInt() % 256, position.y.toInt() % 256, 0)
            }
    )
}

Note that onPointerEvent is experimental and can be changed in the future. For more stable API look at Modifier.pointerInput.

Mouse enter listeners

Compose for Desktop also supports pointer enter and exit handlers, like this:

import androidx.compose.foundation.background
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Arrangement
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Column
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxWidth
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerEventType
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.onPointerEvent
import androidx.compose.ui.text.font.FontStyle
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.sp
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalComposeUiApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    Column(
        Modifier.background(Color.White),
        verticalArrangement = Arrangement.spacedBy(10.dp)
    ) {
        repeat(10) { index ->
            var active by remember { mutableStateOf(false) }
            Text(
                modifier = Modifier
                    .fillMaxWidth()
                    .background(color = if (active) Color.Green else Color.White)
                    .onPointerEvent(PointerEventType.Enter) { active = true }
                    .onPointerEvent(PointerEventType.Exit) { active = false },
                fontSize = 30.sp,
                fontStyle = if (active) FontStyle.Italic else FontStyle.Normal,
                text = "Item $index"
            )
        }
    }
}

Note that onPointerEvent is experimental and can be changed in the future. For more stable API look at Modifier.pointerInput.

Mouse scroll listeners

import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerEventType
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.onPointerEvent
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.sp
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalComposeUiApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    var number by remember { mutableStateOf(0f) }
    Box(
        Modifier
            .fillMaxSize()
            .onPointerEvent(PointerEventType.Scroll) {
                number += it.changes.first().scrollDelta.y
            },
        contentAlignment = Alignment.Center
    ) {
        Text("Scroll to change the number: $number", fontSize = 30.sp)
    }
}

Note that onPointerEvent is experimental and can be changed in the future. For more stable API look at Modifier.pointerInput.

Swing interoperability

Compose for Desktop uses Swing underneath and allows to access raw AWT events:

import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.awt.awtEventOrNull
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerEventType
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.onPointerEvent
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalComposeUiApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    var text by remember { mutableStateOf("") }

    Box(
        Modifier
            .fillMaxSize()
            .onPointerEvent(PointerEventType.Press) {
                text = it.awtEventOrNull?.locationOnScreen?.toString().orEmpty()
            },
        contentAlignment = Alignment.Center
    ) {
        Text(text)
    }
}

Note that onPointerEvent is experimental and can be changed in the future. For more stable API look at Modifier.pointerInput.

Listenining raw events in commonMain via Modifier.pointerInput

In the snippets above we use Modifier.onPointerEvent, which is a helper function to subscribe to some type of pointer events. It is a shorter variant of Modifier.pointerInput. For now it is experimental, and desktop-only (you can't use it in commonMain code). If you need to subscribe to events in commonMain or you need stable API, you can use Modifier.pointerInput:

import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Column
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.fillMaxSize
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateListOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerEventType
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.pointerInput
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    val list = remember { mutableStateListOf<String>() }

    Column(
        Modifier
            .fillMaxSize()
            .pointerInput(Unit) {
                awaitPointerEventScope {
                    while (true) {
                        val event = awaitPointerEvent()
                        val position = event.changes.first().position
                        // on every relayout Compose will send synthetic Move event,
                        // so we skip it to avoid event spam
                        if (event.type != PointerEventType.Move) {
                            list.add(0, "${event.type} $position")
                        }
                    }
                }
            },
    ) {
        for (item in list.take(20)) {
            Text(item)
        }
    }
}

New experimental onClick handlers (only for Desktop-JVM platform)

Modifier.onClick provides independent callbacks for clicks, double clicks, long clicks. It handles clicks originated only from pointer events and accessibility click event is not handled out of a box.

Each onClick can be configured to target specific pointer events (using matcher: PointerMatcher and keyboardModifiers: PointerKeyboardModifiers.() -> Boolean). matcher can be specified to choose what mouse button should trigger a click. keyboardModifiers allows for filtering pointer events which have specified keyboardModifiers pressed.

Multiple onClick modifiers can be chained to handle different clicks with different conditions (matcher and keyboard modifiers).
Unlike clickable, onClick doesn't have a default Modifier.indication, Modifier.semantics, and it doesn't trigger a click event when Enter pressed. These modifiers need to be added separately if necessary.
The most generic (with the least number of conditions) onClick handlers should be declared before other to ensure correct events propagation.

import androidx.compose.animation.AnimatedContent
import androidx.compose.animation.ExperimentalAnimationApi
import androidx.compose.foundation.ExperimentalFoundationApi
import androidx.compose.foundation.LocalIndication
import androidx.compose.foundation.PointerMatcher
import androidx.compose.foundation.background
import androidx.compose.foundation.indication
import androidx.compose.foundation.interaction.MutableInteractionSource
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Column
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.size
import androidx.compose.foundation.onClick
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.*
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerButton
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.isAltPressed
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.isShiftPressed
import androidx.compose.ui.text.style.TextAlign
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalFoundationApi::class, ExperimentalAnimationApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    Column {
        var topBoxText by remember { mutableStateOf("Click me\nusing LMB or LMB + Shift") }
        var topBoxCount by remember { mutableStateOf(0) }
        // No indication on interaction
        Box(modifier = Modifier.size(200.dp, 100.dp).background(Color.Blue)
            // the most generic click handler (without extra conditions) should be the first one
            .onClick {
                // it will receive all LMB clicks except when Shift is pressed
                println("Click with primary button")
                topBoxText = "LMB ${topBoxCount++}"
            }.onClick(
                keyboardModifiers = { isShiftPressed } // accept clicks only when Shift pressed
            ) {
                // it will receive all LMB clicks when Shift is pressed
                println("Click with primary button and shift pressed")
                topBoxCount++
                topBoxText = "LMB + Shift ${topBoxCount++}"
            }
        ) {
            AnimatedContent(
                targetState = topBoxText,
                modifier = Modifier.align(Alignment.Center)
            ) {
                Text(text = it, textAlign = TextAlign.Center)
            }
        }

        var bottomBoxText by remember { mutableStateOf("Click me\nusing LMB or\nRMB + Alt") }
        var bottomBoxCount by remember { mutableStateOf(0) }
        val interactionSource = remember { MutableInteractionSource() }
        // With indication on interaction
        Box(modifier = Modifier.size(200.dp, 100.dp).background(Color.Yellow)
            .onClick(
                enabled = true,
                interactionSource = interactionSource,
                matcher = PointerMatcher.mouse(PointerButton.Secondary), // Right Mouse Button
                keyboardModifiers = { isAltPressed }, // accept clicks only when Alt pressed
                onLongClick = { // optional
                    bottomBoxText = "RMB Long Click + Alt ${bottomBoxCount++}"
                    println("Long Click with secondary button and Alt pressed")
                },
                onDoubleClick = { // optional
                    bottomBoxText = "RMB Double Click + Alt ${bottomBoxCount++}"
                    println("Double Click with secondary button and Alt pressed")
                },
                onClick = {
                    bottomBoxText = "RMB Click + Alt ${bottomBoxCount++}"
                    println("Click with secondary button and Alt pressed")
                }
            )
            .onClick(interactionSource = interactionSource) { // use default parameters
                bottomBoxText = "LMB Click ${bottomBoxCount++}"
                println("Click with primary button (mouse left button)")
            }
            .indication(interactionSource, LocalIndication.current)
        ) {
            AnimatedContent(
                targetState = bottomBoxText,
                modifier = Modifier.align(Alignment.Center)
            ) {
                Text(text = it, textAlign = TextAlign.Center)
            }
        }
    }
}

New experimental onDrag modifier (only for Desktop-JVM platform)

Modifier.onDrag allows for configuration of the pointer that should trigger the drag (see matcher: PointerMatcher).
Many onDrag modifiers can be chained together.

The example below also shows how to access the state of keyboard modifiers (via LocalWindowInfo.current.keyboardModifier) for cases when keyboard modifiers can alter the behaviour of the drag (for example: move an item if we perform a simple drag; or copy/paste an item if dragged with Ctrl pressed)

import androidx.compose.foundation.ExperimentalFoundationApi
import androidx.compose.foundation.PointerMatcher
import androidx.compose.foundation.background
import androidx.compose.foundation.gestures.onDrag
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Column
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.offset
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.size
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.geometry.Offset
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.PointerButton
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.isCtrlPressed
import androidx.compose.ui.platform.LocalWindowInfo
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.IntOffset
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalFoundationApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    val windowInfo = LocalWindowInfo.current

    Column {
        var topBoxOffset by remember { mutableStateOf(Offset(0f, 0f)) }

        Box(modifier = Modifier.offset {
            IntOffset(topBoxOffset.x.toInt(), topBoxOffset.y.toInt())
        }.size(100.dp)
            .background(Color.Green)
            .onDrag { // all default: enabled = true, matcher = PointerMatcher.Primary (left mouse button)
                topBoxOffset += it
            }
        ) {
            Text(text = "Drag with LMB", modifier = Modifier.align(Alignment.Center))
        }

        var bottomBoxOffset by remember { mutableStateOf(Offset(0f, 0f)) }

        Box(modifier = Modifier.offset {
            IntOffset(bottomBoxOffset.x.toInt(), bottomBoxOffset.y.toInt())
        }.size(100.dp)
            .background(Color.LightGray)
            .onDrag(
                enabled = true,
                matcher = PointerMatcher.mouse(PointerButton.Secondary), // right mouse button
                onDragStart = {
                    println("Gray Box: drag start")
                },
                onDragEnd = {
                    println("Gray Box: drag end")
                }
            ) {
                val keyboardModifiers = windowInfo.keyboardModifiers
                bottomBoxOffset += if (keyboardModifiers.isCtrlPressed) it * 2f else it
            }
        ) {
            Text(text = "Drag with RMB,\ntry with CTRL", modifier = Modifier.align(Alignment.Center))
        }
    }
}

There is also a non-modifier way to handle drags using suspend fun PointerInputScope.detectDragGestures:

import androidx.compose.foundation.ExperimentalFoundationApi
import androidx.compose.foundation.PointerMatcher
import androidx.compose.foundation.background
import androidx.compose.foundation.gestures.detectDragGestures
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.Box
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.offset
import androidx.compose.foundation.layout.size
import androidx.compose.material.Text
import androidx.compose.runtime.getValue
import androidx.compose.runtime.mutableStateOf
import androidx.compose.runtime.remember
import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
import androidx.compose.ui.ExperimentalComposeUiApi
import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
import androidx.compose.ui.geometry.Offset
import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color
import androidx.compose.ui.input.pointer.pointerInput
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.IntOffset
import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
import androidx.compose.ui.window.singleWindowApplication

@OptIn(ExperimentalFoundationApi::class)
fun main() = singleWindowApplication {
    var topBoxOffset by remember { mutableStateOf(Offset(0f, 0f)) }

    Box(modifier = Modifier.offset {
        IntOffset(topBoxOffset.x.toInt(), topBoxOffset.y.toInt())
    }.size(100.dp)
        .background(Color.Green)
        .pointerInput(Unit) {
            detectDragGestures(
                matcher = PointerMatcher.Primary
            ) {
                topBoxOffset += it
            }
        }
    ) {
        Text(text = "Drag with LMB", modifier = Modifier.align(Alignment.Center))
    }
}