How to distinguish between move and click in onTouchEvent()?

In my application, I need to handle both move and click events.

A click is a sequence of one ACTION_DOWN action, several ACTION_MOVE actions and one ACTION_UP action. In theory, if you get an ACTION_DOWN event and then an ACTION_UP event - it means that the user has just clicked your View.

But in practice, this sequence doesn't work on some devices. On my Samsung Galaxy Gio I get such sequences when just clicking my View: ACTION_DOWN, several times ACTION_MOVE, then ACTION_UP. I.e. I get some unexpectable OnTouchEvent firings with ACTION_MOVE action code. I never (or almost never) get sequence ACTION_DOWN -> ACTION_UP.

I also cannot use OnClickListener because it does not gives the position of the click. So how can I detect click event and differ it from move?

Solution 1:

Here's another solution that is very simple and doesn't require you to worry about the finger being moved. If you are basing a click as simply the distance moved then how can you differentiate a click and a long click.

You could put more smarts into this and include the distance moved, but i'm yet to come across an instance when the distance a user can move in 200 milliseconds should constitute a move as opposed to a click.

setOnTouchListener(new OnTouchListener() {
    private static final int MAX_CLICK_DURATION = 200;
    private long startClickTime;

    @Override
    public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {
        switch (event.getAction()) {
            case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN: {
                startClickTime = Calendar.getInstance().getTimeInMillis();
                break;
            }
            case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP: {
                long clickDuration = Calendar.getInstance().getTimeInMillis() - startClickTime;
                if(clickDuration < MAX_CLICK_DURATION) {
                    //click event has occurred
                }
            }
        }
        return true;
    }
});

Solution 2:

I got the best results by taking into account:

1. Primarily, the distance moved between ACTION_DOWN and ACTION_UP events. I wanted to specify the max allowed distance in density-indepenent pixels rather than pixels, to better support different screens. For example, 15 DP.
2. Secondarily, the duration between the events. One second seemed good maximum. (Some people "click" quite "thorougly", i.e. slowly; I still want to recognise that.)

Example:

/**
 * Max allowed duration for a "click", in milliseconds.
 */
private static final int MAX_CLICK_DURATION = 1000;

/**
 * Max allowed distance to move during a "click", in DP.
 */
private static final int MAX_CLICK_DISTANCE = 15;

private long pressStartTime;
private float pressedX;
private float pressedY;

@Override
public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent e) {
     switch (e.getAction()) {
        case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN: {
            pressStartTime = System.currentTimeMillis();                
            pressedX = e.getX();
            pressedY = e.getY();
            break;
        }
        case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP: {
            long pressDuration = System.currentTimeMillis() - pressStartTime;
            if (pressDuration < MAX_CLICK_DURATION && distance(pressedX, pressedY, e.getX(), e.getY()) < MAX_CLICK_DISTANCE) {
                // Click event has occurred
            }
        }     
    }
}

private static float distance(float x1, float y1, float x2, float y2) {
    float dx = x1 - x2;
    float dy = y1 - y2;
    float distanceInPx = (float) Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
    return pxToDp(distanceInPx);
}

private static float pxToDp(float px) {
    return px / getResources().getDisplayMetrics().density;
}

The idea here is the same as in Gem's solution, with these differences:

• This calculates the actual Euclidean distance between the two points.
• This uses dp instead of px.

Update (2015): also check out Gabriel's fine-tuned version of this.

Solution 3:

Taking Jonik's lead I built a slightly more fine tuned version, that doesn't register as a click if you move your finger and then return to the spot before letting go:

So here is my solution:

/**
 * Max allowed duration for a "click", in milliseconds.
 */
private static final int MAX_CLICK_DURATION = 1000;

/**
 * Max allowed distance to move during a "click", in DP.
 */
private static final int MAX_CLICK_DISTANCE = 15;

private long pressStartTime;
private float pressedX;
private float pressedY;
private boolean stayedWithinClickDistance;

@Override
public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent e) {
     switch (e.getAction()) {
        case MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN: {
            pressStartTime = System.currentTimeMillis();                
            pressedX = e.getX();
            pressedY = e.getY();
            stayedWithinClickDistance = true;
            break;
        }
        case MotionEvent.ACTION_MOVE: {
            if (stayedWithinClickDistance && distance(pressedX, pressedY, e.getX(), e.getY()) > MAX_CLICK_DISTANCE) {
                stayedWithinClickDistance = false;
            }
            break;
        }     
        case MotionEvent.ACTION_UP: {
            long pressDuration = System.currentTimeMillis() - pressStartTime;
            if (pressDuration < MAX_CLICK_DURATION && stayedWithinClickDistance) {
                // Click event has occurred
            }
        }     
    }
}

private static float distance(float x1, float y1, float x2, float y2) {
    float dx = x1 - x2;
    float dy = y1 - y2;
    float distanceInPx = (float) Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
    return pxToDp(distanceInPx);
}

private static float pxToDp(float px) {
    return px / getResources().getDisplayMetrics().density;
}

Solution 4:

Use the detector, It works, and it will not raise in case of dragging

Field:

private GestureDetector mTapDetector;

Initialize:

mTapDetector = new GestureDetector(context,new GestureTap());

Inner class:

class GestureTap extends GestureDetector.SimpleOnGestureListener {
    @Override
    public boolean onDoubleTap(MotionEvent e) {

        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onSingleTapConfirmed(MotionEvent e) {
        // TODO: handle tap here
        return true;
    }
}

onTouch:

@Override
public boolean onTouch(View v, MotionEvent event) {
    mTapDetector.onTouchEvent(event);
    return true;
}

Enjoy :)