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DataTransferItem: getAsFile() method

Baseline Widely available

This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since ⁨November 2016⁩.

If the item is a file, the DataTransferItem.getAsFile() method returns the drag data item's File object. If the item is not a file, this method returns null.

Syntax

getAsFile()

Parameters

None.

Return value

File

If the drag data item is a file, a File object is returned; otherwise null is returned.

Examples

This example shows the use of the getAsFile() method in a drop event handler.

function dropHandler(ev) {
  console.log("Drop");
  ev.preventDefault();
  for (const item of ev.dataTransfer.items) {
    if (item.kind === "string" && item.type.match("^text/plain")) {
      // This item is the target node
      item.getAsString((s) => {
        ev.target.appendChild(document.getElementById(s));
      });
    } else if (item.kind === "string" && item.type.match("^text/html")) {
      // Drag data item is HTML
      console.log("… Drop: HTML");
    } else if (item.kind === "string" && item.type.match("^text/uri-list")) {
      // Drag data item is URI
      console.log("… Drop: URI");
    } else if (item.kind === "file" && item.type.match("^image/")) {
      // Drag data item is an image file
      const f = item.getAsFile();
      console.log("… Drop: File");
    }
  }
}

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Opera Safari Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet WebView Android WebView on iOS
getAsFile 11 12 50 12 5.1 18 50 ≤14 5 1.0 4 5

See also

© 2005–2025 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/DataTransferItem/getAsFile