What is the reason behind the fact that the "transform" property of document.getElementById().style.transform="translateX()" only translates the element once?

Question

What is the reason behind the fact that the "transform" property of document.getElementById().style.transform="translateX()" only translates the element once?

I'm currently in the process of developing a new online game. With just a simple click of a button, my goal is to have the red square move horizontally by 50 pixels. Here's a snippet of the HTML code:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width">
    <title>Cake (2D Singleplayer Adventure)</title>
    <link href="style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
  </head>
  <body>
   <script>
      function moveright() {
        document.getElementById("master-cube").style.transform = "translateX(50px)";
      }
    </script>
    <div id="master-cube"></div><img src="arrows/rightarrow.png" alt=h"Right Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">
    <img src="arrows/middlejumpsquare.png" alt="Jump Square" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="movejump()" class="arrowcontrols">
    <img src="arrows/leftarrow.png" alt="Left Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">
    </body>
</html>

It's important to note that the images may not load properly. For more details and live demonstration, you can find this project on Repl.it below.

Here's a glimpse at the CSS styles used for this project:

html {margin: none;}

body {margin: none; width: 100vw; height: 100vh;}

.arrowcontrols {float: right; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 90%; margin-bottom: 10%;}

#master-cube {background-color: #FF0000; height: 40px; width: 40px;}

If you're interested in exploring the interactive version of this game on Repl.it, follow this link: https://repl.it/@ritzcrackerz201/cake

javascript html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

The reason your element retains the transform: translateX(50px) property is that you are setting it to the same value repeatedly, which doesn't change anything.

To see a noticeable change, you must set it to a different value, like this:

let displacement = 50;

function moveright() {
  document.getElementById("master-cube").style.transform = `translateX(${displacement}px)`;
  displacement += 50;
}

html {
  margin: none;
}

body {
  margin: none;
  width: 100vw;
  height: 100vh;
}

.arrowcontrols {
  margin-right: 5px;
  margin-top: 10%;
  margin-bottom: 10%;
}

#master-cube {
  background-color: #FF0000;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
}

<div id="master-cube"></div><img src="arrows/rightarrow.png" alt="Right Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/middlejumpsquare.png" alt="Jump Square" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="movejump()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/leftarrow.png" alt="Left Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">

In response to your query about how it functions, here's the explanation:

You need to vary the amount of translation each time. If you repeatedly translate by 50px, there won't be any visible change as it remains fixed at that displacement from its original position.

To observe distinct translations, increment the translation value, for example, by 100px or 150px in subsequent steps. One effective approach is to use a variable to track and update the translation value accordingly.

The syntax

`translateX(${displacement}px)`

makes use of string interpolation, explained here.

Some developers may prefer avoiding global variables due to potential interference from other parts of the code. They might encapsulate such variables locally within a scope to protect them (though not essential at this stage).

If you wish to smoothen the transition effect, consider adding transition: all 1s to the element being translated:

let displacement = 50;

function moveright() {
  document.getElementById("master-cube").style.transform = `translateX(${displacement}px)`;
  displacement += 50;
}

html {
  margin: none;
}

body {
  margin: none;
  width: 100vw;
  height: 100vh;
}

.arrowcontrols {
  margin-right: 5px;
  margin-top: 10%;
  margin-bottom: 10%;
}

#master-cube {
  background-color: #FF0000;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
  transition: all 1s;
}

<div id="master-cube"></div><img src="arrows/rightarrow.png" alt="Right Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/middlejumpsquare.png" alt="Jump Square" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="movejump()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/leftarrow.png" alt="Left Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">

Answer 2

The reason your element retains the transform: translateX(50px) property is that you are setting it to the same value repeatedly, which doesn't change anything.

To see a noticeable change, you must set it to a different value, like this:

let displacement = 50;

function moveright() {
  document.getElementById("master-cube").style.transform = `translateX(${displacement}px)`;
  displacement += 50;
}

html {
  margin: none;
}

body {
  margin: none;
  width: 100vw;
  height: 100vh;
}

.arrowcontrols {
  margin-right: 5px;
  margin-top: 10%;
  margin-bottom: 10%;
}

#master-cube {
  background-color: #FF0000;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
}

<div id="master-cube"></div><img src="arrows/rightarrow.png" alt="Right Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/middlejumpsquare.png" alt="Jump Square" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="movejump()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/leftarrow.png" alt="Left Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">

In response to your query about how it functions, here's the explanation:

You need to vary the amount of translation each time. If you repeatedly translate by 50px, there won't be any visible change as it remains fixed at that displacement from its original position.

To observe distinct translations, increment the translation value, for example, by 100px or 150px in subsequent steps. One effective approach is to use a variable to track and update the translation value accordingly.

The syntax

`translateX(${displacement}px)`

makes use of string interpolation, explained here.

Some developers may prefer avoiding global variables due to potential interference from other parts of the code. They might encapsulate such variables locally within a scope to protect them (though not essential at this stage).

If you wish to smoothen the transition effect, consider adding transition: all 1s to the element being translated:

let displacement = 50;

function moveright() {
  document.getElementById("master-cube").style.transform = `translateX(${displacement}px)`;
  displacement += 50;
}

html {
  margin: none;
}

body {
  margin: none;
  width: 100vw;
  height: 100vh;
}

.arrowcontrols {
  margin-right: 5px;
  margin-top: 10%;
  margin-bottom: 10%;
}

#master-cube {
  background-color: #FF0000;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
  transition: all 1s;
}

<div id="master-cube"></div><img src="arrows/rightarrow.png" alt="Right Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/middlejumpsquare.png" alt="Jump Square" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="movejump()" class="arrowcontrols">
<img src="arrows/leftarrow.png" alt="Left Arrow" height="60vh" width="60vw" onclick="moveright()" class="arrowcontrols">

What is the reason behind the fact that the "transform" property of document.getElementById().style.transform="translateX()" only translates the element once?

Answer №1

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