Drag and Drop With No Keyboard Alternative

Why this matters

Drag and drop is one of the most common interaction types in Storyline courses, and one of the hardest to make keyboard accessible, because the interaction itself is built around a continuous pointer gesture. A learner who cannot use a mouse, including many screen reader users and anyone with a motor impairment, is completely blocked from that interaction unless an equivalent way to complete it exists without dragging.

Storyline 360 example

A compliance course uses a drag-and-drop interaction to match safety equipment to hazard types. The interaction has no keyboard trigger. A keyboard-only learner can Tab to the draggable items but pressing Enter or Space does nothing, and the interaction cannot be completed or skipped.

Rise 360 example

A Rise lesson uses the built-in Sort interaction, which asks learners to drag cards into the correct order. Rise's Sort block only supports pointer dragging, with no keyboard-operable alternative to reorder the cards.

How to fix it

1Identify every drag-and-drop interaction in the course
2Add a keyboard-operable way to complete the same task, such as selecting an item then selecting its destination with Enter or Space
3Make sure the keyboard alternative produces the same result and the same feedback as dragging
4If a genuine keyboard alternative cannot be built, consider replacing the interaction with a different interaction type that has the same learning objective
5Test the whole interaction using only a keyboard, from selecting the first item to seeing the completion state

Fix in Storyline 360

1Open the drag-and-drop interaction's slide and check what trigger conditions exist on the draggable objects
2Add a click/select-based trigger sequence as an alternative: clicking a draggable item selects it, then clicking a drop target completes that pairing
3Set states (Selected, Correct, Incorrect) so keyboard users get the same visual and screen reader feedback as a mouse user would after dragging
4Test by tabbing to each draggable item and confirming Enter or Space can select it, then complete the interaction

Fix in Rise 360

1Rise's native Sort and Matching interactions do not currently offer a built-in keyboard-operable alternative to dragging
2If keyboard access to this specific interaction is a hard requirement, consider building it in Storyline instead, where a custom keyboard alternative can be added
3Alternatively, replace the Rise Sort or Matching block with a multiple choice or multiple response block that tests the same knowledge without requiring a drag gesture
4Whichever option is chosen, test the replacement with a keyboard only before publishing

Common questions

Is all drag and drop inaccessible?

No, but it needs a genuine, working alternative for people who cannot drag with a mouse or finger. WCAG 2.5.7 does not ban dragging, it requires that anything achieved by dragging can also be achieved a different way, such as a single click or tap on the item followed by a single click or tap on the target.

Does Rise support a keyboard alternative for drag and drop?

Not currently through its built-in Sort or Matching blocks. If keyboard access to that specific interaction matters for your audience, building the equivalent interaction in Storyline, where a custom keyboard alternative can be added, is the more reliable option.