nestedSortable jQuery plugin - with enhancements for use with CakePHP 3.x

nestedSortable is a jQuery plugin that extends jQuery Sortable UI functionalities to nested lists.

What's been removed in this fork?

This repo has been forked with the intentions of optimizing for a particular PHP framework: CakePHP, therefore a couple things have been removed:

serialize
toHierarchy

If someone wants to implement these functions, make other optimizations for CakePHP or general improvements, please submit a Pull Request.

More Info

For more information or to use the original nestedSortable please see: https://github.com/ilikenwf/nestedSortable

Features

Designed to work seamlessly with the nested set model (have a look at the toArray method)
Items can be sorted in their own list, moved across the tree, or nested under other items.
Sublists are created and deleted on the fly
All jQuery Sortable options, events and methods are available
It is possible to define elements that will not accept a new nested item/list and a maximum depth for nested items
The root level can be protected
The parentship of items can be locked, just as if it was a family tree.

Usage

<ol class="sortable">
    <li><div>Some content</div></li>
    <li>
        <div>Some content</div>
        <ol>
            <li><div>Some sub-item content</div></li>
            <li><div>Some sub-item content</div></li>
        </ol>
    </li>
    <li><div>Some content</div></li>
</ol>

    $(document).ready(function(){

        $('.sortable').nestedSortable({
            handle: 'div',
            items: 'li',
            toleranceElement: '> div'
        });

    });

Please note: every <li> must have either one or two direct children, the first one being a container element (such as <div> in the above example), and the (optional) second one being the nested list. The container element has to be set as the 'toleranceElement' in the options, and this, or one of its children, as the 'handle'.

Also, the default list type is <ol>.

This is the bare minimum to have a working nestedSortable. Check the demo out to see what can be accomplished with a little more.

Custom Options

disableParentChange (2.0): Set this to true to lock the parentship of items. They can only be re-ordered within theire current parent container.
doNotClear (2.0): Set this to true if you don't want empty lists to be removed. Default: false
expandOnHover (2.0): How long (in ms) to wait before expanding a collapsed node (useful only if isTree: true). Default: 700
isAllowed (function): You can specify a custom function to verify if a drop location is allowed. Default: function (placeholder, placeholderParent, currentItem) { return true; }
isTree (2.0): Set this to true if you want to use the new tree functionality. Default: false
listType: The list type used (ordered or unordered). Default: ol
maxLevels: The maximum depth of nested items the list can accept. If set to '0' the levels are unlimited. Default: 0
protectRoot: Whether to protect the root level (i.e. root items can be sorted but not nested, sub-items cannot become root items). Default: false
rootID: The id given to the root element (set this to whatever suits your data structure). Default: null
rtl: Set this to true if you have a right-to-left page. Default: false
startCollapsed (2.0): Set this to true if you want the plugin to collapse the tree on page load. Default: false
tabSize: How far right or left (in pixels) the item has to travel in order to be nested or to be sent outside its current list. Default: 20
excludeRoot: Exlude the root item from the toArray output
left: The name of the left node: lft
right: The name of the right node: rght

Custom Classes (you will set them in the options as well)

branchClass (2.0): Given to all items that have children. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-branch
collapsedClass (2.0): Given to branches that are collapsed. It will be switched to expandedClass when hovering for more then expandOnHover ms. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-collapsed
disableNestingClass: Given to items that will not accept children. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-no-nesting
errorClass: Given to the placeholder in case of error. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-error
expandedClass (2.0): Given to branches that are expanded. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-expanded
hoveringClass (2.0): Given to collapsed branches when dragging an item over them. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-hovering
leafClass (2.0)
: Given to items that do not have children. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-leaf
disabledClass (2.0)
: Given to items that should be skipped when sorting over them. For example, non-visible items that are still part of the list. Default: mjs-nestedSortable-disabled

Custom Methods

serialize

This method has been removed.

toArray

Builds an array where each element is in the form:

setName[n] =>
{
    'item_id': itemId,
    'parent_id': parentId,
    'depth': depth,
    'left': left,
    'right': right,
}

It accepts the same options as the original Sortable method (attribute and expression) plus the custom startDepthCount, that sets the starting depth number (default is 0).

toHierarchy

This method has been removed.

Events

change: Fires when the item is dragged to a new location. This triggers for each location it is dragged into not just the ending location.
sort: Fires when the item is dragged.
revert: Fires once the object has moved if the new location is invalid.
relocate: Only fires once when the item is done bing moved at its final location.

Known Bugs

nestedSortable doesn't work properly with connected draggables, because of the way Draggable simulates Sortable mouseStart and mouseStop events. This bug might or might not be fixed some time in the future (it's not specific to this plugin).