Why test dragging?
A switch can work perfectly for single clicks and still fail while held. As it wears, the contact inside can lose connection for a few milliseconds while you hold it down. When that happens:
- dragged files drop in the wrong folder,
- text selections stop halfway,
- in games, held actions (charging a bow, holding a trigger, breaking a block) cancel unexpectedly.
The drag test catches these short drops.
How to run it
- Hold the left button inside the area and draw long, slow lines and circles.
- Keep holding for several seconds at a time.
- Repeat with the other buttons if you use them for holds.
If the button releases and re-presses within 120 ms in roughly the same spot, it’s counted as a drop and marked with a red dot. A drop is something you wouldn’t do on purpose.
What the numbers mean
- Drags: separate holds you made.
- Unexpected drops: releases the switch made on its own. Ideally zero.
- Longest drag: the longest single unbroken line in pixels.
One drop in a long session might be a slip. Repeated drops on the same button point to a worn switch. The fixes are the same as for unwanted double-clicks, since both come from contact bounce. See the double click test for cleaning and debounce tips.
Touch screens and pens
The test also works with fingers and styluses. A broken line while you keep your finger down can mean a screen protector problem, a dirty screen, or a digitiser fault.
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