JavaScript Canvas removeHitRegion Tutorial

Learn how to use JavaScript Canvas removeHitRegion method effectively with examples. Manage interactive regions on canvas with this detailed tutorial.

canvas-api

Aug 29, 2025

JavaScript Canvas removeHitRegion Tutorial

last modified April 3, 2025

This tutorial explores the Canvas removeHitRegion method in JavaScript. It’s used for managing interactive regions on HTML canvas elements. Understanding hit regions is key for creating interactive canvas applications.

Basic Definition

Hit regions define interactive areas on a canvas that respond to user input. The removeHitRegion method removes a previously defined hit region. This helps manage dynamic interactive elements in canvas applications.

Hit regions work with mouse/touch events. They provide an efficient way to handle interactions without complex coordinate calculations. The method is part of the CanvasRenderingContext2D API.

Basic removeHitRegion Usage

This example shows how to add and then remove a hit region from canvas.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Basic removeHitRegion</title> </head> <body>

// Draw a rectangle
ctx.fillStyle = 'blue';
ctx.fillRect(50, 50, 100, 100);

// Add hit region
ctx.addHitRegion({ id: 'myRegion' });

// Remove hit region after 3 seconds
setTimeout(() =&gt; {
    ctx.removeHitRegion('myRegion');
    console.log('Hit region removed');
}, 3000);

</script>

</body> </html>

This example creates a blue rectangle and adds a hit region to it. After 3 seconds, the hit region is removed using removeHitRegion. The region ID must match the one used in addHitRegion.

Note that hit regions are experimental technology. Check browser compatibility before using in production. The example shows basic region management.

Removing Multiple Regions

This example demonstrates managing multiple hit regions with removal.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Multiple Hit Regions</title> </head> <body>

// First shape with hit region
ctx.fillStyle = 'red';
ctx.fillRect(50, 50, 100, 100);
ctx.addHitRegion({ id: 'region1' });

// Second shape with hit region
ctx.fillStyle = 'green';
ctx.fillRect(200, 50, 100, 100);
ctx.addHitRegion({ id: 'region2' });

// Remove regions one by one
setTimeout(() =&gt; {
    ctx.removeHitRegion('region1');
    console.log('First region removed');
}, 2000);

setTimeout(() =&gt; {
    ctx.removeHitRegion('region2');
    console.log('Second region removed');
}, 4000);

</script>

</body> </html>

Here we create two rectangles with different hit regions. Each region is removed after different time intervals. This shows how to manage multiple interactive regions independently.

The example uses setTimeout to simulate dynamic region management. In real applications, you might remove regions based on user interactions or app state changes.

Conditional Region Removal

This example shows removing hit regions based on user interaction.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Conditional Removal</title> </head> <body>

// Create interactive circle
ctx.fillStyle = 'purple';
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.arc(150, 100, 50, 0, Math.PI * 2);
ctx.fill();
ctx.addHitRegion({ id: 'circleRegion' });

canvas.addEventListener('click', (e) =&gt; {
    if (e.region === 'circleRegion') {
        ctx.removeHitRegion('circleRegion');
        console.log('Circle region removed on click');
    }
});

</script>

</body> </html>

In this example, a purple circle is created with a hit region. When clicked, the region is removed. The click event checks if it occurred within the region using e.region.

This pattern is useful for creating interactive elements that change behavior after interaction. The region is only removed when specifically clicked.

Error Handling with removeHitRegion

This example demonstrates proper error handling when removing regions.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Error Handling</title> </head> <body>

try {
    // Attempt to remove non-existent region
    ctx.removeHitRegion('nonexistent');
} catch (error) {
    console.error('Error removing region:', error.message);
}

// Proper usage with check
function safeRemoveRegion(ctx, id) {
    try {
        ctx.removeHitRegion(id);
        return true;
    } catch (e) {
        console.warn(`Could not remove region ${id}:`, e.message);
        return false;
    }
}

// Usage example
safeRemoveRegion(ctx, 'testRegion');

</script>

</body> </html>

This example shows how to handle errors when removing hit regions. Attempting to remove a non-existent region throws an error that should be caught.

The safeRemoveRegion helper function demonstrates robust region removal. It returns a boolean indicating success and logs warnings for failures. This is important for maintaining stable applications.

Dynamic Region Management

This advanced example shows dynamic hit region management in a game-like scenario.

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <title>Dynamic Regions</title> </head> <body>

// Create target function
function createTarget(x, y) {
    const id = `target_${Date.now()}`;
    ctx.fillStyle = 'orange';
    ctx.fillRect(x, y, 40, 40);
    ctx.addHitRegion({ id });
    regions[id] = true;
    return id;
}

// Remove target function
function removeTarget(id) {
    if (regions[id]) {
        ctx.removeHitRegion(id);
        delete regions[id];
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

// Create initial targets
createTarget(50, 50);
createTarget(150, 100);
createTarget(300, 80);

// Click handler
canvas.addEventListener('click', (e) =&gt; {
    if (e.region &amp;&amp; regions[e.region]) {
        if (removeTarget(e.region)) {
            console.log(`Removed target ${e.region}`);
            // Redraw canvas (simplified)
            ctx.clearRect(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height);
            Object.keys(regions).forEach(id =&gt; {
                const [_, x, y] = id.split('_');
                ctx.fillStyle = 'orange';
                ctx.fillRect(parseInt(x), parseInt(y), 40, 40);
                ctx.addHitRegion({ id });
            });
        }
    }
});

</script>

</body> </html>

This example creates a simple game-like scenario with dynamic targets. Each target has its own hit region. Clicking a target removes it and updates the display.

The code maintains a registry of active regions. The removeTarget function safely removes regions and updates the registry. This pattern is useful for complex interactive applications.

Source

MDN removeHitRegion Documentation

This tutorial covered the removeHitRegion method with practical examples. Hit regions provide powerful interaction capabilities for canvas applications. Remember to check browser compatibility when using this experimental feature.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

List all JS Canvas tutorials.