v0.2.3: visible cross-panel drag ghost, front-image fallback, shorter hint

- Fix invisible device while dragging from front to rear: the block
  being dragged stayed structurally inside its own source <svg>, so it
  rendered underneath the other panel once it visually overlapped it.
  Replaced the in-SVG transform with a free-floating HTML ghost fixed
  to <body> that tracks the pointer, unaffected by either SVG's own
  stacking - the original block just dims in place during the drag, as
  before.
- Fix rear elevation showing nothing for a device type with no
  rear_image: only full-depth devices (which have a genuinely
  different back) are restricted to their own rear image now; a
  shallow device (e.g. a PDU) falls back to its front image on the
  rear view, since that's usually the only picture that exists and is
  still recognisable either way.
- Shorten the drag-hint badge text; the German translation of the
  previous, longer wording didn't fit well next to the other controls
  above the elevation.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,21 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.2.3
+
+- Fix: dragging a device from front to rear (or back) made it invisible mid-drag - it
+  stayed structurally inside its own source `<svg>`, so it rendered underneath the
+  other panel once it overlapped it instead of over it. Replaced the in-SVG transform
+  with a free-floating HTML "ghost" fixed to `<body>` that tracks the pointer; the
+  original block just dims in place while dragging, exactly like before.
+- Fix: the rear elevation only ever showed a device type's `rear_image`, leaving
+  shallow devices without one (e.g. PDUs) blank on the rear view even when a perfectly
+  usable `front_image` exists. Full-depth devices are unaffected (their rear view still
+  only shows their own rear image, or nothing - showing the front picture there would
+  be wrong); only non-full-depth devices now fall back to the front image on the rear
+  view.
+- Shorten the drag-hint badge text above the elevation (the German translation in
+  particular had gotten too long for the badge).
+
 ## 0.2.2
 
 - Drag-and-drop now supports dragging a device from the front elevation onto the rear

README.md

@@ -27,9 +27,12 @@ Dazu:
   ändert nichts.
 * **Geräte mit Bild und Text** – ist am Gerätetyp ein Front-/Rear-Bild hinterlegt, wird
   es im Elevation-Block angezeigt; darüber liegt der Gerätename als weiße, schwarz
-  konturierte Schrift (kein dunkler Balken). Ein Dropdown über der Elevation schaltet
+  konturierte Schrift (kein dunkler Balken). Auf der Rear-Seite zeigt ein **volltiefes**
-  zwischen „Images and labels", „Images only" und „Labels only" um — genau wie bei
+  Gerät nur sein eigenes Rear-Bild (oder gar keins); ein **nicht volltiefes** Gerät ohne
-  echten Racks in NetBox, inklusive Merken der Wahl im Browser.
+  eigenes Rear-Bild (z.B. eine Steckdosenleiste) zeigt dort stattdessen sein Front-Bild.
+  Ein Dropdown über der Elevation schaltet zwischen „Images and labels", „Images only"
+  und „Labels only" um — genau wie bei echten Racks in NetBox, inklusive Merken der
+  Wahl im Browser.
 * **Teilbreiten** (1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 plus horizontale Slot-Position), passend zum
   Teilbreiten-Feature von `netbox_utilities`.
 * **Mandant und Mandantengruppe** an Konzept und an jedem geplanten Gerät.

netbox_rack_concept/__init__.py

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 from netbox.plugins import PluginConfig
 
-__version__ = '0.2.2'
+__version__ = '0.2.3'
 
 
 class RackConceptConfig(PluginConfig):

netbox_rack_concept/elevation.py

@@ -95,12 +95,22 @@ class ElevationBlock:
         The device type's image for the face this block is drawn on, i.e. what's
         physically visible from that side of the rack - not the device's own mounting
         face, which only matters for half-depth devices occupying one face at a time.
+
+        A full-depth device genuinely has two different sides, so its rear view only
+        ever shows its own rear image (or nothing, if none is set) - showing the front
+        picture there would misrepresent what's actually visible from the back. A
+        shallow device (e.g. a PDU) has no real "back" of its own; for those, the rear
+        view falls back to the front image, since that's usually the only picture that
+        exists and is still perfectly recognisable from either side.
         """
         device_type = self.device.device_type
         if device_type is None:
             return None
-        image = device_type.front_image if self.face == DeviceFaceChoices.FACE_FRONT else device_type.rear_image
+        if self.face == DeviceFaceChoices.FACE_FRONT:
-        return image if image else None
+            return device_type.front_image or None
+        if self.device.effective_full_depth:
+            return device_type.rear_image or None
+        return device_type.rear_image or device_type.front_image or None
 
 
 class Elevation:

netbox_rack_concept/locale/de/LC_MESSAGES/django.po

@@ -924,7 +924,5 @@ msgid_plural "{{ counter }} planned devices will be created per rack."
 msgstr[0] "Pro Rack wird {{ counter }} geplantes Gerät angelegt."
 msgstr[1] "Pro Rack werden {{ counter }} geplante Geräte angelegt."
 
-msgid "Drag devices to move or flip them between front and rear"
+msgid "Drag to move or flip sides"
-msgstr ""
+msgstr "Ziehen zum Verschieben/Wechseln"
-"Geräte ziehen, um sie zu verschieben oder zwischen Front und Rückseite zu "
-"wechseln"

netbox_rack_concept/static/netbox_rack_concept/elevation.css

@@ -10,10 +10,6 @@
     height: auto;
     user-select: none;
     touch-action: none;
-    /* A device being dragged toward the other face's panel shouldn't just vanish the
-       moment it crosses this SVG's own edge - let it render past the boundary while
-       it's mid-drag, into whatever sits next to it (the other panel, side by side). */
-    overflow: visible;
 }
 
 .concept-elevation .unit-slot {
@@ -108,6 +104,26 @@
 }
 
 .concept-elevation .device-block.dragging {
-    opacity: 0.6;
+    opacity: 0.3;
+    cursor: grabbing;
+}
+
+/* Follows the pointer during a drag - a plain HTML element fixed to <body>, not
+   scoped to either elevation's <svg>, so it stays visible the whole way from the
+   front panel to the rear one and back. */
+.concept-drag-ghost {
+    position: fixed;
+    z-index: 2000;
+    pointer-events: none;
+    display: flex;
+    align-items: center;
+    border-radius: 2px;
+    padding-left: 6px;
+    font-size: 11px;
+    color: #ffffff;
+    text-shadow: 0 0 2px #000000, 0 0 2px #000000, 0 0 2px #000000;
+    box-shadow: 0 2px 10px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);
+    white-space: nowrap;
+    overflow: hidden;
     cursor: grabbing;
 }

netbox_rack_concept/static/netbox_rack_concept/elevation.js

@@ -120,6 +120,31 @@
         return el ? el.closest('.concept-elevation') : null;
     }
 
+    /* A free-floating copy of the device block, fixed to <body> and tracking the
+       pointer - not scoped to either SVG, so it stays visible while crossing from one
+       panel to the other. */
+    function createGhost(block, rectEl, clientX, clientY) {
+        const screenRect = rectEl.getBoundingClientRect();
+        const label = block.querySelector('.device-label');
+
+        const ghost = document.createElement('div');
+        ghost.className = 'concept-drag-ghost';
+        ghost.style.width = screenRect.width + 'px';
+        ghost.style.height = screenRect.height + 'px';
+        ghost.style.backgroundColor = rectEl.getAttribute('fill') || '#c0c0c0';
+        ghost.textContent = label ? label.textContent.trim() : '';
+        ghost.dataset.offsetX = clientX - screenRect.left;
+        ghost.dataset.offsetY = clientY - screenRect.top;
+        document.body.appendChild(ghost);
+        moveGhost(ghost, clientX, clientY);
+        return ghost;
+    }
+
+    function moveGhost(ghost, clientX, clientY) {
+        ghost.style.left = (clientX - ghost.dataset.offsetX) + 'px';
+        ghost.style.top = (clientY - ghost.dataset.offsetY) + 'px';
+    }
+
     container.querySelectorAll('.concept-elevation').forEach(function (panel) {
         const svg = panel.querySelector('svg');
         const geo = geometry(svg);
@@ -154,6 +179,13 @@
                 block.style.pointerEvents = 'none';
                 block.setPointerCapture(event.pointerId);
 
+                // A device dragged toward the other panel is still, structurally,
+                // content of its own source <svg> - it would render underneath the
+                // other panel's own markup once it overlapped it, effectively
+                // vanishing. A free-floating HTML ghost fixed to <body> sidesteps that
+                // entirely: it's not inside either SVG, so it stays visible over both.
+                const ghost = createGhost(block, rect, event.clientX, event.clientY);
+
                 function onMove(moveEvent) {
                     const now = svgPoint(svg, moveEvent);
                     dx = now.x - start.x;
@@ -161,8 +193,7 @@
                     if (Math.abs(dx) > 3 || Math.abs(dy) > 3) {
                         moved = true;
                     }
-                    const snappedY = Math.round(dy / geo.unitHeight) * geo.unitHeight;
+                    moveGhost(ghost, moveEvent.clientX, moveEvent.clientY);
-                    block.setAttribute('transform', 'translate(' + dx + ' ' + snappedY + ')');
                 }
 
                 function onUp(upEvent) {
@@ -171,10 +202,10 @@
                     block.removeEventListener('pointercancel', onUp);
                     block.classList.remove('dragging');
                     block.style.pointerEvents = '';
+                    ghost.remove();
 
                     if (!moved) {
                         // Treat it as a click: follow the device link.
-                        block.removeAttribute('transform');
                         const link = block.querySelector('a');
                         if (link) window.location = link.getAttribute('href');
                         return;
@@ -245,12 +276,10 @@
                 if (result.ok) {
                     window.location.reload();
                 } else {
-                    block.removeAttribute('transform');
                     setStatus(result.body.error || 'The move was rejected.', true);
                 }
             })
             .catch(function () {
-                block.removeAttribute('transform');
                 setStatus('The move could not be saved.', true);
             });
     }

netbox_rack_concept/templates/netbox_rack_concept/rackconcept.html

@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@
             <option value="labels-only">{% trans "Labels only" %}</option>
           </select>
           {% if perms.netbox_rack_concept.change_conceptdevice %}
-            <span class="badge text-bg-secondary">{% trans "Drag devices to move or flip them between front and rear" %}</span>
+            <span class="badge text-bg-secondary">{% trans "Drag to move or flip sides" %}</span>
           {% endif %}
           <div class="dropdown">
             <button type="button" class="btn btn-outline-secondary btn-sm dropdown-toggle" data-bs-toggle="dropdown" aria-expanded="false">

pyproject.toml

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
 
 [project]
 name = "netbox-rack-concept"
-version = "0.2.2"
+version = "0.2.3"
 description = "Rack blueprints for NetBox: plan racks and their equipment without creating real racks or devices"
 readme = "README.md"
 requires-python = ">=3.12"