Animate a list of elements: move (slide) element to the top

move-element-to-top.js

// http://jsfiddle.net/uNv8C/
// https://forrst.com/posts/Animated_list_item_reordering_in_jQuery-RR1
$(document).ready(function() {
    $('li').click(function() {
      // the clicked LI
      var clicked = $(this);

      // all the LIs above the clicked one
      var previousAll = clicked.prevAll();

      // only proceed if it's not already on top (no previous siblings)
      if(previousAll.length > 0) {
        // top LI
        var top = $(previousAll[previousAll.length - 1]);

        // immediately previous LI
        var previous = $(previousAll[0]);

        // how far up do we need to move the clicked LI?
        var moveUp = clicked.attr('offsetTop') - top.attr('offsetTop');

        // how far down do we need to move the previous siblings?
        var moveDown = (clicked.offset().top + clicked.outerHeight()) - (previous.offset().top + previous.outerHeight());

        // let's move stuff
        clicked.css('position', 'relative');
        previousAll.css('position', 'relative');
        clicked.animate({'top': -moveUp});
        previousAll.animate({'top': moveDown}, {complete: function() {
          // rearrange the DOM and restore positioning when we're done moving
          clicked.parent().prepend(clicked);
          clicked.css({'position': 'static', 'top': 0});
          previousAll.css({'position': 'static', 'top': 0}); 
        }});
      }
    });
  });