A detector drawer for an X-ray detector has at least one stop (5) by which the mobility of an inserted X-ray detector in at least one direction is restricted. The mobility of the inserted X-ray detector is hindered by the at least one stop to two alternate stop positions with respect to that direction; and that the respective stop position becomes operative as a function of the motion of the X-ray detector upon its insertion, for instance as a function of the direction of the motion. By using the alternate stop positions, which automatically become operative, portable digital X-ray detectors, which are constructed asymmetrically, are automatically positioned centrally in the detector drawer regardless of their orientation or the desired orientation of the image to be made. The detector drawer is advantageously used in an X-ray system, and desirably in an X-ray system with a detector that is pulled out from opposite sides of a patient examination table.