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Main gestures on mobile devices

15.06.2018
Posted by: Admin

Gesture control on devices with sensor screens is a pretty comfortable and required function for interaction with the operating system. Modern smartphones can no longer offer only button interface because it’s not so functional.

Sensor screen control involves the reaction to finger or stylus tapping and, reproduces these movements if required. If the device recognizes a touch or movements as command, then they are executed as commands. The user’s task is simple – to master the skill of tapping on the sensor screen in a way to make them execute such commands as will be understandable for the device and needed by the user.

Not all users know about available gestures for them on the mobile platform, so let’s look through some of the sensor screen control gestures.

Single Tap.

It’s the main and most popular gesture. This action is equal to the left button mouse click. The gesture is executed everyday while touching the screen for launching the apps, turning on or off the some functions, choosing desirable parameters or elements, entering text and etc.

Double Tap.

Double Tap is the next most common gesture. Double tap is executed by the quick double touch on the device screen. It’s usually used for zooming in and out the image or text area on the screen (the users should touch that area that they want to look closer at). One double tap turning on the corresponding option, the next double tap is cancelling this option. This action can be compared with the double left button mouse click.

2x Tap is a single tap with the two fingers.

This tap executes with two fingers simultaneously. After that, immediately raise both fingers from the device. The user can highlight a paragraph in the text block and zoom out the map with the help of this gesture.

2x Double Tap is a double tap with the two fingers.

Double tap is executed with two fingers simultaneously but with a little brief pause between taps. For example, it’s used for changing the image scale.

Swipe Up/Down/Right/Left.

Swipe Up/Down/Right/Left is the second of common gesture after tap. Everyone entered the Internet from the mobile device knows these gestures. It’s usage is quite intuitive. The user slightly touches the screen, moves the finger from top to down, down to top, left to right or right to left without releasing a finger from the screen just like «slightly swiping the dust from the screen» in the direction needed. It’s used for switching between the pages on the desktop, scrolling different lists, etc.

Also the insertion pointer in the text can be changed with the swiping gesture. After placing the insertion pointer in the paragraph, it can be quickly relocated by swiping with one, two or three fingers to the left or to the right. Swipe on the paragraph with one finger to relocate the pasting point on one symbol.

Double swipe down.

To perform this the user should touch the screen with two fingers and move them from top to down without releasing the screen as if «slightly swiping the dust from the screen». Swipe to down with two fingers is used for full extend setting panel and reaching fast system settings.

2x Swipe Up.

The user should touch the screen with two fingers and swipe from down to top without releasing the screen. Double swipe up is used for quick scroll of the page.

2x swipe left/right.

The user should touch the screen with two fingers and swipe them from left to right or from right to left without releasing the screen. This gesture will switch between pages in the browser.

3x swipe down.

The user should touch the screen with three fingers and swipe from top to bottom without releasing the screen. Triple swipe down leads to closing the application panel.

3x swipe up.

Touching the screen with three fingers, swipe from bottom to top without releasing the screen that causes switching between the apps.

3x swipe left/right.

The user should touch the screen with three fingers and swipe from right to left or from left to right without releasing the screen which leads to switching between the applications windows.

4x swipe left/right.

The user should touch the screen with four fingers and swipe from right to left or from left to right without releasing the screen which leads to the switching between last used applications.

Press and Hold.

Press and Hold gesture is used to open additional options if they exist. The user should touch the desirable screen area and hold a finger for several seconds. In the moment of touching and holding nothing happens, but right after releasing the screen, the additional menu will appear or any other action as a consequence of press and hold will be performed. This action is very similar to the right mouse button click in Windows on any object and after it the context menu appears with additional object options.

2x Press and Hold.

The user should touch the desirable screen area with two fingers and hold them for several seconds. For example, you can use press and hold by two fingers on the keyboard in iOS to change it to an improvised trackpad.

Hold Timer.

This gesture is similar to «Press and Hold». Touch the screen with one finger and don’t let go for a certain period of time. Long press involves touching the screen and holding a finger on it for some time. As a result of such tactile mechanics a window for copying a section of text may be opened, also it can perform opening additional options, moving to icons drag and drop mode on the desktop or their deleting.

2x Hold Timer.

The user should touch the screen with two fingers without releasing it for a certain amount of time. Hold timer with two fingers adds a mark to the selected element in the app.

Drag-and-Drop.

Drag-and-Drop involves pressing and holding a finger on the screen followed by moving across it. It is used for changing the order of the app icons, interface elements, program shortcuts, objects in games, etc.

Press and drag.

The user needs press on the screen with one finger and simultaneously move other finge racross the screen to the right or up/down without losing the contact with the screen.

Pinch.

The user should press with two fingers placed near each other simultaneously. The gesture is over after raising the fingers over the screen. Usually, as a result of this mechanic the scale is decreased. This gesture allows closing photos and exiting the albums in iOS.

5x Pinch.

The gesture can be recreated by the five fingers being spread out and gathering in the pinch. It allows to quickly move to the home screen (analogue of the Home button).

Spread.

It's a simple and useful function for increasing the scale of something on the screen: image, text, map, schema, etc. The user must simultaneously tap the screen with two fingers and spread them without letting it go. This gesture allows to open photos and exit an album in iOS.

5x Spread.

The user should touch the screen with five fingers and spread them without releasing the screen. It allows clearing apps from the desktop moving them beyond the screen edges.

2x Rotate is a rotation with two fingers clockwise or otherwise.

Rotation is used in while working with animation and images on mobile devices.

The user should press the screen with two fingers from both sides of the central object and, turn it around by rotating the fingers. The gesture is over when the user raises fingers up from the sensor screen. Rotation is also useful while working with Google Maps when the map is needed to be placed horizontally.

Press the screen with one finger and simultaneously draw a half circle clockwise with another. Touch the screen with two placed together and draw a half circle clockwise without letting go of a screen.

5x Rotate Left/Right.

5x Rotate Left/Right is a rotation with five fingers clockwise or otherwise. It allows to execute the switching between the screen modes.

3D Touch is a touch with a different force of pressing.

The 3D Touch technology appeared for the first time on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. It is based on Force Touch development which was used in Apple Watch and new MacBook models. Their screens allow ranging the press force and suggest different variants of interaction with the object, depending on it. The 3D Touch technology provides quick access to frequently used functions like sending messages or emails and launching a camera. If the 3D Touch function is turned on, after the first press user can see part of the content, ex. message. The next press allows to look through the entire message. The strong press allows turning on the object preview without opening the app or calling the additional actions menu.

Select multiple objects.

For simultaneously choosing a random amount of objects, the user should touch and hold one of them, then touch other objects with another finger. This operation can be performed with both hands.

These are not all available variants of gestures and they may not work in every program, but usually gestures above are enough for all situations or almost for all of them. In one, gesture control seems slightly primitive. In the other hand, gestures discover new horizons for different programs which were difficult or impossible to realize in the button interface.

The Android/iOS device navigation becomes much easier if you know at least several touch screen gestures. They are, easy-to-learn, logical and intuitive understandable, that’s why they are really easy to remember.

Main gestures on mobile devices

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