Tap

Tap with the tip of the finger, not the fingernail. Tap fast and firmly, and then immediately lift your fingertip off the screen. Don’t bear down on what you’re tapping. Don’t wait for a response; the response comes after you lift your finger. Don’t linger on the gesture; a tap takes a split second to do.

Tap the center of the gesture area to do the following:

•When you’re working in an application, tap the center of the gesture area to see Card view. Card view shows you all the applications that are currently open, displayed as a series of cards (small windows).

•When you’re in Card view, tap the center of the gesture area to maximize the app in the center of the view.

Swipe

A swipe is most often a horizontal gesture, from right to left or left to right. Do it fast, do it lightly. In a swipe, your fingertip just skims the surface of the touchscreen or gesture area.

One kind of swipe you’ll use a lot: back. Make the back gesture from right to left anywhere in the gesture area. Back takes you up one level from a detailed view to a more general view of the application you’re working in. For example, when you finish reading an email message, make the back gesture to close the message and return to your list of messages. Or when you finish writing a memo, make the back gesture to close and save the memo and return to the display of all your memos. When you make the back gesture in an application and that’s the only screen of that app that’s open, you minimize the app and go back to Card view.

In Web, the back gesture performs the same function as the back button on the browser, allowing you to move back through previously viewed pages.

The forward gesture, available in Web only, is a swipe from left to right anywhere in the gesture area. The forward gesture allows you to move forward through previously viewed web pages.

Drag

Drag is the gesture you make for a slow scroll up and down, such as in a list, in a document, or on a web page. Slide your fingertip slowly along the surface—no need to bear down.

Drag an item: Tap and hold the item, drag it. Wait till you get a visual cue that the item is ready to be dragged, and then drag it. Lift your finger to drop it. For example, an icon in the Launcher or a card in Card view is ready to be dragged when it becomes enlarged and transparent.

24 Chapter 2 : Basics