Scrolling
and zooming
Following on from our first course on key touchscreen gestures Tapping and swiping, in this course we are going to learn about two more, equally important gestures – scrolling and zooming.
Below you will find three options for learning about them:
- Watch it: There's a short video to watch, demonstrating how to scroll and zoom using a smart device.
- Try it: For smart devices only. If you are using your smart device, why not have a go at practising your scrolls and zooms. This informative activity takes you through a number of different scenarios where these gestures come into their own.
- Read it: Read the steps in our handy guide that you can print or save for later. Available in different languages in the Print the guide section at the bottom of this page.
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Watch it
Watch our short video on how to scroll and zoom on a smart device.
Transcript
There are many different kinds of touch gestures you can use on your smartphone or tablet. Let's look at scrolling and zooming.
As smart device screens are quite small, many objects might be too tall to fit perfectly on the screen. To see more, you need to move the object up or down until it's in view. You can do this by a gesture called scrolling.
To scroll down a page, place your finger on the screen and swipe up. To scroll up a page, place your finger on the screen and swipe down.
To make text or objects bigger, you zoom in using a pinching-out gesture. Put your finger and thumb tips together and place them on the text or object that you want to make bigger. Spread your fingers a little so that the contents of the screen expand in size. Keep moving them apart until the object is the size you want.
To scroll a zoomed page, place your finger on the screen and slide it left, right, up or down to see hidden areas of the page.
To make a zoomed object smaller, you zoom out using a pinching-in gesture. Start with your two fingers apart, then bring them closer together until the text or object is the size you want, or is returned to its original size.
Try it
For smart devices only. Perfect your scrolling and zooming skills in this fun activity.