How do I use the Touch Screen on my Smart Phone?

Use the Touchscreen

Your phone’s touchscreen lets you control actions through a variety of touch gestures.

Tap or Touch

When you want to type using the keyboard, select items such as application and settings icons, or press buttons, simply tap or touch them with your finger.

illustration of tap

Touch and Hold

To open the available options for an item (for example, a contact or link in a Web page), touch and hold the item.

illustration of touch and hold

Swipe or Slide

To swipe or slide means to quickly drag your finger vertically or horizontally across the screen.

illustration of swipe

Drag

To drag, press and hold your finger with some pressure before you start to move your finger. While dragging, do not release your finger until you have reached the target position.

illustration of drag

Flick

Flicking the screen is similar to swiping, except that you need to move your finger in light, quick strokes. This finger gesture is always in a vertical direction, such as when flicking the contacts or message list.

illustration of flick

Rotate

For most screens, you can automatically change the screen orientation from portrait to landscape by turning the phone sideways. When entering text, you can turn the phone sideways to bring up a bigger keyboard. See Enter Text for more details.

illustration of rotate

Note: Auto rotate must be enabled for the screen orientation to automatically change. To enable screen rotation, slide your finger down from the status bar to display the notification panel, and then tap Auto rotate to enable the option.

Pinch and Spread

Pinch the screen by moving two fingers inward to zoom out, or spread by moving two fingers outward to zoom in.

illustration of spread and pinch