How to scroll on the iPod touch
Mac Tip #353, 27 August 2008
The iPod touch, unlike the other models of iPod, is essentially a small computer. It does email, surfs the web, checks the weather, connects with YouTube and Google Maps, and does a whole lot of other things, courtesy of its Internet capabilities.
This means that you often want to scroll through pages of text. Usually you touch the screen and ‘flick’ your finger up, down or across. Flick, flick, flick, and you’ve scrolled down several pages. My screenshot shows I’ve scrolled most of the way down a blog page.
To scoot quickly back to the top the easiest way is to tap once on the menu bar at the top of the screen. In my screenshot that’s the part at the top that shows the wireless signal strength at left, the time in the middle, and the battery status on the right.
Text fields seem a problem at first. For example you may write a comment on a blog. The text box is only a few lines high, so after you’ve written a couple of sentences you can no longer see the start of what you wrote.The first screenshot in this sequence shows me typing a reply to an email. Most of what my friend wrote to me is out of view.
The second screenshot shows what happens if I scroll with the one-finger ‘flick’. The whole page scrolls and I still can’t see the rest of the email I’m replying to.
If you try the usual ‘flicking’ the whole page scrolls, not just the comment you’ve written.
To scroll inside a text field use two fingers.
In the third screenshot I’ve dismissed the on-screen keyboard (I was having trouble with scrolling with it showing) and have used two fingers to scroll within the email reply text field. As always, click on the thumbnails to see larger versions of the pictures.Notes
The iPhone should work the same way as the iPod touch, but unfortunately I don’t have one and can’t check exactly how it works.
If you can add useful information for other readers about using an iPod touch or iPhone, please leave comments below.
See more from: Edit text,Mac Tips,iPhone,iPod
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* 10 comments… read them below and tell us what you think.
hey thanks!
you know in Youtube, there’s a related videos box that needs that kinda scrolling, and it’s giving me hell not being able to browse all of them (i dont use youtube’s mobile format)
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Wow, that would never have crossed my mind. Just what I needed, thanks. =D
I have a problem, i have this voice thing on. When i tap something i always have to double tap to open it and i want it turned off, only one problem, its on the general settings and i cant scroll down to it, it just wont let me scroll down, its getting annoying and i want it removed. Plz help
Izakiller: i have had this promblem for a while, and i FINALLY figured it out!!! all u have to do is flick up with # fingers. not 1, not 2, u need to use 3 fingers and flick up! :)
Izakiller: you should be able to scroll the Settings pages with a simple ‘flick’ as described above.
If it won’t let you scroll then perhaps try resetting your iPhone: hold down the on/off button and the Home button at the same time. Keep them both down even past the ‘turn off’ message until you see the Apple logo start up screen.
I have the same problem, the resetting idea didnt work. Any other ideas?
I’m afraid my iPhone isn’t capable of using VoiceOver so I can’t make any other suggestions. Have you checked the Apple Support forums to see if others can offer a solution?
how do you scroll in voice over mode i cant turn it off
How do you scroll RIGHT in a textbox that’s only 1 line high, such as the google search box? If you nudge the right edge of the box, it MIGHT scroll to the right a tiny bit, very slowly. Then your finger hits the deletion-x, and you lose all your text.
Johny, it looks as though ‘carefully’ might be the answer.
I just tried typing a very long bunch of text in the Google search box and then scrolling left and right. Each time I was able to scroll right with success.
I was unable to cause the problem you describe of hitting the deletion-x.
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