Basic Nexus 7 Touchscreen Operations

By Dan Gookin

Part of the Nexus 7 For Dummies Cheat Sheet

It takes a certain finesse to work the Google Nexus 7 touchscreen. Here are some common operations you can perform using your fingers on your tablet:

Operation	Result
Touch	The simplest way to manipulate the touchscreen is to touch it. You touch an object, an icon, a control, a menu item, or a doodad. The touch operation is similar to a mouse click on a computer. Touch may also be referred to as tap or press.
Double-tap	Touch the screen twice in the same location. Double-tapping can be used to zoom in on an image or a map, but it can also zoom out. Because of the double-tap’s dual nature, use the pinch or spread operation instead when you want to zoom.
Long-press	A long-press occurs when you touch part of the screen and hold your finger down. Depending on what you’re doing, a pop-up menu may appear, or the item you’re long-pressing may get “picked up” so that you can drag (move) it around. The long-press might also be referred to as touch and hold in documentation.
Swipe	To swipe, touch your finger on one spot and then drag it to another spot. Swipes can go up, down, left, or right, which moves the touchscreen content in the direction you swipe your finger. A swipe can be fast or slow. It’s also called a flick or slide.
Pinch	A pinch involves two fingers, which start out separated and then are brought together. You use a pinch to zoom out, reduce the size of an image, or see more of a map.
Spread	The opposite of pinch is spread. You start out with your fingers together and then spread them. The spread is used to zoom in, enlarge an image, or see more detail on a map.
Rotate	A few apps let you rotate an image on the screen by touching the image with two fingers and twisting them around a center point. Think of turning a combination lock on a safe, and you get the rotate operation.