IT for Donuts: three iPad gestures you might not know

IT for Donuts: three iPad gestures you might not know

IT for Donuts is our regular Friday feature where we explain a tech term or answer a question about business IT.

This week, discover three new ways to control your iPad through gestures.

The power of gestures

When you’re using an iPad (or any other touch screen device, for that matter), a gesture is just a fancy name for a movement you can make on the screen to control the device.

For instance, if you use an iPad, you’ll be familiar with swiping a finger to move between the different pages of your home screen.

You might find these three gestures particularly helpful when moving between apps or back to your home screen. The numbers correspond to the diagrams above.

1. Swipe up with four fingers

No matter what app you’re using, touching your iPad’s screen with four fingers and then sliding them up will show all the apps you have open.

They’ll appear in view which scrolls left and right. Swipe with a finger to move through them. To close an app, swipe up.

2. Swipe left or right with four fingers

This is a super-fast way to jump from one app to another. Instead of hitting the home button and then tapping the app you want, swipe left with four fingers.

Your iPad will jump to the app you were using previously. Swipe left again to go back another app. To get back to where you started, just swipe right.

3. Spread your fingers and thumb

Once you’ve learnt this gesture, you’ll never need to use your iPad’s home button again.

To jump back to your iPad home screen, just touch the screen with the four fingers and thumb of your hand. Then spread them out. Your home screen will appear.

Which gestures do you use most on your iPad? Do you find the touchscreen more natural than using a keyboard and mouse?

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