Touch: tap, swipe, and beyond
Here are some of the ways you can interact with the Surface touchscreen.
When we say
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How to do it
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What it does
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Tap |
Tap once on something.
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Opens what you tap.
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Press and hold |
Press and hold your finger down for a few seconds.
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Shows options related to what you’re doing (like right-clicking with a mouse).
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Slide |
Drag your finger across the screen.
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Scrolls through what’s on the screen.
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Pinch or stretch |
Pinch your thumb and forefinger together or move them apart.
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Zooms in or out of a website, map, or picture.
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Rotate |
Put two or more fingers on an item and then turn your hand.
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Rotates things (if something can be rotated).
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Swipe to select |
Slide an item a short distance, opposite to how the page scrolls. (For example, if the screen scrolls left to right, slide the item up or down.) A quick, short movement works best.
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Selects an item, like an app tile or photo.
Do this at the top or bottom of an app window to show app commands.
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Slide to rearrange |
Tap and drag an item to a new location, and then let go.
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Moves an item. To try this, see Customize the Start screen.
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Swipe from edge |
Swipe in from the edge of the screen.
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Swiping in from the… Right edge: Opens the charms.Left edge: snaps apps, or shows open apps. Top or bottom edge: Shows app commands, like Save, Edit, and Delete.
Top edge: Closes apps. See Start and close apps. |
Copy and paste using touch
To select text using touch, tap a word then drag the circles at each end of the highlighted text to extend the selection. To copy the text, tap and hold the highlighted text until a box appears, then release your finger and tap Copy (you can also press Ctrl+C to copy and Ctrl+V to paste).
Tips
- The trackpad included on Touch Cover and Type Cover supports some touch gestures. For info about this, see Trackpad: A built-in mouse.
- You can use a capacitive pen (sold separately) with Surface RT. Surface Pro includes a digital pen. For info about using the digital pen, see Use the Surface Pen.
- To provide better support, did this solution solve your problem?
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