MICROSOFT_PRESS_EBOOK_PROGRAMMING_WINDOWS_8_APPS_WITH_HTML_CSS_AND_JAVASCRIPT_PDF

The Touch Language, Its Translations, and Mouse/Keyboard
Equivalents
On the Windows Developer Center, the rather extensive article on Touch interaction design is helpful for
designers and developers alike. It discusses various ergonomic considerations, has some great diagrams
on the sizes of human fingers, provides clear guidance on the proper size for touch targets given that
human reality, and outlines key design principles such as providing direct feedback for touch interaction
(animation) and having content follow your finger.
Most importantly, the design guidance also describes the Windows 8 Touch Language, which
contains the eight core gestures that are baked into the system and the controls. The table below shows
and describes the gestures and indicates what events appear in the app for them.
Gesture Meaning and Gesture Events Description
One finger touches the screen and lifts up.
Tap for primary action
(commanding); appears as click and
MSGestureTap events on the element.
Tapping on an element invokes its
primary action, typically executing a
command, checking a box, setting a
rating, positioning a cursor, etc.
One finger touches the screen and stays in place.
Press and hold to learn; appears as
contextmenu and MSGestureHold
events on the element.
This touch interaction displays
detailed information or teaching
visuals (for example, a tooltip or
context menu) without a
commitment to an action. Anything
displayed this way should not
prevent users from panning if they
begin sliding their finger.
One or more fingers touch the screen and move in
the same direction.
Slide to pan (can be horizontal or
vertical); appears as scrolling events
as well as a gesture series
(MSGestureStart, MSGestureChange,
MSGestureEnd, possibly with inertial
gesture events signaled by
MSInertiaStart, plus MSPointer*
events).
Slide is used primarily for panning
interactions but can also be used
for moving, drawing, or writing.
Slide can also be used to target
small, densely packed elements by
scrubbing (sliding the finger over
related objects such as radio
buttons).
366