Learn basic gestures to interact with iPad

Control iPad and its apps using a few simple gestures—tap, touch and hold, swipe, scroll, and zoom.

Symbol

Gesture

An icon symbolizing the tap gesture.

Tap. Touch one finger lightly on the screen.

An icon symbolizing the touch and hold gesture.

Touch and hold. Touch and hold items in an app to preview contents and perform quick actions. On the Home Screen, touch and hold an app icon briefly to open a quick actions menu.

An icon symbolizing the swipe gesture.

Swipe. Move one finger across the screen quickly.

An icon symbolizing the scroll gesture.

Scroll. Move one finger across the screen without lifting. For example, in Photos, you can drag a list up or down to see more. Swipe to scroll quickly; touch the screen to stop scrolling.

An icon symbolizing the zoom gesture.

Zoom. Place two fingers on the screen near each other. Spread them apart to zoom in, or move them toward each other to zoom out.

You can also double-tap a photo or webpage to zoom in, and double-tap again to zoom out.

In Maps, double-tap and hold, then drag up to zoom in or drag down to zoom out.

If you’re using Magic Trackpad or Magic Mouse, see Trackpad gestures for iPad or Mouse actions and gestures for iPad for gestures that work on your trackpad or mouse.