alt Hacker News> scrolling: used by games, maps, image viewers
Out of curiosity, does anyone like the way Google Maps hijacks scrolling? I use a trackpad. When I scroll, I'd want it to pan around on the map, not zoom in and out (which always feels awful as a scroll action and never stops where I want it to).
Click-drag to pan doesn't feel nice.
It doesn't really matter anymore, since 99% of maps use is on mobile now, but this was always a small pain point to me in the past.
Replies
drfloyd51 • today at 3:32 AM
I never liked it either.
Panning by swiping feels so natural. That it breaks on a trackpad feels like a major oversight.
If you mean you prefer pinch/spread for zoom-out/in, I prefer the status quo with trackpad 2-finger scroll for zooming.
Pinching/spreading with index and middle finger feels unergonomic. Using my thumb on the trackpad would also feel unnatural, as would putting my 2 index fingers on the trackpad.
2 finger scroll is something you can "fling" such that the zooming motion continues even as your fingers have been lifted off the trackpad. Trying to "fling" a spread-out motion with your index and middle finger is an awkward motion, and of course in a pinching motion, your fingers would just crash into each other, so you'd have to lift before they crash. Pretty awkward.
On the phone, I often prefer tap then drag up/down (i.e. touch, lift, touch, slide) to zoom in/out with a single finger. It allows me to "fling" the zooming motion so it continues after I've lifted my finger. It makes a phone's interface behave like a trackpad's scrolling-zoom.