Tap once. To open an application on the Home screen, choose a field (such as a search box), choose an item in a list, use an arrow to move back or forward one screen, or follow an online link, tap the item once with your finger.

       Tap twice. Use this method to enlarge or reduce the display of a web page (see Chapter 12 for more on using the Safari web browser) or to zoom in or out in the Maps app.

       Pinch. As an alternative to the tap-twice method, you can pinch your fingers together or move them apart on the screen (see Figure 2-3) when you’re looking at photos, maps, web pages, or email messages to quickly reduce or enlarge them, respectively. This method allows you to grow or contract the screen to a variety of sizes rather than a fixed size, as with the double-tap method. Use a three-finger tap to zoom your screen even larger or use multitasking gestures to swipe with four or five fingers. This method is handy if you have vision challenges. Go to Chapter 10 to discover how to turn on this feature using Accessibility settings.

       Drag to scroll (known as swiping). When you touch your finger to the screen and drag to the right or left, the screen moves (see Figure 2-4). Swiping to the left on the Home screen, for example, moves you to the next Home screen. Swiping up while reading an online newspaper moves you down the page; swiping down moves you back up the page.

       Flick. To scroll more quickly on a page, quickly flick your finger on the screen in the direction you want to move.

       Tap the status bar. To move quickly to the top of a list, a web page, or an email message, tap the status bar at the top of the iPhone screen. (For some sites, you have to tap twice to get this to work.)

       Press and hold down. If you’re using Notes or Mail or any other application that lets you select text, or if you’re on a web page, pressing and holding down on text selects a word and displays editing tools that you can use to select, cut, or copy and paste the text.