Share via

Touch

  • Article

A version of this page is also available for

Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3

4/8/2010

User input is the means by which the user communicates with a device. The OEM determines the specific combination of input devices that are supported by the Windows Mobile device. Different devices support different input devices. For example, some devices support a touch screen for text entry, instead of a keyboard. Other platforms might include handwriting recognition software in place of or in addition to a keyboard.

Windows Mobile devices support touch screens. Users can touch the screen with either a stylus or their fingers. Touch is used to move to new screens, interact with common controls, and input text by using an on–screen keyboard or handwriting recognition.

A stylus is recommended (for a resistive display device) when the display screen is smaller than the minimum size shown in this table:

Screen Type Resolution Logical DPI Minimum Size Recommended Size

QVGA

320 X 240 or 240 X 320

96

2.8

3.2

WQVGA

400 X 240 or 240 X 400

96

3.2

3.6

320 Square

320 X 320

128

2.3

2.7

480 Square

480 X 480

192

2.3

2.7

HVGA

480 X 320 or 320 X 480

128

3.0

3.4

VGA

640 X 480 or 480 X 640

192

2.8

3.2

WVGA

800 X 480 or 480 X 800

192

3.2

3.6

FWVGA

854 X 480 or 480 X 854

192

3.4

3.8

There are two kinds of touch events recognized in Windows Mobile. The first is a standard touch event in which you use your finger or stylus to select, drag, or manipulate an object on the screen. Examples of this are typing by using a Software-based Input Panel, clicking a link, opening an e-mail by selecting it, or scrolling by using a scrollbar. The second kind of touch event is a gesture. Specific, short, directional motions with the finger or stylus, called touch gestures, are mapped to different kinds of behavior such as pan, and select and hold.**

The stylus or finger generates an input event when the user touches the screen. To an application, touch input is a subset of mouse input. When the user presses and releases the stylus on the screen, the application processes these events as a click of the left mouse button. When the user moves the stylus across the screen, the application processes this action as a movement of a mouse.

In This Section

  • Using Gestures in Windows Mobile 6.5
    Provides a description of the Touch Screen Gesture programming elements.
  • User Interface
    Provides information on the ways that a user can interact with a Windows Mobile device and its applications.
  • Mouse
    Provides information about support for mouse input in Windows Mobile.