Multigestures

Multigestures are input gestures that involve two or more fingers or touch points simultaneously to perform a single action. They are common on touchscreens, trackpads, and other touch-sensitive devices, enabling direct manipulation of on-screen content beyond single-finger taps.

Common examples include pinch-to-zoom, where two fingers move together or apart to scale content; rotate, where fingers pivot to rotate an image; and two-finger pan or two-finger scrolling to move content. Some platforms reserve three- or four-finger gestures for system actions such as switching apps or invoking task views.

Implementation usually relies on platform-provided gesture recognition APIs. Operating systems collect multi-point input from sensors and translate it into discrete gestures that apps can handle. Developers may combine primitive gestures or create custom multigesture patterns while optimizing for responsiveness and accuracy.

Challenges and accessibility considerations include gesture conflicts, learning curves for users, and the need for alternatives for those with motor impairments. Applications should offer discoverability, clear feedback, and the ability to disable gestures or provide keyboard or voice controls as fallbacks.

Applications of multigestures span maps and photo editing, document viewing, 3D design, and general user-interface navigation, contributing to fluid, intuitive interactions across devices.