Navigating in the S60 Browser

Pointer navigation

The S60 Browser has a by default a virtual pointer. The pointer moves smoothly around the page, eliminating jerky page scrolling and excess page updating. The advantage of a mouse pointer is that it is more versatile than tabbed navigation and the pointer responds to JavaScript mouse events. For example, the following Web page has a hover event which is activated by the location of the pointer.

Figure: Good use of pointer navigation

Tabbed navigation

Using the HTML <meta> tag, content developers can switch the S60 Browser into what is called “tabbed” navigation mode. In this mode, the virtual pointer is not displayed and instead mobile device users move between active elements such as links, buttons, form elements, etc. using the direction keys. The browser gives the elements "focus" as a visual indication of what will be activated by selecting the softkeys. Using the navigation key, the user can navigate from element-to-element.

Tabbed navigation is useful for list-focused Web pages such as simple menus, directory listings, or forms. For example, tabbed navigation would help mobile device users quickly select an item from the following list rather than having to navigate a mouse to the correct link.

Tabbed navigation is not recommended when elements are laid out in a complex pattern. The tabbed algorithm can sometimes make it difficult or even impossible to give items focus if they are laid out in a non-linear manner.

Figure: Good use of tabbed navigation

To use tabbed navigation

The S60 Browser uses a virtual pointer by default. To use tabbed navigation, set the <meta> tag to <meta name="navigation" content="tabbed">.

<head>
<meta name="navigation" content="tabbed">
</head>

Improving navigation for list-focused Web pages

Another alternative for improving the user experience on list-focused Web pages is to create links that expand the width of the page. Expanding the link makes it easier for mobile device users to navigate to using a pointer or select when using their finger on a touch device.

For example, the following graphic shows a list of links displayed using <a> (anchor) elements on the left and using <div> elements on the right.

This is the anchor used for the screen shot on the left.

<a href="http://www.news.com/articles/weather/1234.html">Hurricane and Tropical Storms</a><br/>

To expand the link as illustrated in the screen shot on the right, replace the anchor with the following <div>.

<div onclick="javascript:window.location.assign('http://www.news.com/articles/sports/index.html')" onmouseover="highlight(this)" onmouseout="unhighlight(this)">Sports</div>

Here is the JavaScript code used in the <div>.

function highlight(elm){
     elm.style.color="#551A8B";
     elm.style.backgroundColor="#BCED91";
}
function unhightligh(elm){
     elm.style.color="blue";
     elm.style.backgroundColor="";
}
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