Channel view: Tab Bar Unresponsive to Up/Down Swipes

[GfEW]

Checklist

(fullfilled)

• I am able to reproduce the bug with the latest version given here: CLICK THIS LINK.
• I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - which I could contribute my information to.
• I have read the FAQ and my problem isn't listed.
• I have taken the time to fill in all the required details. I understand that the bug report will be dismissed otherwise.
• This issue contains only one bug.
• I have read and understood the contribution guidelines.

Affected version

0.27.2 (also present in previous versions)

Steps to reproduce the bug

1. On a small to medium size phone screen, open any channel in landscape mode
2. Swipe up/down at various places and see what happens.

Expected behavior

The entire sliding screen contents (i. e. everything except notification bar and navigation bar, if any) should respond to swipes and slide up/down accordingly.

Actual behavior

If you happen to start the vertical swipe at the tab bar, the expected vertical sliding of screen contents does not happen.

Screenshots/Screen recordings

Screen recording of swipes performed at various places:

Screenrecording20241001_203044.mp4

The grey overlays indicate areas that are unresponsive to vertical swipes. Whilst the top one is there for good reason (it doesn't slide up/down), there should be no such unresponsive spot in the middle of the lower part (which entirely does slide up/down):

Logs

No response

Affected Android/Custom ROM version

Android 9 to 11 (no other versions tested)

Affected device model

diverse

Additional information

Since the red header at its full size uses a large portion of landscape screen estate, it often needs to be collapsed or re-expanded. The tab bar at the lower fringe of the header tends to feel like a natural "handle" for doing so.

It's a shame that's exactly the part that does not respond to vertical swipes at all, which easily leads to a high failure rate in swipe attempts. These swipes only get successful if repeated elsewhere.

The user should not need to pay attention to such peculiarities.

[opusforlife2]

Other apps have such tab bars too. Does swiping on them work for scrolling, or is this unique to Newpipe?

[GfEW]

I can't remember having encountered any such tab bar inside a swipe-collapsible header (or drawer) in the 200+ other apps I'm familiar with.

Could you give an example of an app that I could check?

[opusforlife2]

It doesn't have to be exactly like Newpipe's setup. Just having a tab bar and being swipe-able there would do. I don't think tab bars would be swipe-able in any other app. It would make it too easy to swipe when the user intends to switch tabs.

[GfEW]

The vast majority of tab bars I have in mind is either

• stationary, or
• only collapsible/expansible by means unrelated to the sliding animation (like in browsers going full screen).
  I guess that's to keep things simple, because if a tab bar slides in accord with a vertical swipe close by, that swipe is naturally perceived as "moving the tab bar", and it becomes disturbing if it fails to react.

Other than NewPipe, I've yet to find an exeption to this rule.

However, there's a related challenge in messengers if you want vertical swipes to scroll the messages list while also using horizontal swipes to answer (or forward/delete/younameit) the touched message.

In various widespread implementations, that challenge is accepted by reacting to both, vertical or horizontal swipes, each for its distinct meaning.

[opusforlife2]

In various widespread implementations, that challenge is accepted by reacting to both, vertical or horizontal swipes, each for its distinct meaning.

That is indeed the case. Personally, I would still prefer the current implementation:

• There's plenty of valid space that accepts the swipe gesture.
• There's zero chance of accidentally swiping vertically when intending to switch or swipe between tabs.
• And learning not to swipe from the tab bar is a comparatively tiny effort in terms of getting used to the app.

[sosasees]

we could make the tab bar respond to vertical swipes if it detects that it can't be scrolled horizontally.
this makes the tab bar simple to scroll without making it unresponsive if all of it can be seen at once