Multiple documents on mobile screen that are long

Question

So assuming one has an application where they can read multiple documents that are of sort of group, and they are multiple pages whats the the pros and cons of different way to navigate?

Rather than design by other examples I am trying to evaluate what is the best idea.

For this example lets say I have a list of 32 NFL teams: you select a team and can read multiple documents that can be one page or multiple pages long. How would I have them navigate?

1. Have the user swipe left and right for next and previous documents. Would need a visual indicator that you can swipe for the next document. If the document is long just have excessive scrolling.

2. Have on screen pagination where long documents are swiped left and right to go through each page. Have the user scroll down or up for the previous or next document.

3. Have on screen pagination where long documents are swiped left and right to go through each page. Have the user click buttons on the top that say next document.

Any input. I'll throw up some balsamiq sketches if I didnt explain the 3 visions I had. But, more importantly are there any other ideas I am not thinking of?

Answer 1

Vertical scrolling is the "natural" way to see additional content in the same document. Making horizontal swipe go to another page in the same document would be confusing for most users.

Perhaps the most straightforward option is to use nested lists. First the user chooses a team, then the user chooses a document, and finally the user sees the viewer. Vertical scrolling would change pages of the existing document. Optionally, you could still use horizontal swipe to switch between documents.

Other options to consider:

• Navigation drawer

  

• Dropdown menu or spinner navigation from the menu bar at the top of the app.