placing a single finger on one location on the keyboard sliding the finger to another identifiably different location without losing contact and removing the finger these three features pointer down slide and pointer up can be used by the device to parameterize a sliding input particular mechanisms for distinguished and categorizing certain types of input gestures are well known changing feedback is animated in the process as the user slides their finger along or from the key that they initially contacted 308 the parameters of a slide can be used to determine the type of action taken by the device and the kind of corresponding feedback shown for example a slide with a pointer down at the spacebar can indicate a switch to an adjacent keyboard is a list and a slide starting at a particular letter can indicate a switch to a particular keyboard e g u201c p u201d for pinyin q for qwerty the speed direction or distance of a slide can indicate a scroll position in a window of keyboard options a pointer up event can indicate user selection of an option shown in the window even if the pointer up event is received on a different key than the pointer down event while feedback animation e g a window to indicate the language of the currently selected keyboard and or animated transitions of the labels on the key faces is being shown the rest of the display can be altered the rest of the keyboard or the rest of the device display can darken and fade to black or the keyboard can be closed and the feedback animation can be displayed over an active application a new keyboard is thus presented on the occurrence of a pointer up event 310 the feedback animation can.