Tap the empty wheel    to enable hamster-powered scrolling    then swipe the screen up or down to start scrolling in the required direction.

To temporarily pause scrolling, tap the screen. Scrolling remains paused until the screen is swiped up or down to restart scrolling.

Additionally, activate the Scroll Control Panel by holding the settings button    on the navigation toolbar.

The Scroll Control Panel provides on-screen buttons to control the scroll direction and speed. The following actions are available:

1. Tap the direction buttons     to start scrolling in the required direction and tap again to pause.
2. Tap the speed buttons     to increase or decrease the scrolling speed.
3. Hold the direction buttons to scroll a single page at a time.
4. Hold the speed buttons to rapidly change the scrolling speed.
5. Dismiss the Scroll Control Panel and display the navigation toolbar by tapping the close button . Return to the Scroll Control Panel by holding the settings button    on the navigation toolbar.

The navigation toolbar is located at the bottom of the screen and automatically hides after scrolling by a set amount.

To show the toolbar if it is hidden, perform either of the following actions:

1. Swipe down on the web page.
2. Tap near the bottom of the screen.

Manually hide the toolbar by tapping between any of the buttons.

Tap the settings button    to customise your hamster behaviour and set other HamsterBrow options. (See: ‘HamsterBrow Settings’)

In Swipe-to-run mode, hold the settings button to activate the Scroll Control Panel. (See: ‘Swipe-to-run mode: Scroll Control Panel’)

Tap the share button   to send the current web page details to another app, copy or print the page.

Request the desktop version of the page by tapping the ‘Request Desktop Site’    button.

If the current page is an offline website snapshot or offline file, tap the ‘Request Live Site’  button to load the online page.

Access your saved bookmarks, website history and offline files by tapping on the bookmarks button  .

Tap the add button  to bookmark the current page or save the current page to offline files. (Requires HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade)

Tap the Edit button to re-order bookmarks and offline files or delete bookmarks, offline files and history entries. The top-most bookmark entry can be set to load automatically when opening a new tab. (See: ‘HamsterBrow Settings: Websites’)

Alternatively, delete an entry by swiping it from the edge.

The tabs button    displays the number of currently open tabs. Tap the tabs button to view previews of all open tabs. The following actions are available:

1. Tap the add tab button  to open a new tab. Choose what opens in a new tab by selecting the ‘New tab’ setting. (See ‘HamsterBrow Settings: Websites’)
2. Tap the add private tab button  to open a new private tab. Any websites visited in a private tab will not appear in your history and any cached data is cleared when all private tabs are closed.
3. Close a tab by tapping the close button  in the top left of the tab preview.

To open a link from a webpage in a new tab, hold the link and select ‘Open in new tab’ from the context menu that appears.

Alternatively, drag a link onto the tabs button. (iOS 11 only)

Choose what tabs to open when HamsterBrow launches by selecting the ‘Launch page’ setting. (See: ‘HamsterBrow Settings: Websites’)

Set the hamster-powered scrolling mode. 

Tilt-to-run mode enables scrolling to be controlled without touching the screen, for example, when wearing gloves or with wet hands. It also allows single-handed operation even when holding larger devices.

Swipe-to-run mode enables scrolling to be started with a swipe and stopped with a tap, which can be used when taking notes or reading music for example. It allows hands free operation once scrolling has commenced. Additionally, the Scroll Control Panel can be activated to allow skimming through websites page by page and direct control of scrolling using the on-screen buttons. 

Swipe-to-run mode with the Scroll Control Panel is recommended for Switch Control users.

Change the hamster’s running speed to modify the page scrolling rate. 

In Tilt-to-run mode, the running speed affects the overall range of scrolling speeds available when tilting the device. For example, an increased running speed will result in both a faster minimum and maximum scrolling speed when tilted.

In Swipe-to-run mode, the running speed directly controls the scrolling speed when the device is swiped. This can also be modified during scrolling by using the Scroll Control Panel. (See: ‘Swipe-to-run mode: Scroll Control Panel)

These options are only applicable in Tilt-to-run mode.

• ‘Reverse tilt’ controls the direction of scrolling when the device is tilted. The default setting is disabled, which scrolls the page down when the device is tilted backwards and up when the device is tilted forwards. Enable the setting to reverse these directions.

• ‘Detect device down’ pauses scrolling when the device is placed down. Scrolling continues after the device is picked up and tilted. The default setting is enabled.

• ‘Shake-to-activate’ enables scrolling to be enabled and disabled by quickly flicking or twisting your wrist. This allows the scrolling state to be changed without touching the screen. The default setting is disabled.

• ‘Hold screen to reset’ enables the reading angle to be reset to the current device angle by holding the screen for approximately 1 second. This allows quick adjustments to changes in your reading position. The default setting is disabled.

• Enable ‘Audio alert’ to receive audible feedback when scrolling reaches the ends of the webpage. ‘Use hamster sound’ determines whether the audio alert uses a hamster sound or the default alert sound. The audio feedback is enabled by default.

• Enable ‘Haptic alert’ to receive physical feedback when scrolling reaches the ends of the webpage. This is device dependent and enabled by default on applicable devices. It is also recommended for VoiceOver users.

A cursor can be enabled to indicate the position of taps and swipes on the screen. This allows visibility of the screen interaction during presentations when AirPlay Mirroring the display for example.

• Enable ‘Show cursor’ to make the cursor visible on-screen. ‘Use hamster cursor’ determines whether the cursor uses a hamster icon  or the default finger icon. ‘Reverse cursor direction’ can be enabled to flip the cursor image for left-handed operation. The cursor is enabled by default.

• ‘Launch page’ determines what tabs to open when HamsterBrow launches. The options are:
  • ‘New Tab’: opens a single new tab. Set the ‘New tab’ website setting to choose what to open in the new tab.
  • ‘Last Tab’: opens the active tab from the previous HamsterBrow session.
  • ‘All Previous Tabs’: opens all the tabs from the previous HamsterBrow session.

• ‘New tab’ determines what to open when a new tab is added or opened when HamsterBrow launches. The options are:
  • ‘Blank Page’: opens an empty page.
  • ‘Top Bookmark’: opens the top-most bookmark in the bookmarks list. (See: ‘Navigation Toolbar: Bookmarks button’)
  • ‘Bookmarks List’: opens the list of saved bookmarks.

• ‘Search engine’ determines where search requests entered in the address bar are sent.

• ‘Clear website data’ allows all cookies and cached data to be removed. History entries can be cleared from the history list accessed from the bookmarks button. (See: ‘Navigation Toolbar: Bookmarks button’). Data from private tabs is cleared automatically when all private tabs are closed.

These options are only available after the HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade has been unlocked.

• ‘Pet’ controls the pet icon to display in the wheel, the audio feedback sound and on-screen cursor icon.  
• ‘Device Sync’ controls the syncing of bookmarks, history and offline files lists between devices via iCloud. The following options are available:
  • ‘iCloud Sync’ enables syncing of selected lists between the device and any other devices with the setting enabled which are logged in with the same iCloud account.
  • ‘Check iCloud Settings’ allows the device iCloud Settings to be viewed and updated as necessary. Ensure HamsterBrow is allowed to store data in iCloud to allow syncing.
  • ‘Lists to sync’ allows bookmarks, history and offline files lists to be individually enabled for syncing.
  • ‘Offline file downloads: Download automatically’ can be enabled to allow offline file entries synced from other devices to start downloading on the device automatically. If the setting is disabled, the offline file can be manually downloaded by selecting the entry from the offline files list, which is accessed from the bookmarks button. (See: ‘Offline Files: Saving files’)
• ‘Unlock HamsterBrow Pro/HamsterBrow Pro Info’ allows the HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade to be purchased from the iTunes Store or reviewed.

Other support resources for HamsterBrow are available alongside this guide.

• ‘Display hamster hints’ enables quick hints and tips to pop up when certain actions are performed for the first time. ‘Mute hamster hints’ can be enabled to mute the audible hamster speak during the popups. 
• ‘Reset hamster hints’ allows all previously shown hamster hints to be shown again the next time the actions are performed.
• ‘User Guide & FAQ’ links to the online user guide and FAQ.
• ‘Show Welcome Tour’ allows the welcome videos to be replayed.
• ‘Restore HamsterBrow Pro’ allows the HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade to be unlocked if it has already been purchased.

The ability to save offline files and website snapshots is only available after the HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade has been unlocked. The saved files and websites can be viewed without an active internet connection.

The currently open website or file can be saved by tapping the add button  below the offline files list , which can be accessed from bookmarks  . (See: ‘Navigation Toolbar: Bookmarks button’)

Additionally, a link can be saved directly from the open webpage by holding the link and selecting ‘Save to offline files’ from the context menu that appears.

The new entry will show with a status of ‘Processing’ while it is being downloaded. Please ensure HamsterBrow remains active while the download is processing. If there are multiple download requests, they will show with a status of ‘Queued’ and pause while waiting for the remaining requests to complete.

Offline files synced from other devices will start downloading automatically when the ‘Offline file downloads: Download automatically’ setting is enabled. If this setting is disabled, the entry will show in the offline files list with a status of ‘Tap to download’ and downloading can be started by manually tapping on the entry.

Once an offline file download has completed, the entry in the offline files list will update to show the relevant icon depending on the document type and the title will no longer show the download status.

Tap the entry to open the offline file in the current tab. The address bar will show the offline file title with a document icon to indicate that the page is offline. To load the live website, hold the page and select ‘Request live site’ from the context menu that appears.

Items including text, images and links may be dragged from HamsterBrow and dropped into other apps. To drag an item from a webpage, first disable hamster-powered scrolling by tapping the wheel button  if it is enabled.

Additionally, items may be dropped into HamsterBrow from other apps, either onto the address bar to open in the current tab, or onto the tabs button  to open in a new tab.

To enable selection of items including text, images and links from a webpage, first disable hamster-powered scrolling by tapping the wheel button  if it is enabled.

In addition to the back  and forward  buttons on the navigation toolbar, you may also swipe from the left and right screen edges to navigate backwards and forwards between webpages.

Tapping on the status bar will scroll the webpage directly to the top.

There could be several reasons, so please check these in order:

1. Determine if hamster-powered scrolling is enabled as indicated by a hamster within the wheel. If not, tap the wheel to show the hamster and enable scrolling.
2. Determine if Tilt-to-run mode is set by checking the ‘Running Behaviour’ option within settings. Change this if required and tap ‘Save’ to apply the setting.
3. Reset the reading angle to the current device angle by tapping the wheel button once to disable scrolling and again to enable and set the angle. This is the angle where scrolling is paused and tilting away from this angle in either direction causes the page to scroll. A reading angle slightly tilted back from vertical is recommended.
4. Ensure that you are tilting the device backwards and forwards, i.e. the top of the screen should be moving towards and away from you.

By default, the webpage will scroll down when the device is tilted backwards and scroll up when the device is tilted forwards. If you would prefer the opposite directions, enable the ‘Reverse tilt’ option in settings and tap ‘Save to apply.

The reading angle is the device angle where scrolling is paused. Tilting away from this angle in either direction controls the amount of scrolling. If it hasn’t been set correctly, then this will affect the scrolling speed.

First try resetting the reading angle to the current device angle:

1. Hold the device at a comfortable reading angle. An angle slightly tilted back from vertical is recommended.
2. Tap the wheel button once to disable scrolling  and again to enable scrolling  and reset the reading angle.
3. Tilt the device backwards and forwards to scroll.

If the scrolling speed is still incorrect, you can fine tune the speed by modifying your hamster’s ‘Running Speed’ in settings .

The navigation toolbar at the bottom of the screen and the status bar at the top of the screen automatically hide when scrolling by a set amount. Tap near the bottom of the screen or swipe down on the webpage to show them. 

On certain devices, the status bar is only displayed in portrait orientation.

The Scroll Control Panel can be used to control scrolling in Swipe-to-run mode only, so first ensure that the ‘Swipe-to-run’ mode running behaviour is enabled in settings.

If the Scroll Control Panel was hidden by tapping on the close button , it can be reactivated by holding the settings button  on the navigation toolbar.

Copying or dragging (iOS 11 only) text, images or links from a webpage requires hamster-powered scrolling to be disabled. Tap the wheel button so that it is empty  before copying or dragging items from the page.

Additionally, the offline website snapshots are image based, so in order to copy items, hold the page and select ‘Request live site’ from the context menu that appears before proceeding.

Check if the page being viewed is an offline file, indicated by a document icon in the address bar. The offline website snapshots are image based, so in order to access links, hold the page and select ‘Request live site’ from the context menu that appears before proceeding.

Several advanced HamsterBrowsing features are only unlocked after purchasing the HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade. These are:

1. Offline Files: Save documents, images and webpages for offline hamster-powered viewing.
2. iCloud Sync: Sync bookmarks, history and offline files between your devices.
3. Choose a pet: Power the browser with a cat, dog, chicken, dinosaur, llamacorn and more.

The HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade page is displayed whenever any of these features are accessed or the settings are changed. Please consider supporting all the hard-working hamsters out there by purchasing the upgrade from settings. Otherwise, please continue to enjoy all the core functionality of HamsterBrow.

Numerous document and image file types are supported, including PDF’s, Word, Pages, Excel, Numbers, PowerPoint, Keynote, bitmap, jpeg, tiff, png and animated gifs. 

In addition, image based snapshots of entire webpages can be saved to allow an exact copy of the page to be viewed offline, with images and formatting intact.

Of course. Although the hamster is extremely well trained, if you still have an aversion to the hamster then the audio alerts, cursors, haptic feedback and hamster hints can all be disabled in settings. Alternatively, unlock the HamsterBrow Pro Upgrade and choose a different pet! 

If your question hasn’t been answered in the user guide, welcome tour or by the hamster hints, please send an email to HamsterBrow Support and the Hamster Supervisor will get back to you as soon as they can.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, that would be great! Please send an email to HamsterBrow Feedback.