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I am confused about 'All the way' usage. Please tell me am I using right or not.

Sentence 1:

Now, If you need to open the notification panel, you need to swipe down all the way from the top.

Sentence 2:

Now, If you need to open the notification panel, you need to swipe down from the top.

Which one should I use?

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    "All the way from the top" would mean "from the top to the bottom" (of the screen, in this case). If that is what you want to say, you are using it correctly.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 12 at 9:03
  • Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.
    – Community Bot
    Commented Oct 12 at 10:21
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    All the way from the top is somewhat ambiguous. It’s perhaps likely to be interpreted to mean “From the top all the way to the bottom,” but it could also be understood to mean “From the very top [and downward to some unspecified extent].”
    – Paul Tanenbaum
    Commented Oct 12 at 21:10
  • all the way down from the top.
    – Lambie
    Commented Oct 13 at 17:08

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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With all the way, your finger needs to go to the bottom of the box. Without that, the finger may stop at some points. The choice depends on the requirements of the program.

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  • I want to swipe down a little bit from the top to open the notification panel, I think I should use the sentence 2. right
    – Ami123
    Commented Oct 12 at 9:14
  • @Ami123, If the program requires just that to open the notification panel, yes, it would be the second sentence.
    – Seowjooheng Singapore
    Commented Oct 12 at 9:18
  • Thanks. Appreciate it.
    – Ami123
    Commented Oct 12 at 9:19
  • I would add that down focusses more on direction, whereas all the way focusses more on distance. You would say swipe down if it looked possible that people would try to swipe upwards. You would say all the way if people had the direction right but were not swiping far enough.
    – Peter Kirkpatrick
    Commented Oct 12 at 12:59
  • Thanks, @Peter Kirkpatrick. The examples already mention from the top. I think people are unlikely to try to swipe upwards.
    – Seowjooheng Singapore
    Commented Oct 12 at 13:12
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swipe down all the way from the top is ambiguous.

If you want to instruct someone to begin the downward swipe at the top of the screen:

Swipe down from the very top of the screen.

If you want to instruct someone to end the downard swipe at the bottom of the screen:

Swipe down to the very bottom of the screen.

The former could be expressed alternatively as starting all the way at the top and the latter as ending all the way at the bottom. But "all the way at" is in a rather "talky" and imprecise mode.

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