[Feature Request] Add Fast Scroll Bar in Image Browsing + Date Overlay While Scrolling (Android)

[athinaok 25]

 

App: Emby for Android (phone/tablet)
Library type: Movies / TV / Photos (images grid view)

Summary

When browsing images (poster/thumbnail grids) in large libraries, it’s hard to jump quickly through the list and to know “where” you are. I’d love:

• A fast scroll bar (thumb/scrollbar on the right edge) for quick navigation in long grids.

• A date overlay “pop-up” while scrolling that shows the item’s Release Date (for movies/episodes) or Date Taken/Created (for photos) as you scrub—similar to how Emby shows context overlays in other views.

Current behavior

• Scrolling a big image grid is linear; no visual index or overlay appears.

• It’s slow to reach older/newer items or to locate titles by timeframe.

Desired behavior

• Fast Scroller: A draggable scrollbar/thumb on the right side of image grids (posters/thumbnails) so users can jump quickly.

• Date Overlay While Scrolling: As the user drags, show a transient overlay (center or top) with:

  For Movies: Release Year (or full date if available)

  For Episodes: Air Date (or Season/Episode + date)

  For Photos: Date Taken

• Overlay fades out after scrolling stops.

Why this helps

• Speed & usability: Large libraries become much easier to navigate.

• Context: The date overlay tells you where you are in time as you scroll.

• Consistency: Matches UX patterns common in media apps and aligns with Emby’s informative overlays in other views.

UX details (suggestions)

• Enable on grid views for Movies, TV, and Photos.

• Overlay size: compact pill or card; auto dark/light based on theme.

• Respect library sort order (e.g., “Release Date descending/ascending”) so the overlay reflects the current sort key.

• Accessibility: ensure the scroller is large enough to grab; support TalkBack by announcing the date while scrubbing.

Steps to reproduce (current)

• Open Emby Android app → Library with many items.

• Switch to image grid/poster view.

• Scroll quickly — no fast scroller or date overlay appears.

Acceptance criteria

• A visible fast scroller appears in long image grids.

• While scrubbing, an overlay displays the appropriate date for the current position.

• Overlay disappears after ~1–2 seconds of inactivity.

• Works with Movies, TV, and Photos libraries and honors the active sort.

Nice to have (optional)

• Toggle in Settings → Display: “Show fast scroller in grids” / “Show date overlay while scrolling.”

• For TV shows, allow overlay to show Season (Year) when sorted that way.

• Haptic tick while scrubbing (optional).

Thanks for considering! Happy to provide logs, a screen recording, or test builds if needed.

[Luke 42077]

Hi, yes this is something we'd like to add. Thanks.