[Future Request] Alphabet on sidebar scroll

[Headfritz 8]

I have a large movie library and the other day I need to scroll down to "Z" it was a royal pain to do so, even with the scroll bar, it's a pain. It would be nice if when you want to scroll down fast the alphabet would show on the side and then one could pick the letter one wants and then zip there. It's really a no brainer to add this feature, it's on the web side, the iOS app. so why not on the APTV app side? 

[vdatanet 1647]

+1

[Luke 42841]

Yup this is needed. We'll get there.

[Luke 42841]

Hi, scrolling to a specific letter will be in the next update to Emby for Apple TV:

Thanks guys.

[Lutzif3r 1]

Alphabet is supposed to be on the right side though like everything else.

It is on the Android app in portrait view like it should be but doesn't even show in landscape mode.

On Google TV the alphabet is on the wrong side but the Windows app is on the right side like it should be.

[Luke 42841]

34 minutes ago, Lutzif3r said:

Alphabet is supposed to be on the right side though like everything else.

Supposed to? According to who?

[alex77777 49]

23 hours ago, Lutzif3r said:

Alphabet is supposed to be on the right side though like everything else.

It kinda makes more sense to have it to the left

[vdatanet 1647]

23 hours ago, Luke said:

Supposed to? According to who?

It's not just aesthetic — there are solid UX grounds:

1. Scrollbar convention. Vertical navigation always lives on the right edge in left-to-right interfaces. The alphabet index is a vertical navigation tool, so placing it there matches the user's existing mental model.
2. Fitts's Law. Screen edges are "infinite" targets that are easy to hit quickly. The right edge is free, while the left edge would compete with the content.
3. Reading direction. Eye-tracking studies (Nielsen Norman Group's F-pattern) show users anchor their scanning on the left margin, where titles and row beginnings sit. A bar on the left would interfere with that zone and cover the most informative part of the content.
4. Touch ergonomics. Roughly 85–90% of users hold their phone with the right hand, so the right edge falls in the natural "thumb zone" (Steven Hoober's research). That's why Apple has placed the Contacts index on the right since 2007, and apps like Plex and Jellyfin follow suit.

The key confirmation: in RTL interfaces (Arabic, Hebrew) everything flips and the index goes on the left — proving the underlying principle is reading direction, not arbitrary taste. So your choice of the right side is the correct one.