How did I thumb-scroll by letter in Contacts?!
 

A short while ago I was scrolling through my massive list of contacts (in the default Contacts app) using the thumb wheel. Normally I don't do this since it takes too long to get to the part of the alphabet I want. At some point in the process, a small box popped up containing a single letter, and as I turned the thumb wheel the letter changed. When I pressed the wheel the app went to that letter in my contact list much as if I had clicked one of the letters in the index at the top of the screen.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how I made that happen and can't reproduce it. Any theories out there?

I had it happen once too, can't figure out how to reproduce it.

did you try just holding in the scroll button?

Just opens the "right click" menu.

I believe that the answer may be that you were not using the scroll wheel, but you were using the 5way D-pad. If you hold it either down or up, and let it scroll from contacts starting with one letter to another, it will switch to the letter-scrolling box. Releasing it at the letter you want takes you to the first contact starting with that letter. This appears to be a function of the standard WM contacts application.

I have done this with the D-Pad as stated above, wish there was a way to do it with the scroll wheel also.

yeah the way i do it, is i just either push the D-pad down/up real fast and it pops up, the same with the thumbwheel. I just scroll it up real fast and it comes up

I know this doesn't answer your question but try PocketCM - it's a much better contacts app than the stock one. I'm sure there are plenty of others that people recommend but PocketCM is the coolest that I've seen by far. Plus it's really easy to find the contact you're looking for.

well i tried that and it was a big no go.

I've tried PocketCM and it just isn't for me.