Scrollable area multi-scale viewing

Utilizing a scrollbar handle for both zooming and panning a display comprising items in a user interface may be accomplished by monitoring an input device's interaction with the scrollbar handle. If the scroll handle is dragged in a direction away from an orientation of the scroll handle in the scrollbar, a display area zoom function can be activated. The zoom function allows a viewbox, comprising content, to be rescaled as a function of the distance the scroll handle is dragged. A displaybox can be created that distinguishes an area of the viewbox from the remainder of the display, which corresponds to content in the viewbox that would be displayed in normal zoom if the scroll handle were released at that location. Further, upon detecting that the scroll handle is released, the display area can zoom to a view of the content inside the distinguished area.