Scroll Reverser brings Lion, iOS reverse scrolling to Snow Leopard
One of the more surprising features of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion has been the change to reverse scrolling. With reverse scrolling, your hand actually moves up to scroll down a page. This is contrary to the common method of scrolling that is used in most major operating systems, where the hand moves down to scroll down. Reverse scrolling is used on iOS devices, where it feels very natural -- it's like you're moving a piece of paper up and down in a frame to reveal the content on it.
While reverse scrolling can be turned off in Lion through System Preferences, many developers who are beginning to work with the Lion developer preview find that they prefer this very iOS-like way of interfacing with their Macs. Those developers are at a disadvantage when they switch back to earlier versions of Mac OS X -- they basically have to remember what OS they're working with and make a mental switch to the proper scrolling direction. Now, developer Nick Moore has created a small utility to reverse the scrolling on Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6.
Scroll Reverser (free) adds a menu bar item allowing the direction of scrolling to be toggled. That's perfect for developers who want to keep their Macs as Lion-like as possible, but would like the ability to go back to the tried-and-true direct scroll when necessary.
If you aren't a developer and would like to get a taste of what reverse scrolling feels like, download the utility and give it a try.
[via Mac OS X Daily]
Share
One of the more surprising features of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion has been the change to reverse scrolling. With reverse scrolling, your hand...
Add a Comment
I like it! Makes me want to have a "pull to refresh" option in chrome...
May 08 2011 at 9:12 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI've been using BetterTouchTool for this because switching back and
forth between my Lion and Snow Leopard partitions was getting
confusing :D
Not to geek out, but the reason why it's more natural to use a reverse scrolling scheme is exactly that, more natural. In order for you to look down, the muscles push forward by loosening. In order for you to look up, the muscles pull back by tightening. Therefore it's more natural to use an inverted scheme.
April 14 2011 at 5:56 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIt keeps crapping out on me. While it does feel more natural, after every few swipes, scrolling just won't work until I manually move the scrollbar with my mouse.
April 14 2011 at 3:53 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIf you use an iPad for any length of time, this will feel really natural. Apple is bringing scrolling into unison with iOS, where you actually move the _document_ with your fingers, rather than moving a viewport sliding over the document. It makes sense, it's just tricky to get used to.
It does take a bit to really switch your habits, but the process is hindered greatly by having to switch your brain back and forth when you're split between two machines, and only one has Lion. This utility will help immensely.
HA! I am on my work laptop (Windows) right now. Meant to scroll up to the top, and ended up at the bottom. Looks like my brain already adjusted.
(off to look for the similar for windows)
Smart Scroll also does this with inertial scrolling
April 14 2011 at 3:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySurprisingly easy to get used to.
April 14 2011 at 3:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyBetterTouchTool, also free, can do this and a lot more, including custom actions for all kinds of multitouch gestures. Worth a look. Personally I think MagicPrefs (again free) is the best of the bunch due to its support for the Magic Mouse, but it doesn't support scroll inversion.
April 14 2011 at 3:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAlso, going back and forth in Safari with three finger swipe should by this definition also be reversed. I want to go back a page, I grab the current page and swipe it right to reveal the previous page.
April 14 2011 at 3:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThat's great for you right handers, but for me (left hander) it's great. By the way, you can choose what you want three finger swipes to do with BetterTouchTool. One of the best apps I've used on my Mac.
April 14 2011 at 4:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyyou can also reverse the scroll functionality with BetterTouchTool, no need to download this app if you are already running it!
April 14 2011 at 5:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyDeals of the Day
more deals- Used Apple Magic Mouse for $36 + $4 s&h
- Apple TV Media Receiver for $90 + free shipping
- 9-Piece iPhone Bundle, includes 1,900mAh battery for $8 + free shipping
- Skullcandy Riot Earbud Headphones for $10 + free shipping
- Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard for $40 + $8 s&h
- Refurb Mac Pro Xeon Quad-Core 2.8GHz Workstation for $1,150 + $38 s&h, more
Software Updates
more updatesFeatured Stories
more stories
Popular Stories
TUAW (or The Unofficial Apple Weblog) is a website devoted to tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.
19 Comments