Mouse wheel in Windows10

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Martin Wynne
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Mouse wheel in Windows10

Unread post by Martin Wynne »

Windows10 users may have noticed that in one of the recent updates Microsoft have changed the mouse wheel behaviour.

Generally this is a Good Thing, except when it isn't. :?

There is a lot of discussion about this on the Windows forums, but as usual it seems to be impossible to find definitive information from Microsoft.

What now happens is that wheel events go to whichever window the mouse happens to be over, regardless of whether that window has focus or whether some other window is showing modal. Except in the case of child windows, where the wheel events now go always to the parent window, and there doesn't seem to be any way for a child window to receive wheel events.

This change doesn't seriously affect H&M -- in Windows10 you can now scroll the topic editor or the TOC behind the modal dialogs, which may occasionally be useful.

But software help docs may need updating, especially if you use the wheel for something other than scroll or zoom. Guess who does that. :(

cheers,

Martin.
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julio
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Re: Mouse wheel in Windows10

Unread post by julio »

Windows updates are just like Kinder Eggs, there is always a surprise inside!
Tim Frost
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Re: Mouse wheel in Windows10

Unread post by Tim Frost »

Do you mean that the default has changed for 'scroll inactive windows when I hover over them' in Settings/Devices/Mouse? Or has this setting been removed?

I am about to install some pending Windows 10 updates so it would be useful to know....
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Martin Wynne
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Re: Mouse wheel in Windows10

Unread post by Martin Wynne »

Tim Frost wrote:Do you mean that the default has changed for 'scroll inactive windows when I hover over them' in Settings/Devices/Mouse? Or has this setting been removed?
Thanks Tim.

I didn't know such a setting existed, and clearly yes, the default has changed to on, or the setting is a new one. I noticed the change in behaviour after a recent update.

However "scroll" is not the correct description of this feature. A window receives the mouse wheel events regardless of whether it uses them to scroll, zoom, or do something else.

When was this setting introduced? I can't find it in Windows7.

cheers,

Martin.
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Tim Green
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Re: Mouse wheel in Windows10

Unread post by Tim Green »

Hi Martin,

I thought this was always the default in Windows 10. I've never consciously set it and mouse wheel scrolling has always worked for the window under the mouse pointer for me.
Regards,
Tim (EC Software Documentation & User Support)

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Martin Wynne
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Re: Mouse wheel in Windows10

Unread post by Martin Wynne »

Tim Green wrote:I thought this was always the default in Windows 10. I've never consciously set it and mouse wheel scrolling has always worked for the window under the mouse pointer for me.
Hi Tim,

I have never consciously set it either, but something definitely changed after a recent Windows update.

Just to be clear, I'm referring to behaviour inside applications such as H&M, not in web browsers. This behaviour has been common in browsers for a long time, to scroll the pane or frame under the mouse. In fact it continues to work in browsers* even if turned off in the Windows settings.

Despite its description in the settings, this setting is not necessarily about scrolling. It is about wheel events, which may or may not be used by the application to scroll. Some windows do not need a scroll function (slippy maps for example) and the wheel can be used for zoom or something else.

*Firefox, Edge. I haven't tried others.

cheers,

Martin.
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