How to Configure Scroll Bars in macOS and OS X

Personalize the appearance of your scroll bars

By
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson
Writer

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

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Updated on February 25, 2021

What to Know

  • Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences > General > Show Scroll Bars. Check Always, When Scrolling, or Automatically.
  • In the Click in the scroll bar to area, select Jump to the next page or Jump to the spot that's clicked.
  • Adjust the scrolling speed: Go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad/Mouse Options. Move the slider.

This article explains how to configure the scroll bars on a Mac with OS X Lion or later OS X and macOS versions. Set preferences to make scroll bars appear at all times and control the scrolling speed of your mouse or trackpad.

How to Configure Scroll Bars in OS X and macOS

Set up your scroll bars to meet your own personal preferences.

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.

    The System Preferences command under the Apple menu

  2. In the System Preferences window, choose the General icon near the upper left corner.

    General in Mac System Preferences

  3. Locate the Show Scroll Bars area. You have three options:

    • Automatically based on mouse or trackpad: Scroll bars appear only when the cursor is in the scroll bar area or when you start scrolling.
    • When Scrolling: Scroll bars show up only when you start scrolling on your mouse or trackpad.
    • Always: Scroll bars are always visible.
    Scroll bar visibility settings in macOS

  4. The second section, Click in the scroll bar to, has two options:

    • Jump to the next page: Clicking in the scroll bar moves to the next or previous page of the document or page you're on, depending on whether you click below or above the scroll box.
    • Jump to the spot that's clicked: The scroll box will move to wherever your cursor is.
    Scroll bar clicking options in macOS

  5. Exit System Preferences. Your new scroll bar configurations are set.

    These settings will apply across all your Mac applications.

Control Your Scrolling Speed

Apple also makes it easy to adjust the scrolling speed of your mouse or trackpad.

In macOS Catalina

The interface is a little different with Catalina than earlier macOS and OS X versions.

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.

    The System Preferences command under the Apple menu

  2. From the System Preferences window, select Accessibility.

    Accessibility in macOS System Preferences

  3. In the left sidebar, select Pointer Control.

    Pointer Control in macOS Accessibility settings

  4. Select Trackpad Options or Mouse Options.

    The "Trackpad Options" and "Mouse Options" buttons

  5. Use the slider to adjust scrolling speed.

    Scrolling speed options in macOS

  6. Close System Preferences.

In OS X Lion Through Mojave

  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.

  2. From the System Preferences window, select Accessibility.

  3. In the left sidebar, select Mouse & Trackpad.

    The Mouse & Trackpad heading

  4. To adjust your mouse or trackpad's double-click speed, adjust the slider.

    The Double-click speed slider

  5. To adjust your mouse or trackpad's scrolling speed, select the Trackpad Options or Mouse Options button.

    Mouse Options

  6. In the screen that appears, use the slider to adjust the scrolling speed of your device and then select OK.

    Enable or disable scrolling for your mouse or trackpad via the checkbox.

    Screenshot of adjusting scrolling speed options.

  7. Close out of the Accessibility window. You've set your new preferences.

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