Computers, Laptops & Tablets Apple How to Configure Scroll Bars in macOS and OS X Personalize the appearance of your scroll bars by 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. our editorial process Facebook Twitter Tom Nelson Updated on February 25, 2021 Tweet Share Email Apple Macs iPad What to Know Go to Apple menu > 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.Speed: Go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Trackpad/Mouse Options. Use the slider to adjust scrolling speed. This article explains how to configure the scroll bars on your Mac running OS X Lion and 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. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences. In the System Preferences window, choose the General icon near the upper left corner. 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. 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. 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. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences. From the System Preferences window, select Accessibility. In the left sidebar, select Pointer Control. Select Trackpad Options or Mouse Options. Use the slider to adjust scrolling speed. Close System Preferences. In OS X Lion Through Mojave From the Apple menu, select System Preferences. From the System Preferences window, select Accessibility. In the left sidebar, select Mouse & Trackpad. To adjust your mouse or trackpad's double-click speed, adjust the slider. To adjust your mouse or trackpad's scrolling speed, select the Trackpad Options or Mouse Options button. 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. Close out of the Accessibility window. You've set your new preferences. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit