Mouse Wheel Behavior on Linux Desktop: Seeking Solutions and Feature Suggestion

[edwinsaunders36]

I think your problem might be how you move your mouse cursor.

If you move it to over sliders and UI components which respond to scroll wheel (all of them do and should do) then you don't scroll their parent window but rather invoke component scroll event.

This behavior is not specific to linux desktops, it works the same way in windows and every UI I had XP with.

When scrolling you need to pay attention not to move or stop mouse cursor over these components.

I didn't realize that windows does it too. i had to go check for myself after i read your post. maybe i'm just noticing it in linux because the linux DEs use these components alot more and they seem bigger, and i'm just not used to having to be that mindful of where my mouse cursor is when i'm scrolling.

Still, it would be nice if there was an option to toggle it on/off for those who struggle with it. Thanks

 

[edwinsaunders36]

Then the only thing I can think of is your mouse having an extra sensitive "mouse wheel click".

Many mouses (if not all of them) have a third button below the wheel. Perhaps yours is registering clicks while you scroll. If you scroll over text, does the text get selected and de-selected randomly? If so, your mouse wheel may be issuing clicks wrongly.

I add myself to @KGIII's question on whether you have tried with another mouse.

I have tried with another mouse, but one thing i didnt realize was that Windows has this behavior as well. I thought it didnt for some reason. it seems i am just noticing it with my switch to linux because of how prevalent the sliders and drop-down menus are and they are bigger, thus requiring me to be more mindful of where my mouse cursor is while I'm scrolling. Thanks

 

[CaffeineAddict]

@edwinsaunders36
I bugs me too but I've gotten into habit of paying attention to cursor.
Simply set mouse cursor into a position where it won't interfere with UI controls, sliders and similar, tipically at the edge of a window because controls are not there.

There are exceptions though, program developers might as well disable scroll events for specific components, mostly if they maintain their own UI toolkit which allows them to have custom control over controls by default.
But mainstream toolkits and API's handle them.

Yes, KDE and GNOME desktops appear to have larger components than Win32 which is why on Windows it's harder to happen because you need to aim your cursor over components if you want this effect.

 

[Alexzee]

I'm using a logitech g pro wired, but i've been using other wireless mice as well. Thhank you for sharing that info.

You're welcome.
All of the wireless logitech mice that I've been using over the years have worked well with Linux.