Loading...Reverse Scrolling’ is an interesting feature that Apple added to its recent OS X Lion. Reverse scrolling actually bought the scrolling paradigm used in iOS to the Apple’s Mac range of computers. When you are moving a document down you generally need to move your finger down on the touch pad of a desktop computer. But, in the case of reverse scrolling, or natural scrolling as Apple named it, you can simply move your finger up when you move a document down. This new way of scrolling actually imitates the real-world movement of your fingers when reading a document. Many people liked the new way of scrolling through a document. But, the feature can also be disabled on a Mac by users who do not like the change. Google has also introduced the reverse scrolling feature to its Chrome OS.
Reverse scrolling can also be used in PCs which run on Microsoft’s Windows OS through a small tweak. The steps for bringing the reverse scrolling feature to Windows PCs are elucidated below:
Step 1: The AutoHotKey software should be first installed on your Windows PC. AutoHotKey is an open-source macro-creation and automation software that helps in the automation of repetitive tasks.
Step 2: Launch the AutoHotKey software. A dialogue box will appear prompting you to create a sample script. Click the ‘Yes’ button on the dialogue box.
Step 3: After you click on the ‘Yes’ button, a sample script appears in Notepad. Scroll-reversing script should be installed next. The scroll-reversing script consists of two simple hotkeys. The scroll-reversing script for Windows PCs is available on several file sharing sites on the internet. It can be installed by simply copy pasting the hotkeys on the Notepad.
Step 4: Save the scroll-reversing script by clicking on ‘File’ in Notepad and selecting ‘Save’.
Step 5: Right-click on the AutoHotKey icon and select the option, ‘Reload This Script’.
Once the fifth step in finished move the script to your preferred directory and double-click on it. The script will automatically start running in the background and scrolling on the touch pad or mouse of your Windows PC will be reversed instantly. If you want the script to be run automatically every time your PC is rebooted, you need to just copy the shortcut of AutoHotkey software to your Startup folder. Once activated, reverse scrolling can be disabled only by editing the code out of the script or uninstalling AutoHotKey software totally.
As the script is written by third party developers, there are several limitations to it. Reverse scrolling on Windows PCs using the above given scroll-reversing script is not as smooth as seen on OS X Lion. The elasticity effect found on the Mac systems will also be missing on Windows PCS. It should also be remembered that scrolling using the arrow keys or the touch screen (if your pc is equipped with one) will continue to work like just like before the installation of the scroll-reversing script. The functioning of the touch pad and mouse will only be reversed.