If you have recently switched from a Windows PC to an Apple Mac, the very first time you try to scroll down a long webpage using the trackpad, you will likely end up scrolling in the exact wrong direction.
By default, Apple uses a feature they call “Natural Scrolling.” This means the content on the screen moves in the exact same direction as your fingers on the trackpad. If you push two fingers up toward the screen, the webpage moves up (revealing the bottom of the page). This mirrors how you swipe on an iPhone or an iPad touchscreen.
However, traditional computer mice (and older Windows laptops) use “Reverse Scrolling,” where scrolling the wheel down moves the scrollbar down, revealing the bottom of the page. If Apple’s “Natural” method feels incredibly unnatural to your muscle memory, you can easily invert the setting.
How to Change the Scrolling Direction
You can toggle this behaviour deep within the trackpad and mouse settings.
- Click the Apple Logo in the very top-left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings from the drop-down menu (or System Preferences on older versions of macOS).
- Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Trackpad. (If you are using a physical mouse with a scroll wheel instead of a trackpad, click on Mouse).
- In the main panel on the right, click on the Scroll & Zoom tab at the top.
- You will see a setting labelled Natural scrolling.
- Click the toggle switch next to it to turn it OFF.
The change is instantaneous. You can immediately open a web browser or a long document and test the trackpad. Pushing two fingers down toward the keyboard will now pull the webpage downward, behaving exactly like a traditional Windows computer.
The Problem with Using Both a Mouse and a Trackpad
There is a frustrating quirk in macOS that you must be aware of if you use a MacBook but occasionally plug in a physical USB mouse (like a Logitech or Razer mouse).
macOS inextricably links the scrolling direction of the Trackpad and the Mouse. If you go into the Trackpad settings and turn “Natural Scrolling” OFF, it also turns it off for the physical Mouse.
Most users prefer “Natural Scrolling” when using the glass trackpad with their fingers, but absolutely hate it when using a physical scroll wheel on a plastic mouse. Unfortunately, Apple does not allow you to separate these two settings natively. If you want the trackpad to scroll one way, and the physical mouse to scroll the other way, you will be forced to download a third-party application (such as “Mac Mouse Fix” or “Scroll Reverser”) to override the operating system.