I Made A Better Way To Scroll In Windows. Here’s The Script.

This book changed really I usage Windows. (And yes, I "vibe-coded" it.)

I’ve sewage a amended measurement to scroll connected Windows — especially connected ample monitors. This instantly boosted my productivity and fixed a awesome annoyance I had pinch Windows 11. And you tin effort it yourself successful conscionable a fewer seconds.

This isn’t conscionable a emblematic tech article astir Windows. This is 1 that offers a amended measurement to usage Windows. It’s not an existing instrumentality that you will find elsewhere, successful different words — it’s a caller measurement to usage nan Windows desktop you tin instal correct now, written conscionable for this column.

I’ll beryllium honest: I made this book for me, first and foremost. I’ll beryllium utilizing this book for years to come. But I deliberation it’s amazing, and I dream you’ll get usage retired of it, too.

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Here’s nan issue: Windows 11’s scrolling strategy is beautiful bad. Microsoft shrunk nan scroll bars from past Windows versions. The larger your monitor, nan much annoying those mini scroll bars are. If you move your rodent cursor to nan correct separator of nan screen, you’re grabbing nan model separator — not nan mini scroll bar. You person to cautiously position your rodent cursor complete those small scroll bars.

And sure, you could simply rotation nan instrumentality connected your rodent instead, but that’s excessively slow for scrolling longer distances. You could middle-click and move nan mouse, too, but that feels awkward. Or you could purpose astatine those scroll bars and wonderment why nan targets are truthful small.

While reasoning complete really annoying this each is, I realized nan measurement nan scroll instrumentality should work. And truthful I built a script.

Meet ‘Grab to Scroll,’ a transformative AutoHotkey script

The consequence is an incredibly elemental book for AutoHotkey, a free Windows automation framework. It’s called Grab to Scroll. You tin download it here.

You’ll conscionable request to instal nan halfway AutoHotkey 2.0 programme first; you past double-click nan book to tally it. That’s all.

Here’s really it works:

• Position your rodent cursor anyplace complete a model — Chrome, Slack, Excel, aliases immoderate unfastened program.
• Click and clasp nan mediate rodent button. (That’s usually nan rodent instrumentality itself.)
• Move nan rodent up, down, left, aliases correct — not nan scroll wheel, but nan rodent itself.
• The book translates your rodent movements into quick, precise scrolling.
• Release nan mediate rodent fastener erstwhile you’re done.

That’s a batch of words to picture thing truthful elemental that it instantly feels for illustration how mice should activity successful Windows successful nan first place.

Here’s really Grab to Scroll looks successful action — but it’s a batch smoother, of course.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Because of really this works, nan book takes complete your middle-mouse button. That intends middle-clicking won’t activity successful nan accustomed measurement while it’s running. I’ve built successful a bypass: When you clasp down nan Ctrl cardinal and middle-click, nan book will nonstop a normal middle-click action. That way, you tin clasp Ctrl and middle-click to adjacent browser tabs, for example.

Want to extremity utilizing it altogether? Just find nan greenish AutoHotkey icon successful your strategy tray, right-click it, and prime “Exit.”

To extremity moving nan script, adjacent AutoHotkey from your strategy tray.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

I’ve built successful a fewer preferences you tin good tune, if you for illustration — conscionable successful lawsuit nan scrolling feels excessively accelerated aliases slow pinch your peculiar PC and mouse.

It’s beautiful self-explanatory: You conscionable request to alteration nan numbers connected a fewer lines and prevention nan book file. It includes comments that explicate really to tweak it. You tin usage Notepad, Notepad++, aliases your matter editor of prime to alteration its settings. (Then, beryllium judge to right-click nan greenish AutoHotkey icon successful your strategy tray and prime “Reload Script.)

The joyousness of ‘vibe-coding’

I could person written this myself if I put superior clip into it. But I didn’t. I utilized generative AI (genAI).

The reality is that I’m a writer, not a programmer. I wrote each azygous connection successful this article myself. But I didn’t constitute nan book by hand.

Given immoderate time, I astir apt could person taught myself really to put this book together. But I didn’t person to do that.

Instead, I “vibe-coded” this Grab to Scroll script. That’s a caller word for describing a problem you person and a solution you want and having an genAI instrumentality put together nan codification for you. It wasn’t a one-shot solution: The instrumentality sewage it incorrect astatine first, and location was immoderate backmost and forth. 

The captious penetration was knowing really I wanted scrolling connected Windows to work. That was each me, not genAI. I came up pinch a imagination — 1 truthful convenient that it seems evident to maine successful retrospect. But pinch genAI handling nan grunt work, I was capable to quickly propulsion together a book that useful truthful shockingly good I’m penning it up for Computerworld the aforesaid day.

The full process — from “Windows 11’s scrolling judge is annoying connected a large monitor, really tin I hole this?” to a moving book that transforms scrolling everyplace successful Windows and implements a imagination that came from my ain encephalon — took little than an hour. And now I’m sharing it pinch you.

The cool point isn’t conscionable this script. It’s that you tin besides now tweak it to activity successful immoderate measurement you want. You tin return nan book I created to a chatbot for illustration ChatGPT, copy-paste it in, and inquire for your ain civilization changes. You tin travel this aforesaid benignant of process to create another script that makes Windows activity nan measurement you want it to, moreover if you’re not a programmer.

To me, “vibe-coding” is simply a spot of a agelong astatine nan infinitesimal — particularly if you don’t person anterior programming experience. But “vibe-scripting” — throwing together lightweight problem-solving solutions for illustration this? That’s good wrong reach.

At my erstwhile home, How-To Geek, we utilized to stock AutoHotkey scripts — elemental small things that abnormal nan Caps Lock key, for example. Now you tin build that type of point — immoderate you for illustration — pinch plain English. No digging done archiving necessary!

In short, if you’re irritated astir thing successful Windows, you mightiness beryllium capable to hole it yourself pinch a akin process.

AI’s brain-augmenting abilities

This is 2 articles successful one, but they’re nan aforesaid article. Grab to Scroll is an awesome book that I will beryllium utilizing for years to come. And it’s 1 I dream different group will love, too. I dream group transcript it and this type of point spreads acold and wide.

But, again, I utilized genAI to make it each happen. That matters because it shows what’s imaginable erstwhile you deliberation astir genAI nan correct way. You tin usage these devices arsenic an accelerator for your brain. You tin trial an thought successful seconds erstwhile it usually would person taken hours of investigation to find retired conscionable really to constitute nan script.

Sure, you can use AI to unopen disconnected your encephalon and debar reasoning entirely, for amended aliases worse. But you tin besides usage it to accelerate your encephalon — to beryllium much creative, to get much done, to trial and research much things. Grab to Scroll is conscionable 1 illustration of what’s now wrong your reach.

The measurement genAI devices are advertised is often boring — different email summarizer, different customer work chatbot that isn’t peculiarly helpful, and truthful on. But you tin usage nan devices to do truthful overmuch more.

To get started, revisit our erstwhile chat astir the concealed to utilizing generative AI effectively. But also, I dream you bask Grab to Scroll. Scrolling now feels truthful overmuch amended connected my large monitor! And of people it does: I custom-designed nan perfect solution that useful specifically for me.