Disabling horizontal scrolling

I couldn't agree with you more. Horizontal scrolling is idiotic, and no, Apple no longer lets you turn it off.

Before 10.5.5 you could turn it off in System Preferences, but no longer. And iLife '09 forces you to use 10.5.6 if you want the benefit of iLife '09's features--even if you absolutely hate horizontal scrolling and don't want 10.5.6.

For me, if I wanted to move off the left margin in a program, I'd go into System Preference and enable it, you know? It's worst in Excel 2004 (and no, I don't prefer going back and forth between Office and Numbers to be compatible with PC heads). Apple, just give us back the choice to turn it off!

If you agree, make your voice heard here ( http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html).

And while you're at it, ask them to allow users to disable "font resizing" in Safari and other programs if we want.

Apple's tried to say that font resizing in Safari on the Mac using pinch and zoom gestures is just like the iPhone, but it's not! It's annoying, happens anytime you leave your thumb on the trackpad and isn't something most people want to use as often as minor accidental inputs call it into action.

This forced migration to horizontal scrolling, lame font resizing zooms and loud trackpad clicks on the new Macs have for the first time in 10 years shaken my confidence in the direction Apple is heading. I don't want to be forced into self-consciousness or "thumb policing" in the way Apple seems to want to force all users.

A sad day! Though if you like those things, cool. I just want the ability to turn them off because they don't work for me.

The only way I know to do that is to make your windows wider. There are ways to change the number of arrows, but not to eliminate the horizontal scrollbar. Do note that making the window smaller in height doesn't eliminate the vertical one.

System Preferences>Mouse & Keyboard>Choose Mouse Tab
Choose the drop down menu next to Scrolling & pick Vertical Scrolling Only.
I'm on 10.5.6. Unless Macbooks don't have this function...I am on a desktop.
If that's the case disregard this post.
Message was edited by: Joe Salafia

I'm pretty sure that's only in 10.5.4 (and perhaps 10.5.3). It's no longer an option in 10.5.5 or 10.5.6. Apple took that away from MacBook users. At least that's what I'm seeing. No drop down menu next to Scrolling.

There's a new Trackpad System Preference panel and there's no way to turn it off or the font-resizing when using pinch or zoom gestures.

Any other suggestions? Perhaps a simple terminal fix on a MacBook (though I'm not really so adept at using that).

I would love any help in correcting the issue. It feels like an oversight or mistake in direction on Apple's part to suddenly take that option away from people. Sure, they want all Macs to roughly work the same, but that's pretty heavily imposing on the rest of us who dislike the "right wandering" mouse or get their work interrupted by such accidental inputs. That just sounds like Microsoft more than Mac to me.

Message was edited by: andintroducing

Not so. I see it with 10.5.6, but that's with a Mighty Mouse on the iMac. I don't see it on the G4 w/a Pro mouse. Whether or not it's there with a laptop is up in the air for me.

Try this in the Terminal, it might work:

*defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleHIDMouse ScrollH 0*

Use ScrollH 1 to turn it back on.

So in terminal you just type exactly what's written below and hit return (minus the first > and space)?

*defaults write com.apple.driver.AppleHIDMouse ScrollH 0*

Use ScrollH 1 to turn it back on.

Do others think that might work? (Just don't like to muck too much with terminal unless a few people are behind it.)

Thanks for popping in and providing the solution. I don't see horizontal scrollbars because the windows are always wide enough, so didn't track your solution down.

Correct. Try it, that's what shows up my iMac plist file, which has all the scrollbar options.

That's probably correct. I don't have a laptop to test with.