macOS Monterey finder spring back horizontal scrolling

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

!!!POSSIBLE FIX!!!

Okay, this had frustrated the **** out of me for weeks, but has suddenly been resolved (at least for now). After @marhoh posted his workaround, I tried it and it didn't work. All it accomplished was messing with how the files showed up in folder and did nothing about the spring-back issue. I forgot about it until this morning, when I realized I hadn't put my file sorting back to the way it was. I did that and the spring-back issue is GONE!!!

I can't guarantee this will work for you, but, from what I remember, this is what I did:

1. With Finder selected, go to the menu bar and choose "View."
2. If "Use Groups" is checked, uncheck it.
3. Before moving to the next step, choose any folder you have on your drive, as long as it allows you to open multiple subfolders so that you can test the spring-back effect. It may do it one more time, but should stop after that.
4. As an added measure, go to to View -> Sort By and choose "Name."
5. Now go to View -> Sort By and choose "Kind."

I have been testing the fix for the past 15 minutes and no more spring-back effect! However, if I check "Use Groups" again, the spring-back comes back and I have to go back through those steps. No idea why this worked for me, nor do I care. Still hoping Apple does a proper fix of it, but, for now, I'm happy.

Good luck!

This problem had been driving me nuts (like so many others).

So, I searched and found this thread. I'm using a 2020 M1 Macbook Pro that is on 12.2.1 The Finder issue did not go away with this update upon my first Finder tests. I rebooted, tried all of the "tricks" mentioned. Nothing worked.

Just now I decided to go into Preferences and Delete the Finder .plist file (In the Finder menu, Select Go > Go to Folder and enter ~/Library then tap the return key. Look for the Preferences folder then within the folder, look for this file com.apple.finder.plist. Now you can save a copy off to another folder then delete it or delete it straight away (you can always just reset your Finder Prefs again). Once I did this (and didn't even restart my Laptop but I did Relaunch the Finder window (hit the Command-Option-esc keys at the same time to bring up the Force Quit Applications window. Select Finder in the menu and tap on the Relaunch button).

All is well now! No jumping Finder Columns. Such a relief! I'm hoping it lasts...

Good Luck all!

I had the same problem and found this fix for Monterey. I know it is Finder that is flickering but bear with me:

System Preferences -> Accessibility -> Select Pointer control -> select Trackpad Options button -> ensure Scrolling without inertia is selected and select OK.

You are returned to the Pointer Control Mouse & Trackpad screen.

Now select Mouse Options -> ensure Scrolling without inertia is selected and select OK.

Hope this helps everyone!

System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Mouse & Trackpad > Mouse Options > Turn on scrolling WITHOUT inertia (make sure Scrolling is still checked). It seems to fix the bounce back issue when you select files in the Finder.

YES!! it is fixed in macOS 12.5 latest update. Also during my fight with the problem and trying to be "creative" I discovered that double clicking with the mouse on top of the window will expand it horizontally. Even though the problem is now fixed, I am still double clicking on top of the window and I have a better, nicer, wider view.

Hide preview worked perfect! Finder - Show view options - Show icon preview -OFF

I found the same "spring back" problem a few months ago, sometime after upgrading to OS 11...along with a few other minor but nagging and stupid flaws, and *one simple temporary solution:

• After moving, copying, renaming, aliasing, or changing tags for files within the same Finder window of a USB drive, the Finder starts getting screwey. I get the 'processing' icon or whatever it's called (small circle of radiating lines, not the "beach ball") and it may or may not recover. This does not happen in other Finder windows currently up...until I build up a workload in them.
• Finder starts failing to display contents of my USB drives (making me think I've lost gigabytes of data), with my data drive sometimes crashing and deleting the shortcuts in my sidebar. It may take a few Finder restarts or even a Computer reboot to clear it up and get back to normal.
• Finder starts bogging down and eventually crashes...if I don't restart it myself.

*I have found one way to clear these up, and possibly other Finder flaws: 'launder' the Finder window. When the window starts bogging down, I click on my internal OS drive for a few seconds, and then use the back button to go back where I was in the USB drive, and everything is peachy keen...for an indeterminate time.

Perhaps other solutions described here temporarily clear up whatever processing errors are building up...though with more effort. I'd like to hear why these work.

Also, when pasting into TextEdit, a huge block of blank text appears in from of the pasted text. It's like a giant tab, and is deleted by one keystroke...but I switched back to an older version of TextEdit to avoid it. (There's an entry on this elsewhere in Apple Discussions.) Also, sometimes the keystroke for copy does not work, and I must use a right click. This especially happens with web text, especially with MS web apps. I don't know if 'laundering' Finder helps this.

And I hate that aliases don't display icons any more, since maybe OS 10.10. This has ruined years of cross-referencing thousands of images.

I also have catastrophic problems in my third-party Graphic Converter...which they fix with an update...until Apple makes another update.

None of these have been fixed in later upgrades, even to OS 12. Come on, Apple, I've been with you since my beige 1996 G3, and you had me in 1993 with a Classic Mac...

[ Late-2014 Mac mini, OS 11 to 12.1. Desktops will never die. ]

Oh my god!!! Yes! I was just about to downgrade back to Big Sur. The 12.2 update resolved the spring-back issue!!!

You know what, Apple? All you would have had to do is respond on here somewhere and say, "Hang on, everyone! We acknowledge the issue and we're working on it. We'll update you soon." That might have been enough to pacify a few people. The dead silence just enrages everyone. Thanks for that.

The latest update is 12.5 not 12.4 and yes it does fix the problem, at least on macOS.

oh wow. 12.5 fixed it. Thanks a lot. Funny Monterey did not notify me that there is a new update. If the external monitor issue is fixed too? I will see.

I have gone back to Big Sur, 10 times better and quicker than Monterey.

I first backed up all my data, then installed Catalina. Wow, my 2015 MacBook Pro was super quick, had it on or half a day, but most of the newer apps I run needed MacOS 11 or later. So decided to just upgrade Catalina to Big Sur and see what happens.

My MacBook is still quick, no lag or unresponsiveness. My Apple Watch 3 unlocks my MacBook again, have no issues with music to my 2 stereo HomePods. No Finder spring back issues. I don't have any of the issues I had in Monterey. Will stick with Big Sur until the replacement of Monterey comes out in Oct/Nov.

O yes, Monterey also kept sending me notifications that my home hub is not responding, none of that in Big Sur or on my iPhone 13 Pro.

PS! Sorry Kevin, meant to post to main discussion and not reply on your post

If anyone wants to now how I went back to Catalina/Big Sur:

Go to this page from Apple.

How to create a bootable installer for macOS

https://support.apple.com/en-za/HT201372

Downloaded Catalina and created a bootable USB. Backed up all my data, wasn't much as I already did it in early December.

I then booted with USB, chose Disk Utility from the menu. Wiped the whole hard drive, created new partition, formatted with APFS encrypted, go out of Disk Utility and install Catalina. If you want to go straight to Big Sur, just create a Big Sur bootable USB. After installation I configured my MacBook and installed apps as if it was the first time setting up my MacBook from the box.

If anyone wants to now how I went back to Catalina/Big Sur:

Go to this page from Apple.

How to create a bootable installer for macOS

https://support.apple.com/en-za/HT201372

Downloaded Catalina and created a bootable USB. Backed up all my data, wasn't much as I already did it in early December.

I then booted with USB, chose Disk Utility from the menu. Wiped the whole hard drive, created new partition, formatted with APFS encrypted, go out of Disk Utility and install Catalina. If you want to go straight to Big Sur, just create a Big Sur bootable USB. After installation I configured my MacBook and installed apps as if it was the first time setting up my MacBook from the box.

Hmmm... don't count your chickens before they're hatched, but it *seems* to me that the issue is gone with macOS Monterey 12.3 that was released tonight, March 14th.

My column view Finder window *finally* seems stable, and stops jumping erratically to the far right.

Anyone confirms this?