M1 Max Monterey Finder scroll issue

Removing the PLIST file of Finder is just clearing up the preferences settings of your Finder. When you reopen Finder, a default PLIST file will automatically be recreated again. At that time, the horizontal scrolling function in the column view of your Finder will perform properly.

Here's how to clean up the corrupted Finder PLIST file on your Mac:

• Open Finder and select the Go option at the top menu bar > Go to Folder.
• Enter ~/Library/ in the Go to the folder box and click Go to access the Library folder.
• Find and open the Preferences folder from the Library folder.
• Look through all the .plist files and find the 'com.apple.finder.plist' file. Then, select and drag it to Trash.
• Choose the Apple menu > Log Out to exit your Mac.
• Log back into your Mac.

You can go to Finder and check if the horizontally scrolling action brings back this time.

Found this solution for Monterey:

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.

Ended up here because of this problem. I work in my files a LOT so this is really disruptive to my day. It doesn't help that Dropbox has eliminated their desktop client app, so I am forced to use Finder to navigate through thousands of files. The only "solution" I've had is to hurriedly click back on the folder in the left column while I am browsing. If this has been a problem for almost six months, how has this not properly been addressed?

Edit: after some googling and experimenting, I've discovered a correlation. This has apparently been an issue in past releases, and it has had to do with the USB ports. Recently I had seen an improvement in this, but then it became prominent again the last several days. I realized that my laptop was plugged into the charger, so I unplugged it to see if it made a difference. It did. No springing behavior at all.

System Preferences > Accessibility > Pointer Control > Mouse & Trackpad > Mouse Options > Turn on scrolling WITHOUT inertia (make sure the Scrolling box is checked). It seems to fix the bounce back issue when you select files in the Finder. I don't have an M1, but was still having the same exceptionally frustrating issue.

I wrote:

"System Preferences > Mouse > turning swipe between pages off, then back on seems to fix the issue at least temporarily."

The problem hasn't returned for two days, a few shutdowns and restarts and the update to macOS Monterey 12.4 and the Studio Display update.

BTW, I didn't mention that I'm using a Magic Mouse.

Both "jump to the deepest level" and "horizontal inertia" issues seem to be solved in 12.2.

Finally!

Yes I too can confirm the update (MacOS Monterey 12.3) fixes the problem (for me).

For me this seems (finally) fixed in the macOS 12.5 update! (Update released on 20 July 2022.)

This has been a problem for me in macOS Monterey as well.

It's still occurring on a two-day-old BTO Mac Studio with 12.3.1.

System Preferences > Mouse > turning swipe between pages off, then back on seems to fix the issue at least temporarily.

In Books, swipe between pages works whether that setting is on in System Preferences or not.

In Safari, swipe between pages (previous screens) works only if that setting is on in System Preferences.

It just occurred to me that this might have something to do with the cursor jumping to the bottom left of the display. See this thread:

Cursor jumps to bottom left corner of dis… - Apple Community

Another thread suggested System Preferences > Accessibility > Zoom > Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom > Uncheck. This may have worked for me with the cursor jumping to the bottom left of the display. And testing just now, I don't see the jumping to the enclosing folder in Finder columns.

I deleted the 'com.apple.finder.plist' and solved the problem.

[Link Edited by Moderator]

Yup, Update to 12.5 seems to have fixed this for me as well. Hopefully it'll stay that way!

@Mxoff - and you restarted your Mac after you made the change? I didn't because it immediately worked but I read somewhere else a restart worked.

Another fix I found was resetting Finder which made me wonder what Finder had to do with this flickering.....but maybe worth a try?

So make a backup first of the two .plist files and then do this:

From your Finder "Go" menu > "Go to folder" and enter

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Click Go.

Delete the plist file.

Then do the same for com.apple.sidebarlists.plist

Then, restart, or log out and in again.

I recommend the restart because I find a restart fixes som many things.

BTW did a restart in Safe Mode produce the same flickering?

I really do hope this one works for you.

Hi All,

I spoke too soon: only horizontal inertia in column view is solved in Monterey 12.2.

Unfortunately, "unexpected jump to the deepest level" bug is still present.

It feels like a QuickLook issue to me: it's as if the document preview was triggered, sending the focus to the rightmost element displayed in the Finder Window, not caring if the actual user has scrolled left.

When we scroll, no matter what happens in the window (if a file finished copying or duplicating, if a Quicklook rendering is being processed, if a folder name is being typed, whatever), the view has to stick to the scrolled area, and not "jump" somewhere else.

An OS process is interfering, taking precedence over a user action, and this should not happen. OS processes must remain in the background, and not take the focus.

Just like a plane pilot lands manually, and not on autopilot. Manual controls should be in the front of the interface, always.