GNU bug report logs - #3956
Scroll bar thumb changes size when scrolling on macOS

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Message #5 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: "Otto Maddox" <ottomaddox <at> fastmail.fm>
To: emacs-pretest-bug <at> gnu.org
Subject: 23.1.50; Scrolling ugliness
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:18:50 +0100

When scrolling up and down by using the keyboard, or dragging the scroll
bar thumb, the thumb will noticeably change size. This is ugly and very
distracting. Worse, trying to use the scroll wheel results in motion
which is jagged, unpredictable and ridiculously sensitive, and usually
overshoots so badly that it's completely useless.

In GNU Emacs 23.1.50.2 (i386-apple-darwin9.6.0, NS apple-appkit-949.43)
 of 2009-07-28
Windowing system distributor `Apple', version 10.3.949
configured using `configure  '--with-ns''


-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - Same, same, but different...

Message #12 received at 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Kangas <stefan <at> marxist.se>
To: "Otto Maddox" <ottomaddox <at> fastmail.fm>
Cc: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.1.50; Scrolling ugliness
Date: Sat, 02 Nov 2019 06:56:31 +0100

retitle 3956 Scroll bar thumb changes size when scrolling on macOS
found 3956 27.0.50
thanks

"Otto Maddox" <ottomaddox <at> fastmail.fm> writes:

> When scrolling up and down by using the keyboard, or dragging the scroll
> bar thumb, the thumb will noticeably change size. This is ugly and very
> distracting.

I can verify this still happens on macOS using current master.

> Worse, trying to use the scroll wheel results in motion which is
> jagged, unpredictable and ridiculously sensitive, and usually
> overshoots so badly that it's completely useless.

I think this has since been fixed.

Best regards,
Stefan Kangas

Message #21 received at 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
To: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Happens on Windows too
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2021 23:40:48 +0300

Height of the scrollbar thumb changes while scrolling on Windows too.

Message #24 received at 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#3956: Happens on Windows too
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2021 09:06:05 +0300

> From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2021 23:40:48 +0300
> 
> Height of the scrollbar thumb changes while scrolling on Windows too.

That's how the scroll-bar thumb was designed to work in Emacs.

Message #27 received at 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#3956: Happens on Windows too
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2021 23:35:43 +0300

On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 9:06 AM Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> wrote:
>
> > From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
> > Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2021 23:40:48 +0300
> >
> > Height of the scrollbar thumb changes while scrolling on Windows too.
>
> That's how the scroll-bar thumb was designed to work in Emacs.

By height changing I mean the tallness of the thumb, not its position
on the scrollbar. My display resolution is 1920 x 1080. If I start
Emacs with emacs -Q, click the maximize window button in the top right
corner, and go to the tutorial by pressing C-h t. The scrollbar thumb
is now 24 pixels tall. Now if I press C-v to scroll down, the
scrollbar thumb grows to be 42 pixels tall.

Is it actually meant to work this way? GTK+ Emacs on my Debian machine
does not change the size of the scrollbar thumb as I scroll.

Message #30 received at 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#3956: Happens on Windows too
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2021 05:23:13 +0300

> From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2021 23:35:43 +0300
> Cc: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
> 
> On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 9:06 AM Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> wrote:
> >
> > > From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
> > > Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2021 23:40:48 +0300
> > >
> > > Height of the scrollbar thumb changes while scrolling on Windows too.
> >
> > That's how the scroll-bar thumb was designed to work in Emacs.
> 
> By height changing I mean the tallness of the thumb, not its position
> on the scrollbar.

Yes, that's what I meant.

> My display resolution is 1920 x 1080. If I start
> Emacs with emacs -Q, click the maximize window button in the top right
> corner, and go to the tutorial by pressing C-h t. The scrollbar thumb
> is now 24 pixels tall. Now if I press C-v to scroll down, the
> scrollbar thumb grows to be 42 pixels tall.
> 
> Is it actually meant to work this way? GTK+ Emacs on my Debian machine
> does not change the size of the scrollbar thumb as I scroll.

The thumb reflects the size in characters, not in screen lines, so it
cannot be constant as you scroll, especially if lines in the buffer
differ a lot in their length.

Message #33 received at 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>,
 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#3956: Scroll bar thumb changes size when scrolling on macOS
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 13:31:38 +0000

tags 3956 + notabug
close 3956
thanks

Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
>> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2021 23:35:43 +0300
>> Cc: 3956 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 9:06 AM Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > > From: Ville-Markus Yli-Suutala <villemarkus.ylisuutala <at> gmail.com>
>> > > Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2021 23:40:48 +0300
>> > >
>> > > Height of the scrollbar thumb changes while scrolling on Windows too.
>> >
>> > That's how the scroll-bar thumb was designed to work in Emacs.
>>
>> By height changing I mean the tallness of the thumb, not its position
>> on the scrollbar.
>
> Yes, that's what I meant.
>
>> My display resolution is 1920 x 1080. If I start
>> Emacs with emacs -Q, click the maximize window button in the top right
>> corner, and go to the tutorial by pressing C-h t. The scrollbar thumb
>> is now 24 pixels tall. Now if I press C-v to scroll down, the
>> scrollbar thumb grows to be 42 pixels tall.
>>
>> Is it actually meant to work this way? GTK+ Emacs on my Debian machine
>> does not change the size of the scrollbar thumb as I scroll.
>
> The thumb reflects the size in characters, not in screen lines, so it
> cannot be constant as you scroll, especially if lines in the buffer
> differ a lot in their length.

Then I conclude that this works as designed on macOS, and I'm closing
this bug.

(That said, this is an unusual feature, IMHO.)

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