icon Smart Scroll

Troubleshooting


The number one fix is to download and install a new copy of Smart Scroll.


Smart Scroll 4 "Could Not Start (2)" on macOS Mojave 10.14
Stuck progress bar after entering license info
Smart Scroll 4 doesn't start at login

System Preferences on OS X 10.7 closing and reopening
Firefox: scrolling with option key
I can only scroll down (or up), not the other way
I can't get Grab Scroll to work

File Error - Could not complete registration
How do I remove Smart Scroll?
Smart Scroll won't work, it says "Could Not Start"

Smart Scroll 3 only:


Smart Scroll has no effect in Safari 5.1.x or 6
Smart Scroll has no effect in (Application)
iCal's main calendar view doesn't scroll

Firefox scrolling "sticks"
MS Word scrolling isn't reversed
MS Excel scrolling isn't reversed

Magic Mouse scrolling is jumpy
USB Overdrive


Smart Scroll 4 "Could Not Start (2)" on macOS Mojave 10.14

Please download and install the latest version of Smart Scroll.

In System Preferences, go to Security & Privacy, then Privacy, then Accessibility. Smart Scroll should appear in the list on the right.

Toggle the check box next to Smart Scroll off, then back on.

If Smart Scroll is not in the list:

1) In Smart Scroll in System Preferences, click the small arrow near the top right corner, then click "Show Helper Application in Finder".

2) Drag this helper application (green icon) to the Accessibility list in System Preferences. And also to Login items, in Users & Groups.


Stuck progress bar after entering license info / Doesn't start at login

This is likely because of a macOS issue that results in Smart Scroll not properly getting cleared to run on some systems, despite being duly signed. It ends up running "translocated". To fix this, download and run the following small Applescript application:

SmartScrollAllow.zip (60 KB)

Or use Terminal to run the following command (sudo in front is only needed when Smart Scroll is installed for All Users):

sudo xattr -cr [path-to-Smart Scroll.prefpane]

And then in System Preferences, stop and restart Smart Scroll.


System Preferences on OS X 10.7 asks to be closed and reopened to use Smart Scroll

A workaround is to right-click on System Preferences in the Dock and select Show in Finder, then use the Finder's Get Info window to set System Preferences to open in 32-bit mode.


Firefox: scrolling with the option key down moves through the page history

Type about:config in Firefox's address bar, then change mousewheel.withaltkey.action to 0 to disable this, or set it to 2 to scroll history.


I can only scroll down (or up), not the other way

Temporarily turn off Smart Scroll. If the problem continues then it's most likely caused by small debris in the scroll wheel/ball assembly.

The official procedure for cleaning the scroll ball of an Apple Mighty Mouse is given here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302417


I can't get Grab Scroll to work

If you have a mouse (or pen, trackball, etc.) with at least 2 buttons, you can use the 2nd one (or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.) to grab and scroll. This button can still be used for clicking, i.e. if you don't drag the mouse from the moment the button is pressed down until the moment when you release it, that is if you just click the button without moving the mouse, it can be used for any function that requires only a click.

A good example is using the middle mouse button (referred to as button 3 in both the Smart Scroll preference pane and Apple's Keyboard & Mouse) for Grab Scroll. In Safari clicking a link with this button opens the link in a new tab or window. And if you click and drag with that button, you get the Grab Scroll function.

(Not yet in Smart Scroll 4) If you use a pointing device with a single button, then you can click and hold the button without moving the cursor until it changes to a hand, then let go. Then you can click and drag to scroll, as many times as you want, and when you want to stop scrolling and go back to using the button for clicking, just click (or hit any key).

With a single button, you can also use a key combination to trigger Grab Scroll. With the default keys, you can press and hold the shift key and tap the option key to activate Grab Scroll, and then you click and drag with the mouse to scroll the page. The shift key is held down for as long as you want Grab Scroll to remain active, and you can click and drag multiple times during that time. If you hold the option key down again, you get faster scrolling, if you let it go then you get normal speed scrolling. It sounds complicated when described like that, but it's very easy to do.


File Error - Could not complete registration

Use the Finder's Get Info window to check the permissions for the /Library/Preferences folder. It should allow Read & Write for the admin group.


How do I remove Smart Scroll?

Smart Scroll 4: In System Preferences, turn off Smart Scroll. Then from the main view of System Preferences, right-click on the Smart Scroll icon and select Remove the Smart Scroll preference pane.

Smart Scroll 3: Please run the Smart Scroll installer, and click the Remove button. If you don't have the installer anymore, you can download a new one from this site.


Smart Scroll won't work, it says "Could Not Start"

Please download and install the latest version of Smart Scroll you want to use (and then for Smart Scroll 3, restart your Mac).

If there is no progress, perhaps Smart Scroll's preferences are damaged or were migrated from a previous account. Please use the following steps:

Smart Scroll 4:
  1. Run Apple's Disk Utility (in /Applications/Utilities), select your startup disk and click Repair Disk Permissions.
  2. Delete any file with a name starting in com.marcmoini.SmartScrollX from your (account home)/Library/Preferences folder.
  3. Download and install the latest version of Smart Scroll.
Smart Scroll 3:
  1. Run Apple's Disk Utility (in /Applications/Utilities), select your startup disk and click Repair Disk Permissions.
  2. Run the Smart Scroll installer to Remove Smart Scroll.
  3. Delete any file with a name starting in com.marcmoini.SmartScrollX from your (account home)/Library/Preferences folder.
  4. Run the installer again to Install Smart Scroll.
  5. Restart your Mac. This is needed for the changes to take effect.

Smart Scroll 3 only:



Smart Scroll 3 has no effect in Safari 5.1.x or 6

Make sure the Smart Scroll Safari extension is installed and enabled (re-install with Smart Scroll Installer if needed).


Smart Scroll 3 has no effect in (Application)

Some applications have their own way of scrolling that requires special treatment from Smart Scroll before it can interface with them. This is the case with Tweetie, Spotify and a few other applications. Smart Scroll 4 (free upgrade in most cases) likely supports these applications, try it!


Smart Scroll 3: iCal's main calendar view doesn't scroll

The main calendar view is different from all other views in iCal or other applications. Please switch to Smart Scroll 4 (free upgrade in most cases).


Smart Scroll 3: Firefox scrolling "sticks"

Turn off Firefox's Smooth Scrolling preference, under Advanced : General.
(Smart Scroll 3 has no support for Firefox 3.6 on Mac OX 10.4 Tiger).


Smart Scroll 3: MS Word scrolling isn't reversed

With MS Word, it seems you need to wait until the document is fully loaded and then it works. For some unknown reason, even a small (2 pages) plain text document will keep the little icons at the bottom of the MS Word window spinning for about 15 to 25 seconds, and until that is done scrolling does not work correctly.


Smart Scroll 3: MS Excel scrolling isn't reversed

The workaround for getting scrolling to work in the correct direction is to open MS Excel's preferences window, select View and then uncheck Horizontal Scroll Bar and Vertical Scroll Bar.


Smart Scroll 3: Magic Mouse scrolling is jumpy

Turn off Momentum scrolling in the Magic Mouse preference pane (Thanks, Mike Davidson!)


Smart Scroll 3: USB Overdrive compatibility

If USB Overdrive and Smart Scroll are not getting along, try turning off Smart Scroll's "Compatibility mode for Wacom...", under the Misc. tab.