List of Frequently Asked Questions:
·Why doesn’t the Virtual Scrolling feature work in some windows, even though they have a scroll bar?
·Why doesn't Virtual Scrolling work properly with Microsoft Internet Explorer?
Q: When I use Virtual Scrolling, the pointer jumps over to the scroll bar, and then jumps back where it came from when I’m done. Is this normal?
A:Yes.
Q:Why doesn’t the Virtual Scrolling feature work in some windows, even though they have a scroll bar?
A:In order to scroll, Virtual Scrolling must be able to “see” the window’s scroll bar. If the scroll bar is partially obscured by another window, or partially off the screen, then Virtual Scrolling will not activate in that window. In general, a window’s scroll bar must be entirely on the screen, and fully visible, in order to use Virtual Scrolling in that window. There is an exception to this rule: Virtual Scrolling has “special knowledge” about many common types of windows, and can scroll them even if their scroll bars are not visible on the screen. A very small number of applications use non-standard scroll bars that might not work reliably with Virtual Scrolling.
Q:Why do some windows scroll smoothly, while others re-display their contents only occasionally as I scroll?
A:The way a window responds to its scroll bars is entirely up to the application which owns that window. Some applications “smooth-scroll,” while others wait until you release the scroll bar before updating their contents. Virtual Scrolling “knows” about many common applications and window types, and uses this knowledge to “trick” many windows into smooth-scrolling (Microsoft ® Word ™ document windows, for example, do not normally smooth-scroll, but they do when you use Virtual Scrolling). If Virtual Scrolling does not “know” about a particular type of window, it still approximates smooth-scrolling by causing the window to re-display when your finger slows down or stops. This can help you more accurately scroll to the right place in a document.
Q:Why does the scroll thumb sometimes “jump around” when I scroll, and not go exactly where the pointer is?
A:Again, the application actually has complete control over the way the scroll thumb moves. Depending upon the window contents, some applications will actually prevent you from moving the scroll thumb to certain locations. Sometimes, the scroll thumb is only “allowed” to come to rest at one or two positions along the scroll bar! In these cases, even if you were to manually drag the scroll thumb with the pointer, you would find that it would “jump” to a final location when you released it. Virtual Scrolling, unfortunately, cannot control how applications manage their scroll bars.
Q:Why doesn't Virtual Scrolling work properly with Microsoft Internet Explorer?
A:Make sure you are using Internet Explorer version 4.01 or later, and that the Use Smooth Scrolling option on the Advanced page of the Internet Explorer Properties dialog is NOT checked.
Q:When I press and hold the shift key or the control key (CTRL), the pointer movement is either very slow or restricted to move only horizontally or only vertically. What is happening?
A:The shift keys and the control keys are special and are used for various things, such as selecting multiple files in Microsoft Windows Explorer or for zooming in and out on a spread sheet in Microsoft Excel. These keys can also be used for special pointer movement, such as for slowing the pointer down or for constraining the pointer to move only horizontally or only vertically. For example, you can assign the left shift key to be the Slow Motion Key. Then when you press and hold the left shift key, the pointer motion will be slower than usual. Note that you can still use this shift key for other special behaviors! You can still press and hold the left shift key to select multiple files in Microsoft Windows Explorer, but the pointer motion will also be a bit slower.
If you see slow or constrained pointer movement when pressing shift or CTRL and you want to turn off this special behavior, go to the More Features Properties Page in the Mouse Properties dialog and uncheck the appropriate boxes.