Scroll Wheel Settings

[Mr. K]

I have my scroll wheel set to zoom. Please add the ability to hold down the option key and make it scroll to override the zoom.

[Mr. K]

Actually, I see it works opposite of that. If the setting is not selected in prefs, then option scroll zooms. This may be a setting in my mouse, I don't know.

[Andreas1974]

There are a number of requests for making the effect of the Alt, Shift and Ctrl keys + mouse wheel configurable. (Option key for Mac).

This is a setting that is missing, and would need to be implemented in the Affinity software, to make it work. It's not a mouse settings of the operating system.

Many of us (partly Affinity users) are used to Adobe's mouse wheel actions (along with alt, shift ctrl, option), and I'd really like to be able to configure Affinity Publisher the same as InDesign. I'm not comfortable learning a new set of "actions" in Affinity Publisher, as long as I still need to use InDesign. I would mix them up, and as it is now, I'm really fast in InDesign.

[MikeTO]

Affinity already does this on macOS.

• If I scroll with the scroll wheel it scrolls vertically
• If I hold down Shift while scrolling it will scroll horizontally
• If I hold down Option while scrolling it will zoom in and out

[Andreas1974]

On 4/19/2022 at 8:14 PM, MikeTO said:

Affinity already does this on macOS.

• If I scroll with the scroll wheel it scrolls vertically
• If I hold down Shift while scrolling it will scroll horizontally
• If I hold down Option while scrolling it will zoom in and out

Revisiting this thread 2 years later, since it's still a problem for me. I'm not perfectly sure if your answer in 2022 was directed to me, or to the thread starter.

Anyway... I'd really like Alt + mouse scroll (I believe that is Option on a Mac keybord) to scroll in and out, as you write it does, but it does not on Windows. Are you sure you did not mix up the key name on the Mac keybord and the corresponding one on a Windows keyboard?
And for InDesign, it's not Shift that switches to horizontal scroll, but Ctrl. So it's not even the same on Mac.

I was asking for a way to configure the scrolling functions in Affinity, to mimic the ones in Adobe InDesign, since it is hard to learn a different set of shortcuts for a similar piece of software, especially if you intend to keep using both of them.

Indesign
If I hold down Ctrl (=command on a Mac keyboard) while scrolling, it will scroll horizontally
If I hold down Alt (=option on a Mac keyboard) while scrolling, it will zoom in and out
If I hold down Shift while scrolling, it will scroll very fast (1/2 a page or even more for each scroll).

Affinity Publisher (ver 2)
If I hold down Ctrl (=command on a Mac keyboard) while scrolling, it will zoom in and out.
If I hold down Alt (=option on a Mac keyboard) while scrolling makes no difference from releasing the Alt key (it just scrolls vertically).
If I hold down Shift while scrolling, it will scroll horizontally.

 

I notice this is now in the "archive" section of the forum, so it may be pointless to write here... But If Affinity wish to attract and please InDesign users, such as myself, this is an important thing. Is there a way to raise this question to the ones responsible, and not just the forum users? This is valid for Affinity Publisher version 2 as well, and is as relevant now in 2024 as it was in 2022.

[MikeTO]

2 hours ago, Andreas1974 said:

Anyway... I'd really like Alt + mouse scroll (I believe that is Option on a Mac keybord) to scroll in and out, as you write it does, but it does not on Windows. Are you sure you did not mix up the key name on the Mac keybord and the corresponding one on a Windows keyboard?

I checked it just now and Option on a Mac keyboard does modify the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. I don't know why it doesn't work this way on Windows.

2 hours ago, Andreas1974 said:

And for InDesign, it's not Shift that switches to horizontal scroll, but Ctrl. So it's not even the same on Mac.

Shift + scroll wheel for horizontal scroll is a standard feature of macOS, it's not something under the control of Affinity, so I wouldn't expect it to necessarily be the same on Windows or in InDesign for Windows. Zooming with the scroll wheel is also a feature of macOS but it's off by default - macOS uses Ctrl + scroll when it's turned on but it can be changed to another modifier key. So it's Affinity that is using Option for Zoom.

2 hours ago, Andreas1974 said:

Affinity Publisher (ver 2)
If I hold down Ctrl (=command on a Mac keyboard) while scrolling, it will zoom in and out.
If I hold down Alt (=option on a Mac keyboard) while scrolling makes no difference from releasing the Alt key (it just scrolls vertically).
If I hold down Shift while scrolling, it will scroll horizontally.

This should actually be:

Affinity Publisher 2:

• Ctrl (Windows) or Opt (Mac) + scroll wheel = zoom in an out
• Shift + scroll wheel = scroll horizontally
• Alt (Windows) or Ctrl (Mac) = vertical scroll (same as without a modifier)

Affinity doesn't map all Ctrl shortcuts on Windows to Cmd on macOS, or all Alt shortcuts on Windows to Opt on macOS. It optimizes shortcuts for each platform.

I just googled it and found that Ctrl is Microsoft's standard for zooming on Windows so Serif is correct to use that key, even though it's not the one you want. Most apps use Ctrl and Adobe is the outlier here in using Alt. There are online posts from Adobe users frustrated that they can't change it from Alt to Ctrl. Neither Adobe or Affinity provide an option to swap the keys.

While it's good to ask for this feature, in the meantime you might consider checking whether your mouse driver allows you to override this, or whether a different mouse might let you do it.

[Andreas1974]

Thanks for checking the shortcuts on Mac!

I doubt there is a Windows standard for which key to combine with the scroll-wheel for zooming, but I agree there are a lot of programs using Ctrl+Mouse wheel for zooming in/out, including Microsoft's own programs and even Adobe Acrobat. That does not make it a standard, nor the best selection for all types of programs. I guess this was one of the pages you found and read: https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop-ecosystem-discussions/alt-vs-ctrl-mouse-wheel-for-zoominig/td-p/13587809

Quote

Affinity doesn't map all Ctrl shortcuts on Windows to Cmd on macOS, or all Alt shortcuts on Windows to Opt on macOS. It optimizes shortcuts for each platform.

The fact that Opt on a Mac keyboard corresponds to Alt in Windows is rarely disagreed upon, perhaps it is even a standard.
I don't see why it would be an optimization to break that rule – it just adds to the confusion. 
 

I believe there is more thought behind [Alt + scroll wheel] in InDesign and Photoshop. I'll try to explain:

When using the "pure keyboard way" (no mouse) of zooming in and out in the Adobe programs, that is using [Ctrl] combined + or -, you don't have to move your left little finger to scroll vertically or horizontally, using the scroll wheel. You just move your right hand from the plus/minus on the numeric keyboard (at the far right of the keyboard), to the mouse wheel and release or press the Ctrl key to scroll vertically/horizontally.

This keyboard setup seems to be valid for the Adobe Creative Cloud suit on Mac as well. ( https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/viewing-workspace.html )

InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator etc are all complex programs (just like Affinity), and not simple viewers and editors like most of the other examples. The simpler programs where Ctrl+mouse wheel is used for zooming in/out are mostly viewers such as web browsers or editor views where you normally have no need to scroll the right and left or up and down, while in the process of zooming in on a specific area.

"App-specific settings" in advanced mouse drivers will likely not be possible to use. They can redefine the purpose of the mouse buttons for a specific program, but I doubt there is a way to instruct a mouse driver to switch the Alt and Ctrl buttons just while pressing the Alt key and zooming in and out with the mouse wheel.

I want to use Affinity more but I think Affinity ought to be more eager to find these small problems that are fairly large obstacles to old Adobe users like myself. I'll keep asking for a feature to define this in a setting.

[MikeTO]

1 hour ago, Andreas1974 said:

I doubt there is a Windows standard for which key to combine with the scroll-wheel for zooming

It really is a Windows standard: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/accessibility-features-in-microsoft-edge-4c696192-338e-9465-b2cd-bd9b698ad19a

1 hour ago, Andreas1974 said:

The fact that Opt on a Mac keyboard corresponds to Alt in Windows is rarely disagreed upon, perhaps it is even a standard.
I don't see why it would be an optimization to break that rule – it just adds to the confusion.

For various reasons, there are a large number of shortcuts that don't map directly from Opt to Alt. For example, loosen spacing (kerning or tracking) is Option + right arrow (Mac) and Ctrl + right arrow (Windows). This is true for many apps, not just Affinity. Picking shortcuts that will work cross platform on all keyboards is difficult because certain combinations are reserved by the OS and other combinations don't work on certain keyboards.

I'm not disagreeing that Affinity (and Adobe CC) could provide a way to swap these modifiers for zooming, just pointing out that this isn't a bug in Affinity.

In any case, if you would like a feature to do this, you'd be better off posting a request for the feature in the v2 forum instead of this v1 archive because these old threads won't get much attention from Serif.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/forum/122-feedback-for-the-affinity-v2-suite-of-products/

Cheers

[walt.farrell]

5 hours ago, MikeTO said:

I checked it just now and Option on a Mac keyboard does modify the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. I don't know why it doesn't work this way on Windows.

The behavior is conditioned by the "Use Mouse Wheel to zoom" option in Settings, Tools.

With it disabled:

• the mouse wheel with no modifiers scrolls up/down
• the mouse wheel with Ctrl zooms in/out
• the mouse wheel with Shift scrolls left/right

With "Use Mouse Wheel to zoom" enabled:

• the mouse wheel with no modifiers zooms in/out
• the mouse wheel with Ctrl scrolls up/down

Alt doesn't seem to have any effect no matter what setting is used, but if you want to be able to use all 3 behaviors, "use mouse wheel to zoom" should be disabled.

 

[Andreas1974]

On 8/9/2024 at 9:01 PM, MikeTO said:

It really is a Windows standard: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/accessibility-features-in-microsoft-edge-4c696192-338e-9465-b2cd-bd9b698ad19a

1. Sure, I agree there are a lot of Windows programs using Ctrl+Mouse wheel for zooming in/out, including Microsoft's own programs, such as the web browser "Edge" which you link to.

2. I just noticed a setting called "Enable canvas rotation with Alt+scroll wheel". This rotation is yet another hard-coded combination that can not be user customized.

3. Another problem: My favourite substitute for zooming with the scroll wheel, that is Ctrl + plus/minus on the far right numeric keyboard has ceased to work for me. Ctrl combined with the plus/minus keys located closer to the alphabetic letters do still work for zoomin in and out. Num Lock is not causing this. Zooming in and out with Ctrl + plus/minus on the numeric keyboard also still works in Affinity ver 1.10.5, just not in 2.5.3. What can cause this? I believe the num keypad +/- zoom used to work in 2.5.3 a few weeks ago.

[walt.farrell]

2 hours ago, Andreas1974 said:

Ctrl + plus/minus on the far right numeric keyboard has ceased to work for me. Ctrl combined with the plus/minus keys located closer to the alphabetic letters do still work for zoomin in and out. Num Lock is not causing this. Zooming in and out with Ctrl + plus/minus on the numeric keyboard also still works in Affinity ver 1.10.5, just not in 2.5.3. What can cause this? I believe the num keypad +/- zoom used to work in 2.5.3 a few weeks ago.

I think that +/- on the numeric keypad are viewed as distinct characters from the standard +/- keys.

If I'm right, then you can choose to use the standard keys, or the numeric keypad keys, but not both. And you probably need to update your Settings, Keyboard Shortcuts, if you want to use the keys on the numeric keypad.