Disable “Ctrl”+mouse wheel zooming in Chrome?

Question

I'm a normal-sighted person and I would like to view pages at 100% all the time. I use keyboard shortcuts that involve Ctrl a lot, so about twenty times a day I accidentally hit Ctrl at the same time that I'm scrolling, which results in the page being reflowed and repainted. This is annoying because it can take up to 30 seconds to fix the issue, depending on how complex the site layout is. On sites with dynamic layout such as Google Docs the problem is more serious; accidentally hitting Ctrl+mouse wheel corrupts the display and forces me to refresh the page entirely, sometimes causing me to loose information in the process.

I would like to either decouple Ctrl+mouse wheel from zoom, or disable zoom functionality altogether. This is possible on Firefox by using about:config; is there a similar way to edit detailed settings in Chrome? Would I have access to the detailed settings if I used Chromium instead of Chrome? I'll probably jump ship back to Firefox if I can't solve this problem.

There is a superuser question that asks basically the same thing I'm asking, but for Firefox and Internet Explorer exclusively. Other people on the Chrome forum have had related issues, but none have the same problem. "I would really like it if I could deactivate the auto zoom in/out." had "something with laptops and Windows 7", not the feature built into Chrome. Other people have had PDF specific issues, which doesn't concern me.

I've also tried searching for extensions that allow you to disable the scroll; I had hoped that "Zoom Lock" would have the ability to lock the zoom at 100% and prevent Ctrl+scroll wheel from distorting the display, but it doesn't work for my use case.

I am using Google Chrome (version 9.0.597.84 (Official Build 72991)) on Ubuntu 10.10.

Solution 1

There is a solution using AutoHotKey posted on google groups:

Using Logitech Performance Mouse MX...

Downloaded AutoHotKey software

In the AutoHotkey.ahk file, added these to do nothing for Cntrl+MouseWheelScrolling

^WheelDown::return

^WheelUp::return

Solution 2

Solution

This was driving me insane as well, but I just found a chrome extension that works: No Mouse Wheel Zoom

Use

After installing the plugin you need to:

• Go to extension settings. Make sure that "allow access to file url's" is checked
• Refresh Your tabs

Works

From the user reviews, it works on Linux, Mac, and Windows; for both mice and touch pads.

Solution 3

I don't know of any way to disable scrolling, but you could use Ctrl+0 to return to 100% at any time--no need to refresh the page.

Solution 4

It doesn't look like its possible within chrome at this point, but you could do it from the mouse side. Depending on the drivers for your mouse, you could set ctrl-scroll as a "shortcut" to actually do nothing - essentially capturing the combination and throwing it away. Some drivers will even let you specify this for only within a certain application, at which point you'd specify chrome.

Would need more info of OS and mouse to tell this for sure.

Solution 5

In Firefox the zoom function can be disabled via its corresponding setting in about:config.

For Chrome: I have found a free little application called AlwaysMouseWheel which does the trick. It is made for another purpose (which I find useful too) but does prevent the zooming in Chrome.

For IE: However, that application doesn't disable the zooming. So I am looking around for a solution for that now.

View more solutions

Comments

[Eyal]

I don't understand how this would work. And if it did, how would it interact with keyboard shortcuts involving the Ctrl key? The asker says he uses those extensively (as do I), and often that's what causes the problem in the first place. Giving up the ability to use keyboard shortcuts isn't really a solution.

[Myer]

I'll have to look into this - I'm on Ubuntu 10.10; I might be able to use xev or something to remap ctrl-scroll on a system level. In-ter-es-ting ...

[Myer]

The real problem here is on sites where javascript dynamically determines the layout, in which case Ctrl+0 never even totally corrects the problem.

[CarlF]

NoScript can solve that in very short order.

[Myer]

Using NoScript on a site like Google Docs where javascript is required is futile. Most dynamic sites no longer support users that disable javascript as studies have shown that less than 2% of all users disable it: developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2010/10/… . If dynamic sites going to throw development into an arcane, useless cause they'd actually be better off supporting IE6 than supporting users without javascript: marketshare.hitslink.com/browser-market-share.aspx?qprid=2

[onedayitwillmake]

Thanks, this answer is what finally helped me not jump out of a window ( although my adult body would not have fit since i probably zoomed int so tiny while on my way there by accident )

[GJK]

I had this problem big time when using a Magic Mouse in Windows 7 through Parallels. This little script fixed it all. Thanks!

[Yaba]

That's also the best solution I've found. However your example disables this for all application. The following script disables CTRL-Wheel for Chrome only: ; Disable mouse wheel zooming in Chrome #IfWinActive ahk_class Chrome_WidgetWin_1 ^WheelDown::return #IfWinActive ahk_class Chrome_WidgetWin_1 ^WheelUp::return

[G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica']

Please see How do I recommend software in my answers?

[IlyaEremin]

@Yaba it is not work for chrome in windows8 mode

[Dan Dascalescu]

This won't work for touchpad scrolling.

[Dan Dascalescu]

On the extension page -> Support -> Problems, many users report it's not working any more.

[mwidmann]

I had to add #MaxHotkeysPerInterval 200 to my .akh file as the accelleration of the Arc Mouse triggered the hotkey too often for the default 70.

[Muhammad bin Yusrat]

It is working perfectly. You just have to refresh the already open tabs.

[jarno]

@MuhammadbinYusrat does not work for me in Linux.

[Muhammad bin Yusrat]

@jarno I am on Ubuntu 18.04 not sure about other distros.

[jarno]

@MuhammadbinYusrat I am on (X)ubuntu 18.04.2 and the extension does not work.

[GetFree]

A Chrome extension called Per Tab Zoom is the perfect solution for this.

[Steven Lu]

This does not work on Ubuntu 16.04.

[jarno]

@GetFree the extension is for Windows only.

[jarno]

You have found some application, but it seems that the application is Windows specific. The question is not.

[jarno]

I made a script with the contents above but the editor shows red ball and tells "'evt' is already defined.". I do not know how to make this work.

[jarno]

Do you mean touchpad by buit in mouse? Which operating system you are using? Does your solution also affect to zooming which happens normally by pressing ctrl key down and simultaneously using mouse wheel or dragging two fingers up or down on touchpad?

[Foosh]

@jarno change var evt to var evt2. Then change all evt references after the if to evt2 and see if that works.

[jarno]

It did not help. I think it is not enough that it executes on every page. Or how can it affect to every mouse event on the page? I do not know this scripting language.

[jarno]

So can something like the Trident D'Gao's answer be implemented with these?

[nickboldt]

Tried a chrome extension and it failed hard. Autokey solution: worked great (once I figured out how to read the instructions).

[RashaMatt]

On recent Chrome this plugin NO LONGER WORKS :(

[Joey Baruch]

This extension did not work for me on windows, even after refreshing and restarting chrome

[Joey Baruch]

as of today, this is the closest to a solution from all the answers here... c'mon google, help us out here...

[Venryx]

@JoeyBaruch Odd. I'm on Windows as well, and it works fine. What pages did you try? (it will not work on the Chrome "protected pages" such as settings, extensions list, etc.)

[appel]

For those like me that came here for a solution and are wondering if this answer from 2013 still works: Yes, it does!

[jarno]

I have written a script that disables unwanted zooming i.e. zooming that happens when a modifier key is pressed after scrolling has been activated. Maybe I'll publish it somewhere someday.

[jarno]

Check this repository out.

[sanmai]

This is gold, thanks. Comes with whole source code.

[Mark Lopez]

On recent Chrome versions, this plugin now works (April 2022).