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{{Short description|
{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}▼
{{Redirect|Trackwheel|a system of vehicle propulsion|Continuous track}}
▲{{More citations needed|date=July 2020}}
[[
A '''scroll wheel''' is a [[wheel]] used for [[scrolling]]. The term usually refers to such wheels found on [[computer mouse|computer mice]] (where they can also be called a '''mouse wheel'''). It is often made of hard [[plastic]] with a [[rubber]]y surface, based around an internal [[rotary encoder]]. It is usually located between the left and right mouse buttons and is positioned perpendicular to the mouse surface.▼
▲A '''scroll wheel''' is a [[wheel]] used for [[scrolling]]. The term usually refers to such wheels found on [[computer mouse|computer mice]] (where they can also be called a '''mouse wheel'''). It is often made of hard [[plastic]] with a [[rubber]]y surface,
== Functionality ==
The scroll wheel is placed horizontally between the mouse buttons and commonly uses vertical scrolling, wherein rolling the wheel from the bottom side to the top is known as scrolling "upward" or "forward", while the reverse, i.e. rolling the wheel from the top side to the bottom, is known as scrolling "downward" or "backward".
In a [[graphical user interface]], the "upward" motion moves contents of the window downward (and the [[scrollbar]] thumb, if present, upward), and vice versa. In other configurations (sometimes called "natural scrolling") the effect is inverted.
On most mice, the scroll wheel can often also be used as a third, middle [[mouse button]] by pressing down on it,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/515710/hasslefreepc-50.html|title=Bring Your Middle Mouse Button to Life|last=Broida|first=Rick|work=[[PC World]]|date=2009-12-22|access-date=2022-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302034230/https://www.pcworld.com/article/515710/hasslefreepc-50.html|archive-date=2023-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref> known as the '''scroll button'''.{{anchor|Button}}
Some mice's scroll wheels can scroll horizontally
The wheel is often, but not always, engineered with [[detent]]s to turn in discrete steps, rather than continuously as an analog axis, to allow the operator to more easily intuit how far they are scrolling.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.embedded.com/tear-down-high-end-mouse-goes-where-no-mouse-has-gone|title=Tear Down: High-end mouse goes where no mouse has gone|last=Nass|first=Richard|work=Embedded.com|date=2006-12-01|access-date=2023-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302014535/https://www.embedded.com/tear-down-high-end-mouse-goes-where-no-mouse-has-gone/|archive-date=2023-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/do-you-like-your-mouse-wheel-to-click-when-you-scroll-or-spin-freely|title=Do you like your mouse wheel to click when you scroll, or spin freely?|last=Livingston|first=Christopher|work=[[PC Gamer]]|date=2020-03-12|access-date=2023-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302015302/https://www.pcgamer.com/do-you-like-your-mouse-wheel-to-click-when-you-scroll-or-spin-freely|archive-date=2023-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:BlackBerry 7510, side-back view.jpg|100px|thumb|Trackwheel (1) on a [[BlackBerry]]]]
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Scroll wheels are prevalent on modern computer mice and have become an integral part of the [[hardware interface]]. However, non-wheeled mice are still available.
Some user interfaces, like [[Cinnamon (desktop environment)]], allow using it to adjust '''brightness''' and '''volume''' by pointing at the respective taskbar icon while scrolling.
== {{anchor|Mighty Mouse|EasyScroll|ProAgio|Intellimouse}}History ==▼
▲== {{anchor|Mighty Mouse|EasyScroll|ProAgio|Intellimouse}}History ==
The scroll wheel on a mouse has been invented multiple times by different people unaware of the others' work.
Other scrolling controls on a mouse, and the use of a wheel for scrolling both precede the combination of wheel and mouse. The earliest known example of the former is the ''Mighty Mouse'' prototype developed jointly by [[Nippon Telegraph and Telephone|NTT]], Japan and [[ETH Zürich]], Switzerland (Kunio Ōno, Ken'ichi Fukaya and Jürg Nievergelt) in 1985. It had a thumb-operated combined [[Analog signal|analog]] [[Mouse button|button]]/[[Switch#Toggle switch|toggle switch]] on the side for smooth scrolling.<ref name=bux>{{citation | first = Bill | last = Buxton | author-link = Bill Buxton | url = https://www.billbuxton.com/inputManuscript.html | chapter-url = http://www.billbuxton.com/input02.Devices.pdf | title = Human Input to Computer Systems: Theories, Techniques and Technology | chapter = Chapter 2: An Illustrated Tour | accessdate = December 8, 2018}}</ref>
At the [[SIGCHI|ACM SIGCHI]] conference in 1989, Gina Danielle Venolia <!-- current name --> from [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] presented a mouse prototype with a horizontal thumb-wheel for scrolling,
In 1995, the [[Taiwan]]ese company [[KYE Systems]] released the first commercial mouse with scroll wheel. It was named ''Genius EasyScroll'' and was also available as ''[[Mouse Systems]] ProAgio''.<ref name="Coding_Horror_Genius_EasyScroll"/><ref>[https://www.gearrate.com/en/mouse/history/ gearrate.com – History of Computer Mouse (1964 ~ 2020)]</ref><ref>[http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Quiet-As-a-Mouse-258375.html funtrivia.com – Quiet As a Mouse – Fun Facts, Questions, Answers, Information] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612105011/http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Quiet-As-a-Mouse-258375.html |date=2013-06-12 }}</ref><ref name="zmhseg">{{cite web |url=http://itotd.com/articles/330/the-evolution-of-scrolling/ |title=The Evolution of Scrolling: Reinventing the wheel |author=Joe Kissell |publisher=Interesting Thing of the Day |date=2004-10-07 |accessdate=2010-02-12}}</ref>
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The scroll wheel was popularized by the [[Microsoft]] [[IntelliMouse]] in 1996 along with support for the mouse wheel in [[Microsoft Office 97]]. It had been based on ideas developed by [[Eric Michelman]] since 1993 with input from Chris Graham.<ref name="Coding_Horror_Genius_EasyScroll">[http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000865.html Coding Horror: Meet The Inventor of the Mouse Wheel]</ref><ref name="Michelman_Wheel">[http://www.ericmic.com/history%20of%20the%20scroll%20wheel.htm The History of the Scroll Wheel]</ref>
Scroll wheels can also be found on
== Alternatives ==
Instead of a scroll-wheel, some mice (and other devices) use an alternative but similar component.
Laptop computers often include a [[touchpad]] programmed with a [[pointing device gesture]] that mimics a scroll-wheel (either by dedicating an edge of the pad for scrolling, or activating scrolling through a [[multitouch]] gesture), or mimics a scroll-wheel button click (by clicking both the left and right buttons simultaneously, to activate omni-directional scrolling). Many [[Linux]] distributions offer a method of scrolling using the touchpad where the user will first activate scroll-mode by pressing in a corner of the pad, and then dragging in a circle around the center of the pad; letting go of the touchpad will switch back to the default mouse-mode.
In mice, alternatives include scroll balls (similar to [[trackball]]s, such as on [[Apple Computer|Apple]]'s [[Apple Mighty Mouse|Mighty Mouse]] and some serial or PS/2 mice, which combine horizontal and vertical scrolling), [[pointing stick]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/detail.aspx?id=120|title = TrackPoint Mouse G1}}</ref> integrated [[touchpad]]s (as on Apple's [[Magic Mouse]]) or optical sensors
Some [[ThinkPad]] laptops allow scrolling using the [[pointing stick]] by holding a button above the touch pad.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gartenberg |first=Chaim |date=2020-06-30 |title=The ThinkPad TrackPoint tried to build a better mouse |url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2020/6/30/21292182/thinkpad-trackpoint-mouse-nub-button-trackpad-challenges-design-user-input |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref>
▲In mice, alternatives include scroll balls (similar to [[trackball]]s, such as on [[Apple Computer|Apple]]'s [[Apple Mighty Mouse|Mighty Mouse]] and some serial or PS/2 mice, which combine horizontal and vertical scrolling), [[pointing stick]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/bibuxton/buxtoncollection/detail.aspx?id=120|title = TrackPoint Mouse G1}}</ref> integrated [[touchpad]]s (as on Apple's [[Magic Mouse]]) or optical sensors,.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.geniusnet.com/Genius/wSite/ct?xItem=45569&ctNode=104|title = Navigator 525 Laser Mouse}}</ref> Unusual examples include a joystick-style hatswitch present on an early [[Saitek]] mouse,<ref>{{citation |url=http://saitekusa.com/usa/prod/gm1mouse.htm |title=GM1 Scroll Mouse |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030210233809/http://saitekusa.com/usa/prod/gm1mouse.htm |archivedate=2003-02-10 |accessdate=2015-07-26 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and a central 4-way switch-pad found on the Cherry Power Pad Mouse M-1000<!-- PS/2 + USB -->.
== Other applications ==
[[File:Old nokia mobile phone.jpg|thumb|Scroll wheel on a Nokia 7110]]
Scroll-wheel motion is often used to control other aspects of a system. For instance, it can allow the user to switch between a series of options, zoom in or out, or increment/decrement any value.
In [[first-person shooter]] computer games, scroll wheels are often used to switch between weapons<ref>{{cite journal|title=How computer gamers experience the game situation: a behavioral study|last1=Clarke|first1=Delwin|last2=Duimering|first2=P. Robert|journal=[[Computers in Entertainment]]|publisher=[[University of Waterloo]]|date=July 2006|volume=4|issue=3|page=7|doi=10.1145/1146816.1146827}}</ref> or even to allow the player to lean left and right if horizontal scrolling is available<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/logitech,841-11.html|title=Logitech New Mouse Range Goes Back to the Future|last=Kauffmann|first=Stéphane|work=[[Tom's Hardware]]|date=2004-07-09|access-date=2023-03-02|page=11|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230302055033/https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/logitech,841-11.html|archive-date=2023-03-02|url-status=live}}</ref> or zoom in/out a telescopic sight. Some of them and most [[real-time strategy]] games also use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the player's view.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L6pQAAAAMAAJ&q=+%22scroll%2Bwheels%22%2B%22first-person%2Bshooter%22%2B%22zooming%22|title=Game Design Complete|last=O'Luanaigh|first=Patrick|publisher=Paraglyph Press|date=2006|access-date=2023-03-02|page=161|isbn=1584502398}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/analysis-wide-angle-lens---rts-camera-angles-and-design-decisions|title=Analysis: Wide Angle Lens - RTS Camera Angles And Design Decisions|last=Goodfellow|first=Troy|work=[[Gamasutra]]|date=2010-06-03|access-date=2023-03-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804132524/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/28687/Analysis_Wide_Angle_Lens__RTS_Camera_Angles_And_Design_Decisions.php|archive-date=2010-08-04|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Computer-aided design|CAD]] applications such as
==See also==
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[[Category:User interface techniques]]
[[Category:Wheels]]
[[Category:Scrolling]]
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