How To Change Scrolling Direction On Mac?

To change the scrolling direction on a Mac, follow these steps:

Using System Preferences

1. Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
2. Choose System Settings (or System Preferences depending on your macOS version).

For External Mouse Users:

1. Navigate to Mouse (if using a Bluetooth or USB mouse).
   • Under the Point & Click section, locate the checkbox labeled Natural Scrolling. Check or uncheck this box to reverse the scrolling direction.

For Built-in Laptop Trackpad Users:

1. Navigate to Trackpad.
   • Under the Scroll & Zoom section, locate the checkbox labeled Natural Scrolling. Check or uncheck this box to reverse the scrolling direction.

The Natural Scrolling option mirrors the behavior of touch screens, where moving your finger upward on the trackpad makes the content appear to move downward on the screen. Unchecking this option reverts to the traditional scrolling method.

Additionally, you can change the scrolling direction through the Terminal by executing the appropriate commands:

# Switch to traditional scrolling
defaults write -g com.apple.swipescrolldirection -boolean NO

# Switch back to 'Natural Scrolling'
defaults write -g com.apple.swipescrolldirection -boolean YES

After making either of these changes, restart your Mac for the new scrolling direction to take effect.