• override "custom" scrollbars?

    From J. P. Gilliver@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jul 15 19:11:24 2025
    In, for example, File Manager, and Notepad,but also Thunderbird, I have
    what I think of as "normal" scrollbars: a square arrow button at each
    end, the rest being light grey, with a dark grey part, whose proportion
    of the whole corresponds to the amount of the screen (list, whatever) I
    can currently see, and whose position corresponds to where the part I
    can see _is_ in the file/list/whatever (for example, if I'm seeing the
    top of the file, the dark grey part is at the top of the scrollbar).

    However, certain things - in particular, web pages in browsers - use
    something else: a narrower dark bit, with rounded ends, like a comfit or
    turd. This is harder to get hold of. This seems to be software-specific
    - even if I look at one of my own webpages, it still has the narrower.

    Any idea how to override, so I get the ordinary scrollbar in everything? Searching mostly throws up ways to modify your CSS to do the _opposite_
    of what I want to do - how to modify your own specific webpages to
    override the default.

    Some say in Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
    Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics, change ScrollWidth (and I see there's a ScrollHeight too) - to -15 times the width you want in pixels! (Weird,
    but it's set to -252 in my system, so plausible!) However, I tried it,
    and it didn't have any effect (I closed and restarted the browser).

    I'm currently using Edge; yes, I know it has lots of faults, but it's
    the default, and I'm going to fix it there first, or give up.
    --
    J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

    /"\
    \ / ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN
    X AGAINST HTML EMAIL
    / \ AND POSTINGS

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  • From VanguardLH@21:1/5 to J. P. Gilliver on Tue Jul 15 22:33:48 2025
    "J. P. Gilliver" <[email protected]> wrote:

    In, for example, File Manager, and Notepad,but also Thunderbird, I have
    what I think of as "normal" scrollbars: a square arrow button at each
    end, the rest being light grey, with a dark grey part, whose proportion
    of the whole corresponds to the amount of the screen (list, whatever) I
    can currently see, and whose position corresponds to where the part I
    can see _is_ in the file/list/whatever (for example, if I'm seeing the
    top of the file, the dark grey part is at the top of the scrollbar).

    However, certain things - in particular, web pages in browsers - use something else: a narrower dark bit, with rounded ends, like a comfit or turd. This is harder to get hold of. This seems to be software-specific
    - even if I look at one of my own webpages, it still has the narrower.

    Any idea how to override, so I get the ordinary scrollbar in everything? Searching mostly throws up ways to modify your CSS to do the _opposite_
    of what I want to do - how to modify your own specific webpages to
    override the default.

    Some say in Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
    Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics, change ScrollWidth (and I see there's a ScrollHeight too) - to -15 times the width you want in pixels! (Weird,
    but it's set to -252 in my system, so plausible!) However, I tried it,
    and it didn't have any effect (I closed and restarted the browser).

    I'm currently using Edge; yes, I know it has lots of faults, but it's
    the default, and I'm going to fix it there first, or give up.

    I'll address Edge first. I'll have to research scrollbars in Windows
    later.

    In Edge, I went into settings, and searched on "scrollbar" which brought
    up the general behavior setting of "Turn off custom scrollbars - When
    this is on, only default scrollbars will be available across all sites".
    If off, not only do you get the skinny scrollbars, but web pages can
    change to their own custom scrollbars (which can be damn tough to view
    at times at some sites). This is a negative setting, so you have to
    enable the disable. See if turning on this settings gets you the
    scrollbars you want. I remember trying it, but the scrollbars occupied
    too much width, and were contrary to the style incorporate to Edge.

    I enabled the disable, but saw no change in the scrollbar style even
    after exiting and reloading Edge. Since Edge is a bit overly integral
    to Windows, it could require a restart of Windows to effect a change in
    Edge. I've run into that before with Edge: change something, no effect
    until a Windows restart. No even logging out and back into your Windows account effects the change. For example, there is a registry entry for
    a policy to Edge that forces to always load in InPrivate (incognito)
    mode, but the registy edit has no effect until Windows is restarted.

    https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2024/10/24/customize-page-colors-and-scrollbars/

    That describes the custom scrollbar setting in Edge. I'm not sure it
    reverts Edge back to the old squarish and much wider scrollbars, but it
    is supposed to prevent web sites from customizing them, and some site
    change the scrollbars for no good purpose, and an really fuck up their scrollbar display to become nearly invisible.

    For Windows, I remember changing a setting that affected the scrollbar
    size in its own setting dialogs. Some dialogs have no scrollbar, but
    the mouse scrollwheel worked. Turns out the scrollbar would not appear
    (but was still very skinny) until you hovered the mouse over the
    scrollbar area. Made targeting the mouse a bit difficult when you don't
    know where to hover. Lots of visual elements of Windows were removed
    from common wizards that let you tailor the style of window layout.
    Under Windows 10, read Athanasiou's reply at:

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/79875-change-size-scroll-bars-windows-10-a.html#:~:text=1%20Open%20Registry%20Editor%20%28regedit.exe%29.%202%20Navigate%20to,Scroll%20Bar%20Width%20to%20be%20Thinner%20or%20Thicker

    Although Microsoft took away a wizard that let you change elements of
    windows, other tools compensate. For example, in WinAero Tweaker, I
    search on "scroll", and found "Advanced Appearance Settings ->
    Scrollbars" where I could change the width of scrollbars, and the size
    of the buttons at the end of the scrollbars. Be careful with making
    changes since you could end up with artifacts in displaying overlay
    thick scrollbars, like the window doesn't automatically compensate for
    more area for thicker scrollbars, so part of the window could get
    obliterated.

    Most settings in WinAero Tweaker have links to help pages describing the settings it can change. For this one, their help page is at:

    https://winaero.com/how-to-change-the-size-of-scrollbars-in-windows-10/

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  • From J. P. Gilliver@21:1/5 to VanguardLH on Wed Jul 16 23:56:51 2025
    On 2025/7/16 4:33:48, VanguardLH wrote:
    "J. P. Gilliver" <[email protected]> wrote:
    []

    Some say in Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
    Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics, change ScrollWidth (and I see there's a
    ScrollHeight too) - to -15 times the width you want in pixels! (Weird,
    but it's set to -252 in my system, so plausible!) However, I tried it,
    and it didn't have any effect (I closed and restarted the browser).

    I'm currently using Edge; yes, I know it has lots of faults, but it's
    the default, and I'm going to fix it there first, or give up.

    I'll address Edge first. I'll have to research scrollbars in Windows
    later.

    In Edge, I went into settings, and searched on "scrollbar" which brought
    up the general behavior setting of "Turn off custom scrollbars - When
    this is on, only default scrollbars will be available across all sites".
    If off, not only do you get the skinny scrollbars, but web pages can
    change to their own custom scrollbars (which can be damn tough to view
    at times at some sites).

    You're not kidding!

    This is a negative setting, so you have to
    enable the disable.

    Yes - I _do_ wish designers wouldn't do that! (There are plenty in
    Thunderbird, too.)

    See if turning on this settings gets you the
    scrollbars you want. I remember trying it, but the scrollbars occupied
    too much width, and were contrary to the style incorporate to Edge.

    I tried it. It didn't make Edge's default scrollbars change to the same
    as (e. g.) File Manager and Thunderbird. If turned off (i. e. custom
    scrollbars _enabled_), even the settings page on which that setting is, switches to very-skinny 'bar! So it looks like Edge has a default
    scrollbar of its own, even before web pages do their own thing.


    I enabled the disable, but saw no change in the scrollbar style even
    after exiting and reloading Edge. Since Edge is a bit overly integral

    Same here.

    to Windows, it could require a restart of Windows to effect a change in

    Maybe.

    Edge. I've run into that before with Edge: change something, no effect
    until a Windows restart. No even logging out and back into your Windows account effects the change. For example, there is a registry entry for
    a policy to Edge that forces to always load in InPrivate (incognito)
    mode, but the registy edit has no effect until Windows is restarted.

    Right. (Why do they have to have their own name for everything! We all
    know Edge is Chrome really [OK, both built on same base].)>
    https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2024/10/24/customize-page-colors-and-scrollbars/

    That describes the custom scrollbar setting in Edge. I'm not sure it
    reverts Edge back to the old squarish and much wider scrollbars, but it
    is supposed to prevent web sites from customizing them, and some site


    "Certain users always prefer to see the default browser scrollbars as
    this improves consistency and accessibility for them." The phrase
    "default browser scrollbars" does support my suspicion that it still has
    its own default, different from the general one.

    change the scrollbars for no good purpose, and an really fuck up their scrollbar display to become nearly invisible.

    Totally agree.
    []

    know where to hover. Lots of visual elements of Windows were removed
    from common wizards that let you tailor the style of window layout.

    Yes, you're right - I've just tried to find the "thing" (I suppose
    they'd call it a "wizard" these days) where you could change lots of
    Windows parameters (scrollbar width, menu font/colour, border
    width/colour, u. v. a.), without success. It was still there - though
    well hidden! - in 7-32, but they do seem to have killed it altogether in
    10-64. (It'd been there since W95; I remember being amused in '98 - IIRR
    - when it was still there, but behind an "advanced" button, as if these innocent new users of '98 had to be shielded from it.)

    Under Windows 10, read Athanasiou's reply at:

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/79875-change-size-scroll-bars-windows-10-a.html#:~:text=1%20Open%20Registry%20Editor%20%28regedit.exe%29.%202%20Navigate%20to,Scroll%20Bar%20Width%20to%20be%20Thinner%20or%20Thicker

    I can't find "Athanasiou" on that page, though it does mention the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics ScrollHeight and ScrollWidth values again (and, again, that you set them to -15 times
    what you want - why minus fifteen!).>
    Although Microsoft took away a wizard that let you change elements of windows, other tools compensate. For example, in WinAero Tweaker, I

    Ah, I had that (since 2023-2-17), but hadn't got round to installing it
    on this 10 machine. Now done.

    search on "scroll", and found "Advanced Appearance Settings ->
    Scrollbars" where I could change the width of scrollbars, and the size
    of the buttons at the end of the scrollbars. Be careful with making
    changes since you could end up with artifacts in displaying overlay
    thick scrollbars, like the window doesn't automatically compensate for
    more area for thicker scrollbars, so part of the window could get obliterated.

    Oh yes, such things can go wrong. I already have several softwares that
    don't work properly with my double-height taskbar (their bottoms
    disappear behind it, or similar - often important if they have buttons
    or other such controls at the bottom of their window). The default 'bars
    are OK - just Edge uses its own (and I suspect Chrome and probably
    Firefox will too).>
    Most settings in WinAero Tweaker have links to help pages describing the settings it can change. For this one, their help page is at:

    https://winaero.com/how-to-change-the-size-of-scrollbars-in-windows-10/
    Thanks. I've just spend some time going through those options! Most of
    the links to help pages are to ones where I have to accept lots of
    "Legitimate interest" cookies (or laboriously go through turning them
    off), but I suppose as it's free ...
    --
    J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

    "If even one person" arguments allow the perfect to become the enemy of
    the good, and thus they tend to cause more harm than good.
    - Jimmy Akins quoted by Scott Adams, 2015-5-5

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