# Did Google Chrome just change its vertical scroll-bar? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2014, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951 "2014-01-16T09:04:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/1 "2014-01-16T09:04:19Z")
I have a different style of vertical scroll-bar running Chrome today. I strongly prefer the old style, much easier to use, and which I note Firefox still uses. Did Google decide to do everyone a favor? Did I accidentally make Google think I wanted a different style? Did I forget to turn off “automatic updates” and, if so, is it too late to go back? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/2 "2014-01-16T09:32:38Z")
Oops. I’ve become so dependent on SDMB for information, I forgot that [Google search is also useful](http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617308-93/chrome-users-mad-at-google-for-switching-up-scroll-controls/) and shows that I’m not the only one annoyed by this sudden change. Now I need to decide whether to wait for Google to fix Chrome, or to install the “Rescroller extension.” (The new scroll bar really is _ **much** _ harder for clumsy people like me to use.) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/3 "2014-01-16T15:02:09Z")
I oblivious to such things. I can’t tell if it’s changed or not. I never use the scroll bar though. I always just use the arrow keys. (Because, I too, am clumsy.) ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/4 "2014-01-16T15:55:36Z")
Did they do more than just remove the arrows? If not, I have a hard time getting upset about it. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/5 "2014-01-16T16:11:45Z")
I noticed the visual change recently, but it hasn’t bothered me. I can’t remember the last time I actually used the scroll bar; I either use the arrow keys, the mouse-wheel, or the two-finger scrolling function on my laptop touchpad. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/6 "2014-01-16T16:57:40Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Did they do more than just remove the arrows? If not, I have a hard time getting upset about it. This was my reaction as well. I’ve just recently started using Chrome, and hadn’t noticed the change at all. It appears the scroll bar itself is the same size and shape it’s always been, and the top and bottom arrows are simply gone. Which makes no difference to me. Note also you can still click in the scroll bar area near the top or bottom (or anywhere else for that matter), and the screen will scroll to that position. :: shrug :: ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/7 "2014-01-19T06:43:08Z")
I’m slightly saddened that no one else shares my pain. 😃 I wonder if the symptom is partly OS-related. I use Windows 7; some comments suggest other OS’s may be unaffected. [This SDMB page (show who posted in a thread)](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/misc.php?do=whoposted&t=511831) ends up with a scroll-bar that doesn’t work at all (although the up/down arrows work); after a while a “This page has become unresponsive. Wait or Kill?” message appears. Firefox displays the page and operates its scroll-bar with no problem. The symptom is most troublesome on very long pages, because there is no fine granularity. Yesterday I accessed a [very large pdf (warning: huge file)](http://strangebeautiful.com/other-texts/maxwell-scientificpapers-vol-ii-dover.pdf) and the scroll-bar was frustrating. The up/down arrows worked, but without a repeat-key function they were much too slow to scroll through a large file. (Admittedly, there are better programs than web browser to view a pdf, but a similar difficulty presents with giant html files.) (I ended up trying to view the giant pdf with Firefox, but that has its own problem. Firefox was using almost 3 gigabytes of main memory before severe thrashing made me realized I needed to kill Firefox :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/8 "2014-01-19T15:46:56Z")
I followed your “who posted” link using Chrome and the scroll bar works just fine, Also never got any non responsive messages. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/9 "2014-01-19T18:12:15Z")
Didn’t notice your comment about the OS. I’m on windows 8. So, the scroll bar in Chrome works for this OS… I guess that is one positive thing we can say about 8. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/10 "2014-01-19T18:22:59Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > I followed your “who posted” link using Chrome and the scroll bar works just fine, Also never got any non responsive messages. Oops, clicking that link works for me too. (Or rather gives me an ordinary page with the new scroll-bar I don’t like.) The problem of malfunctioning scroll with “Wait or Kill” arises when, instead of following the URL normally, you click on the “Replies” numeral in a forum display. (Pick a thread with many replies to increase the chance the number of users are enough to require a scroll-bar.) Creating a window that way, though ostensibly the same URL, yields a small window which exhibits the special bug. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/11 "2014-01-19T20:23:40Z")
I’ve gotten so used to just using my mouse wheel that I didn’t even notice. But the pain from that loss should be eased by the greatest idea ever incorporated into a browser, ever: Chrome now shows you which of your open tabs is making noise so you don’t have to flip through all of them to shut off the annoying autoplay video. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2014, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-google-chrome-just-change-its-vertical-scroll-bar/678951/12 "2014-02-28T11:55:32Z")
Chrome users beleaguered by this change should be glad to know the next update brings scroll arrows back, according to [Ghacks](http://www.ghacks.net/2014/02/28/chrome-34-brings-back-scroll-arrows-windows-better-password-field-handling/).