Internet Explorer gradual scrolling for Page Up, Page Down

November 18, 2009 / Filed under: #fb

Screenshot of Internet Explorer 8

I never thought I'd say this, but Internet Explorer 8 is doing something I wish Firefox did.

When you hit the "Page Up" or "Page Down" keys (I do this about a thousand times a day), IE 8 gradually scrolls to it's next spot, so you can watch how much "ground" it's covering. In other words, instead of immediately jumping to the next spot, IE 8's gradual scrolling appears to be going in slow motion, which is very helpful when navigating long pages in the browser.

On the other hand, the abrupt, progressive scrollbar "jumps" in Firefox (and other browsers I presume) are too hard to follow. One second you're looking at one spot on the page, and the very next second you're somewhere else. How did I get here? What came before it? All context is lost.

A gradual scroll is much more appealing to the eye.

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