A new mouse and interface feature in Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.8 is being dubbed “Zoom using scroll wheel.” This incredibly cool new feature will most certainly have Mac design enthusiasts and pros using it at every chance they get to review small details within their creations and content.
This is the zoom interface in the mouse system preferences panel:
When you have an Apple Branded Mouse connected (You must have an Apple branded mouse connected to take advantage of these customization options), you have the following options available to you when you click the Zoom “Options” button. These mostly have to do with the behavior of the display and mouse once you are zoomed-in:
- Continuously with pointer
- Only when the pointer reaches an edge
- So the pointer is at or near the center of the image
- Smooth images (Press ⌘⌥\ to turn off smoothing)
A few things I’ve noticed are:
- The feature is enabled by default but you will only see the interface option within the Mouse System Preferences if you have an Apple Branded Mouse or track pad
- You do not need an Apple Mouse or track pad to use this feature
- The default modifier key is “Control”
- Holding down “Control” while scrolling up will zoom-in the display
- Holding down “Control” while scrolling down will zoom-out the display
The interface for the Mouse System Preferences can change dramatically depending on the kind of mouse you have connected to your machine. For instance the following image displays what the Mouse System Preference looks like with the Mighty Mouse connected:
This is what it looks like on a MacBookPro:
Overall, the feature works great, and I can see using this immediately for reviewing image blemishes and the like. This option has actually been around since Mac OS X 10.4.7, but was previously only available to users who posssessed a Mighty Mouse. This also works with PowerBook and MacBook trackpad users who have enabled “Use two fingers to scroll” on their systems. I hope you find this information useful.
