Scroll Smoothly in Firefox with SmoothWheel

When browsing the web the main browser I use on a day-to-day basis is Firefox. I like Firefox over Internet Explorer because of its fast loading times, it displays web pages how they are meant to be displayed and it also allows themes and add-ons to be installed.

The one thing I don’t like about Firefox is how jerky the scroll is when using my mouse wheel to scroll down web pages. This brings me to a great new Firefox Add-on I have found, its called SmoothWheel.

SmoothWheel is an Add-on for Firefox that allows you to scroll web pages smoothly by either mouse wheel or keyboard arrows (needs to be switched on in options). It works on all web pages and is also available for the following applications; ChatZilla, Songbird, Flock, KompoZer, Prism, XUL Runner, and few deprecated applications.

SmoothWheel is fully configurable and works dynamically so scrolls fast or slow by trying to anticipating the users intention. It also workes with text and drop down boxes too.

Below is a video of it in action, compare it to how your scroll is in Firefox to see the difference.

Why use SmoothWheel?

- Faster Navigation – within long web pages (dynamic scroll distance).
- Less disorientation – when scrolling, especially with long texts (fluid scroll).
- Reading while scrolling – is actually possible.
- No learning curve – unaltered interaction, but more useful outcome.
- Very customizable – have a look in the options menu.
- Fun, Addictive – sounds sad but its true.

Download the latest version of SmoothWheel here: http://smoothwheel.mozdev.org

Let us know below how you get on with this add-on, all comments and suggestions welcome. I have tested this with Firefox 3.6.