How to Reverse Scroll Direction on Mac: A Simple Guide

Reversing scroll direction on a Mac means switching the direction in which your display moves when you scroll up or down. In other words, your screen will move up when you scroll down and vice versa.

To reverse the scroll direction on your Mac, open the Apple menu > System Preferences > Mouse or Trackpad, and then check or uncheck ‘Scroll direction: natural’.

‘Natural’ scroll direction is how Apple describes the current default scroll setting on Macs, which is opposite to the traditional scroll direction. If you scroll up, the content moves down, and vice versa, imitating a natural movement as if you were directly touching the content.

To change back to normal scroll direction, navigate to System Preferences > Mouse or Trackpad, and then check or uncheck the ‘Scroll direction: natural’ box, depending on your previous setting.

Some users find the reversed scroll direction or ‘natural’ scrolling more intuitive and comfortable, especially those coming from using a touchscreen like on an iPad or iPhone. However, it ultimately boils down to personal preference.

No, changes to the scrolling direction take effect immediately. You don’t need to restart your Mac.

No, reversing the scroll direction applies system-wide, meaning it affects all applications and windows.

No, reversing the scroll direction on your Mac only changes the direction of scrolling. It doesn’t affect other trackpad or mouse gestures.

To reverse the scroll direction when using a mouse, go to System Preferences > Mouse, then check or uncheck the ‘Scroll direction: natural’ checkbox.

To reverse the scroll direction when using a trackpad, open System Preferences > Trackpad, and then check or uncheck ‘Scroll direction: natural’.

No, there’s no keyboard shortcut to reverse scroll direction. You need to change the setting in System Preferences.

Apple chose ‘natural’ scroll direction to imitate the movements of a physical piece of paper. If you were to push up on a piece of paper in front of you, the bottom of the page moves towards you, which is what happens with natural scroll direction.

No, the ‘Scroll direction: natural’ setting in system preferences applies to both vertical and horizontal scrolling simultaneously.

Yes, you can change the scroll direction on a Magic Mouse in the same way through the mouse settings in System Preferences.

Yes, changing the scroll direction will also affect how you scroll with an external mouse connected to your Mac.

The default scroll direction on a Mac is ‘natural’ scrolling, which has the content move in the direction of the fingers’ movement, mimicking the action on a touch screen.

If you’re not able to find the ‘Scroll direction: natural’ option, make sure you’re looking in the correct location. For Trackpad it’s under System Preferences > Trackpad > Scroll & Zoom, and for Mouse it’s under System Preferences > Mouse.

No, the scroll direction setting applies to both the trackpad and mouse at the same time. There is currently no in-built way to customize this for each device separately.

Yes, reversing scroll direction will apply to all applications that utilize the scrolling functionality, including web browsers.

No, changing the scroll direction will not limit or hinder your ability to use your Mac in any way. It is merely a preference based on what feels more natural and intuitive to you.

The only scrolling behavior you can change in the system settings is the scrolling direction. However, there may be third-party applications that allow more granular customization.

The changes should take effect immediately. If they do not, try closing and reopening the application you’re using or check if you’ve applied the changes correctly in System Preferences.

Reversing the scroll direction does not influence the behavior of the arrow keys. Arrow keys will always move the scrollable content in the direction of the arrow.

Switching scroll directions requires you to navigate to the System Preferences menu. While the process isn’t long, it isn’t a quick toggle either. As of now, there’s no system provision to switch scrolling directions quickly.

No, changing the scroll direction doesn’t affect the gestures for moving between different full screen apps. Those remain the same regardless of your scrolling settings.

This could be due to a system error. Try restarting your Mac. If the issue persists, contact Apple Support.

No, reversing the scroll direction is a simple system setting change and it should not cause any system errors.

Yes, the natural scroll direction on a Mac mimics the scroll behavior on iPads and iPhones, where content moves in the direction of your finger’s movement.

Changing the scroll direction is not permanent. It can be undone by going back to the System Preferences and changing the setting again.

The current setting will be reflected in the System Preferences. If the ‘Scroll direction: natural’ box is checked, then the natural scroll direction is set. If it’s unchecked, the scroll direction is reversed.