Scrollbar Definition

The scroll bar is a graphical interface element that consists of a horizontal or vertical bar (or both) with two ends with arrows pointing in opposite directions and that are usually located at the ends of a window or box.

In English: Scrollbar.

Scroll bars allow you to scroll the contents of the box or work area to one side or the other.

The bars usually appear or are activated when the box or window is not large enough to display the entire content of the document you are working on.

How scroll bars work

The scroll bar is an interaction technique that allows you to continue with a text, image or other content that can be scrolled in a certain direction (up, down, left or right) on a screen, window or tab.

Allows you to scroll through and view the entire content of the document, even if only a fraction of it is visible on the screen at any given time.

It offers a solution to the problem of navigation between what is visible and what is not visible within a two-dimensional space.

Features of scrollbars

Scrollbars were introduced in early graphical interfaces and are available on all kinds of devices like computers, graphing calculators, cell phones, media players, etc.

The user interacts with a scrollbar using some method and the scrollbar translates it into scroll commands, the user will receive the feedback visually.

Although the design of scroll bars has changed throughout the programs (as can be seen in the image), they usually appear on one or both sides of the visible area as rectangular areas that contain a bar (sometimes called a thumb) that can be dragged along it to move the body of the document.

This rectangle can be placed vertically, horizontally, or both, depending on which way the content expands outside the borders. Arrows are usually included to indicate the direction of scrolling.

An internal rectangle is also included that indicates in which portion or position of the document we are displaced. This rectangle is called a thumb in English, but is also found by other names such as scroller, knob (in Java), scroll box or scroll thumb in Microsoft, and is also found by the name elevator, quint, puck, wiper. or grip.

In Spanish we can simply call it a bar. Then it will be the scrollbar bar.

Sometimes the size of this rectangle or bar tells us the size of the document we are moving. The smaller the rectangle, the larger the document to scroll. This feature was added in Windows as recently as version 95.

If the rectangle is not present, it means that the bar cannot be moved because it is not necessary. Sometimes the scroll bar just disappears.

In some operating systems like Windows, attached to the scroll bar at the bottom right of certain windows and elements, you may find a small square button that allows you to resize the window. This can turn scroll bars on or off when needed.

Ways to scroll a scroll bar

The methods for moving the scroll bar have varied over the years and have even been improved with the advent of certain technologies, such as the touchpad, touch screen, and multi-touch.

Drag the thumb or bar with the cursor

The classic way to scroll the scroll bar is with the mouse cursor, moving the thumb or scroll rectangle (bar) to one side or the other. You click and hold on it and it moves, finally releasing the click at the desired position. There are mice with a third button that allows you to scroll the document by pressing and moving the mouse pointer.

Using the scroll wheel

Some mice have a wheel that allows you to quickly scroll through a document. This scrolling is controlled by the address bar. Scrolling is usually vertical, but there are mice that also include horizontal scrolling, even diagonal directions. How fast you scroll depends on your mouse settings.

Using the cursor keys, direction keys, or editing keys

You can also use the direction keys or cursor calls (arrow keys) to scroll through a document. With these keys we will move the active window or element at that moment.

There are also the edition keys: Start (Home), End (End), Page Up (PgUp), Page Down (PgDn), which allows us to quickly scroll within a document. See also: Navigation keys.

Using your finger or pen on touch screens

For touch screens, you can use your finger or a stylus to scroll a document. The technique can be either by touching the scroll bar or by dragging the document (such as grabbing or pressing the document with your finger).

fast scrolling

It is also possible to quickly scroll through a document by clicking somewhere on the scroll bar. That is, it is not necessary to drag the thumb (or inner rectangle or bar) to scroll. Clicking on any part of the scroll bar will immediately display the corresponding part of the document.

Slow scrolling using the arrows

It is also possible to scroll using the arrows contained in the scroll bar (if they are available). The corresponding arrow is clicked and the document scrolls slowly (sometimes a single line) for each click.

Sometimes double arrows appear, one next to the other. This way they allow us to go up or down quickly without moving the cursor to the other end of the scroll bar.

Using the trackpad or touchpad

It is also possible to scroll a document using the trackpad or touchpad device, usually available on laptops. Usually to scroll the content, the finger should be moved to the far right or bottom of the touchpad.

In some cases it is possible to use some special gestures on the touchpad to scroll the active document. For example, pinching (using two fingers) on the touchpad allows you to «grab» the document.

Future scrolling techniques in documents

Techniques for scrolling a document using eye movement have been tried.

It has also been possible to move a document in some way using thought and complex brain-scanning machines.

These cutting-edge technologies are under development.