Use that scroll wheel!

Anyone using creative applications on either a Macintosh or Windows computer should be using a two button mouse with a scroll wheel. The scroll wheel allows you to scroll horizontally and vertically as well as zoom in and out in most applications. Modifier keys for the scroll wheel were inconsistent in CS2 applications, and made more consistent in CS3. See the tables below for a summary of modifier keys for Macintosh and Windows.

Using a wheel mouse in Macintosh design applications

	Scroll vertically	Scroll horizontally	Zoom
InDesign CS2	wheel only	shift or option	command
Illustrator CS2	wheel only	command	not available
Photoshop CS2	wheel only	command	option
Bridge CS2	wheel only	not applicable	control (resizes thumbnails)*
InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop CS3	wheel only	command	option
Bridge CS3	wheel only	not applicable	control (resizes thumbnails), or wheel only (when viewing a preview with the loupe)*
Acrobat 7-9	wheel only	not available	option
* in order to use the control key plus the mouse wheel, the Mac "Keyboard & Mouse" System Preference for "Zoom using Scroll Wheel..." must be turned off

 

Using a wheel mouse in Windows design applications

	Scroll vertically	Scroll horizontally	Zoom
InDesign CS2	wheel only	alt	ctrl
Illustrator CS2	wheel only	ctrl	alt
Photoshop CS2	wheel only	ctrl	alt
Bridge CS2	wheel only	not applicable	ctrl (resizes thumbnails)
InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop CS3	wheel only	ctrl	alt
Bridge CS3	wheel only	not applicable	ctrl (resizes thumbnails), or wheel only (when viewing a preview with the loupe)
Acrobat 7-9	wheel only	not available	ctrl