Default Alt+Wheel zoom behaves differently in Composition window in v25.3.0

[Wilson5E7C]

[Note: I know they just announced that 25.2 is available for download, but Creative Cloud just gave me 25.3, so I'm not really sure what's going on (and maybe I'm not the only one)]

Version: 25.3.0 (Build 71)

Platform: Windows 11

Steps to reproduce: Hold mouse over composition window, hold down Alt and turn scroll wheel

Expected result: Composition window zooms centred on mouse cursor location

Actual result: Composition window zooms centred on centre of window

For the 3-4 years I've been using AE, I've been holding down Alt and scrolling my mouse wheel in order to zoom toward whatever my mouse cursor is hovering over, both in the Composition window and in the Timeline.

But after I updated to 25.3 yesterday, in the Composition window, Alt+Wheel now zooms in and out on the centre of the window and the Wheel without a keyboard modifier zooms in and out at the cursor point (which I only discovered by experimentation).

But the Timeline zoom control hasn't changed: it still uses Alt+Wheel to zoom at the cursor point. (The scroll wheel with no keyboard modifier does nothing at all in the Timeline).

So, besides changing a long-standing keyboard/mouse shortcut for no apparent reason*, there are now two different ways to do the same thing in different places, which is very poor UX design. I now have to think about where my cursor is and remember to use/not use Alt based on that. This will waste much more time than having to use the Alt key ever did, and cause much more distraction than just leaving things as they were.

I'm hoping there's a way to change this, but I really feel that this should not be the default behaviour. If it's going to be, then they need to change the Timeline (and everywhere else that scrolls with the mouse wheel) to match.


*Yes, I default to zooming based on mouse location, and I'm sure many others do too, but holding down Alt is neither difficult nor time-consuming

[JohnColombo]

Hi @Wilson5E7C,

Thank you for reporting this issue. In 25.3, we've introduced a new Smooth Zoom in the viewer panels, which includes new defaults for the zoom behavior.

In Preferences > Previews, there is new section for Magnification, where you can change the default behavior of zoom to be centered on either the mouse or the comp center. Does toggling this settting resolve the issue you're seeing?

Thanks again,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team

[amiable_penguin6159]

I'm having a similar issue. The 'Alt-Scroll' pans instead of zooms. Toggling the settings in the magnification section doesn't resolve this - I can either have Pan or Zoom and not Pan - (Alt)Zoom like I could yesterday.
I cannot figure out why it is behaving like this

[ratilomend]

I'm having the same issue. Admittedly, I do prefer the Smooth Zoom when pinch zooming on a trackpad. However, since I'm using a Magic Mouse most of the time, I can no longer zoom by holding the ALT key. Keen to see this one solved!

[piotr_6333]

chcę pobrać after effects

[erden_ümit_0976]

[Thomas22814689ug7h]

Having the same issue. No amount of fiddling with the magnification settings in Preferences > Previews restores the behavior prior to this update where scroll wheel alone pans and scroll wheel+alt/option zooms... not even selecting the "legacy" option. It appears that in an effort to introduce new options, old ones were removed or broken.

[Same Page James]

Can someone please provide an update on this? It seems odd to introduce an update that is so consiquential to my (and many others) workflow, without having the ability to revert back to previous behavioural state!

[Same Page James]

Hello@JohnColombo is there anyone making an effort to fix this problem? Is there an update for us? 
Please us know. Thanks!

[JohnColombo]

@Same Page James What OS and mouse or trackpad hardware are you using? You should be able to restore the behavior from prior versions by changing "Trackpad Scrolling" to "Zooms" in the Magnification settings in the Preview section of the Preferences. If that doesn't work, could you provide more information on what isn't working as you would expect?

Thank you for any additional info,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[mounir_ait belkacem1769]

I'm also having the same problem, I just want the scroll wheel+option to zoom and scroll alone to pans. is there any solution?

[lanna_2250]

Changing trackpad to scroll instead of pan changes *all* the scroll behaviour, it used to be that you could scroll to pan, or opt+scroll to zoom. 

[lanna_2250]

@JohnColombo Changing trackpad to scroll instead of pan changes *all* the scroll behaviour, it used to be that you could scroll to pan, OR opt/alt+scroll to zoom. I'm on Sequoia 15.5 & using a magic mouse. 

[Same Page James]

Hello @JohnColombo sorry I hadn't seen your reply.
To answer your question; OS = sequoia 15.5 (most up to date at the time of my last message, although I see there is now a 15.6)
Mouse = Apple Magic mouse 2

Basically the functionality of having the mouse I want is to have the mouse scroll PAN and when I hold ALT it ZOOMS. That is how it was behaving before. 
I have tried every combination including the LEGACY mode. (Legacy mode is ONLY ZOOM / ALT key does nothing)
The only results I have now are either PAN or ZOOM and the ALT key does nothing.
of course I will update the OS later today, but can we assume that will not change the issue based on the fact that it was running the most current up until a few days ago.

Does that make sense? Please let me know

[JohnColombo]

Thank you @lanna_2250, @Mou Mou & @Same Page James, that's very helpful.

Are any of you able to share more details about your mouse preferences? I ask because I'm unable to reproduce the behavior you are describing in older versions of AE using a Magic Mouse 2—scrolling with one or two fingers consistently zooms for me, with no apparent way to pan other than holding spacebar or H for the Hand tool. Is there a preference in macOS or third-party add-on that allows the Magic Mouse scroll to pan in AE 25.2 and older?

Thanks again,

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[lanna_2250]

@JohnColombo I didn't ever have anything else going alongside the mouse, and there don't seem to be any special settings on. It sounds like you just have the zoom option on in preview (forgive me if I'm being dense) if you're only getting the zoom. It definitely did used to be scroll = pan and opt+scroll = zoom though. Unsure what the settings were in my previous versions of course, unhelpfully.

[JohnColombo]

Thank you for that screenshot, @lanna_2250. I'm currently testing using the older 24.6 version of AE, so before the new Magnification settings in the Preview section of the preferences was introduced. I've checked that my mouse settings are the same as the ones you've shared, but scrolling on my Magic Mouse still zooms to the composition center in After Effects 2024.

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[Same Page James]

Hello again  @JohnColombo 
Sadly, I don't think it will help going back through past instances of AE to replicate the behaviour, that was the first thing I tried and ever since this update was rolled out it affected ALL past versions of AE. I am aware that this sounds crazy but it is true, and explains why you are unable to replicate the behaviour.
The best way I can explain the desired behaviour is - Open Illustrator - does the magic mouse PAN when scrolled and then ZOOM when OPT/scrolled? That is the behaviour I am looking for in the composition window of AE.
Another thing to point out is that this behaviour has actually persisted in the TIMELINE window in AE. It's only disappeared in the Composition window. 
This whole thing is very bizarre, and more so because I'm certain this was the default setting for AE and you yourself, an Adobe employee can not only not replicate it, but seem to be completely unaware of its prior existence!
Does this make sense? 

[lanna_2250]

@Same Page James @JohnColombo yes - exactly this. The timeline in AE does respomd this way, so it's very strange to be adopting one behaviour for that window and another for the preview. 

[Ferenc27960687ri8b]

Hi @Wilson5E7C,

What @JohnColombo works, but the naming is exactly the opposite of what you would expect. If you want the old behaviour of zooming that follows the cursor, you have to select "Centered" in the section for Magnification. The default for this setting is "Follow Cursor". But in this case the zooming is centered. So the naming seems to be reversed.

[Same Page James]

@Ferenc27960687ri8b Thanks but I feel like maybe you haven't read all the replies - we've discussed what you have said here earlier in this thread, the problem is persisting.
Any update on this @JohnColombo ?

[Ferenc27960687ri8b]

@Same Page James I've read all the replies and I only saw people trying different settings for the trackpad scrolling setting. But since you're still having this problem I think you already tried the two behaviour settings?

[JohnColombo]

@Ferenc27960687ri8b The Behavior preference indicates the zoom center behavior without any modifier keys held down—if Alt/Option is held, the behavior toggles to the unselected option. E.g. If you set Behavior to "Centered", then hold Alt/Option while scrolling, you will see the "Follow cursor" behavior. The opposite will be true if Behavior is set to "Follow cursor".

@Same Page James We are investigating the best course of action, but no updates yet. Given that we aren't able to recreate the described behavior (using scroll with a Magic Mouse to pan the view by default) in any older versions, it's not fully clear what the behavior should be across the broader range of input devices (trackpads, pens, touch, etc).

- John, After Effects Engineering Team 

[Same Page James]

Understood. Thanks for the update @JohnColombo