Touchpad Scrolling Sensitivity and Zooming Issues in InDesign via Remote Desktop

Report · Sep 12, 2024

Hi,

I have to use Microsoft Remote Desktop for work and when I open InDesign (2024), the scrolling sensitivity using my touchpad is way too high. I see suggestions saying to go to "Page Display" under either File or View, but I do not have that option in either. I could not find it in Preferences either.

My computer is a 2024 Macbook Air, and I believe I remote into a Windows Server 2019 Standard. Because I am so used to using my Mac, this small detail makes designing for my new job quite unpleasant. Does anyone know how to fix this?

On a similar note, I can no longer pinch the trackpad to zoom in or out, is this fixable, or is it only available on Mac?

Report · Sep 12, 2024

Hi @Lynn32743871mpxt,

Thank you for reaching out! I can understand how frustrating it must be to deal with sensitive scrolling and the loss of pinch-to-zoom when working remotely.

To help narrow down the issue, could you please confirm the exact version of InDesign it is 19.5 or not?

Please try the below suggestions:

Adjust Windows touchpad settings: Since InDesign’s settings don’t directly control touchpad sensitivity, you might want to adjust the touchpad sensitivity in Windows itself. You can access these settings by navigating to Settings > Devices > Touchpad on the remote Windows server.
Zooming issue: Unfortunately, the pinch-to-zoom functionality is only available on Mac. When working remotely on Windows, the trackpad gestures from your Mac won’t carry over. However, you can use keyboard shortcuts like "Ctrl +" and "Ctrl -" to zoom in and out in InDesign on Windows.

Let me know if this helps or if you have any further questions!

Thank you,
Abhishek Rao

Report · Sep 16, 2024

Hi! Sorry for the delayed response. My InDesign is v19.5, the system isn't yet updated enough to allow 19.5.

I can adjust the scrolling speed on my laptop if I find it truly unbearable, but it actually only affects my use of InDesign. Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as other apps like Google Chrome, scroll fine.

Report · Sep 16, 2024

Hi @Lynn32743871mpxt,

Thank you for confirming the version and sharing more about your experience. It sounds like the sensitivity issue is indeed quite specific to InDesign under your setup. Let’s try to address it specifically for InDesign:

Adjusting Scroll Behavior in InDesign: Since the scroll sensitivity is specific to InDesign, you might want to try adjusting the zoom and scroll settings within InDesign itself, although they are typically limited. However, you can try the following workaround:

Modify Mouse Wheel Behavior:

Go to Edit > Preferences > Units & Increments.
Under Cursor Key, check if adjusting the When Scrolling with Mouse Wheel setting helps. This won't directly affect touchpad sensitivity but may impact how scroll inputs are interpreted within InDesign.

2. Use Windows Accessibility Settings:

Although you've mentioned the issue is specific to InDesign, utilizing Windows' accessibility settings might provide a more consistent response across applications.
Navigate to Settings > Ease of Access > Mouse & Touchpad and experiment with the touchpad delay settings to see if this helps mitigate the high sensitivity in InDesign.

Regarding the Touchpad Zoom:

As previously noted, the pinch-to-zoom function is indeed a limitation when using a Mac trackpad on a Windows environment via remote desktop. The keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl + and Ctrl -) or the zoom tool (magnifying glass icon) in the tools panel remain the best alternatives for zoom control in this scenario.

I hope this helps, Lynn! Please keep us updated on your progress, or if you find another solution that works better for your situation, feel free to share it with the community.

Thank you,

Abhishek Rao

Report · Nov 10, 2024

Hi, Abhishek,

I can confirm that scrolling on touchpad of MacBook Pro is absolutely unusable. It is way too fast, sensitive and erratic at the same time.

I'm using InDesign 20.0.

I tried to follow your suggestion but I couldn find anything similar to Under Cursor Key, check if adjusting the When Scrolling with Mouse Wheel . This option simply isnt' there at all.

I'd appreciate any help.

Thank you.

David

Report · Nov 11, 2024

Hi @brunoczech,

Thanks for confirming the issue! I see the option I mentioned isn't available in InDesign 20.0, so let’s try a couple of different things:

1. Adjust Touchpad Settings in macOS: Go to System Settings > Trackpad.
You can disable the Natural Scrolling to see if it helps with sensitivity.

2. Use the Zoom Shortcuts: While the touchpad sensitivity remains an issue, I recommend using Ctrl + and Ctrl - (or Cmd + and Cmd - on Mac) for zooming in and out.
You can also use the Zoom Tool in the toolbar as an alternative.

Also, is this issue specific to InDesign, or are you seeing similar behavior in other applications as well?

If possible, could you share a screen recording demonstrating the scrolling issue? It will help us understand the behavior better.

Let me know how this goes or if there are any other issues I can help with!

Thanks,
Abhishek

Report · Nov 11, 2024

Hi, Abishek,

Thanks for the suggestions but they're not going to work.

I certainly do not want or need to adjust the touchpad sensitivity on my Mac as it works absolutely and perfectly fine everywhere else. It is only InDesign when it behaves strangely.

I should specify that but I do not have problems with the touchpad sensitivity when zooming but when moving around the open file.

BTW zooming - I've already asked this question in this forum and got my answer. I still don't understand why CMD+- shortcut does not zoom in our out the centre of the visible area on the screen but rather the selected object. This make no sense to me.

Anyway, I hope that Adobe will address this sensitivy issue sometime in the future, I believe I am not the only one with such problem.

Thanks for your help!

David

Report · Nov 11, 2024

Hi @brunoczech,

Thanks for the update and for clarifying the issue.

Just to better understand the behavior, could you please confirm if this touchpad sensitivity issue happens with all your InDesign files or just a specific one? I tried reproducing this on my end, and it seems to be working fine here.

If possible, could you share the file where you’re experiencing this behavior so we can test it further? This will help us identify any specific elements or settings that might be contributing to the issue.

Looking forward to your response!

Thanks,
Abhishek

Report · Nov 12, 2024

Hi,

The issue is all the same with any INDD file. I cannot share it unfortunately as I am under strict NDA.

The file have very different sizes - the first one has over 60MB and about 10 spreads. The other for example has basically the same amount of pages but is much smaller, about 5MB.

The touchpad is way too sensitive. Let's say I am editing one object and want to inspect the one which is below on the page - but every slight movement on the touchpad takes me miles away from the object I am inspecting, sometimes even to another page.

This needs to be fixed. If it is not intended behavior, of course.

D.

Report · Nov 12, 2024

Hi @brunoczech,

Thanks for the update and for clarifying the situation!

To further isolate the issue, could you please confirm if the touchpad sensitivity behavior is the same when using an external mouse instead?

Additionally, if possible, could you share a short screen recording demonstrating the behavior you're experiencing?

Looking forward to your response, and thanks again for your patience!

Best,
Abhishek Rao