Smooth scrolling - working extension found (sort of)
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I've tested a few of the Chrome extensions for smooth scrolling in Vivaldi so far, but have always run into issues (like breaking scrolling in submenus and stuff like that - nothing major, but still annoying). However, a few days ago I've stumbled upon a very simple extension that seems to work without any issues so far. It's called Scroller: https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/scroller/?display=en As you can see, it's actually an Opera extension, not Chrome extension, which means you can't install it into Vivaldi directly. However, you can download the .nex file, rename it to .zip, unpack its contents to any folder you want, and then in Vivaldi in the extensions management screen, just check Developer mode, select Load unpacked extension and point Vivaldi to the folder you've unpacked the extension to. It'll install the extension. It complains about unrecognized manifest key, but you can safely ignore the warning, the extension still works. I know many people here find smooth scrolling a superficial thing at best, but I "need" it to enjoy using a web browser, so perhaps someone might find that useful. I would´'ve posted it in the All platforms subforum, but since I've only tested it on Windows so far, I thought posting in Windows subforum would make more sense.
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Call me superficial then, because that's what I came here to research. Don't care for the herky-jerky look.
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None of the Chrome-based "smooth scroll" options are as good as the built-in one in Opera 12.
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Doesn't matter where you ask this. Smooth scrolling and auto scrolling are not the same thing. Smooth scrolling is using the mouse wheel but, instead of getting a bunch of ragged jumps from one position on the page to another, you get the same smooth-flowing effect as if you were using the scroll bar to move up & down the page - that is IF smooth scrolling is actually working as it should. Auto scrolling is the liquid effect you get on windows with the center mouse button.
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None of the Chrome-based "smooth scroll" options are as good as the built-in one in Opera 12.
That, clearly, is a matter of opinion as well. Smooth scrolling as done in Opera was very quick and responsive, certainly, but there was no way to achieve a real smoothness, at least when scrolling using the mouse wheel. It wasn't really what I'd call smooth scrolling, it was more like line scrolling with added animation to make it appear smoother. I've always envied Firefox and Chrome their silky smooth scrolling extensions - it was one of the few things I ever missed in Opera.
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None of the Chrome-based "smooth scroll" options are as good as the built-in one in Opera 12.
That, clearly, is a matter of opinion as well. Smooth scrolling as done in Opera was very quick and responsive, certainly, but there was no way to achieve a real smoothness, at least when scrolling using the mouse wheel. It wasn't really what I'd call smooth scrolling, it was more like line scrolling with added animation to make it appear smoother. I've always envied Firefox and Chrome their silky smooth scrolling extensions - it was one of the few things I ever missed in Opera.
OK. Now i have to take that back. Chromium Wheel Smooth Scroller extension can be adjusted to be just as good as old Opera smooth scrolling, or better.
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Thank you so much! As far as I am concerned, smooth scrolling is absolutely essential to a good web browsing experience (especially when reading longer text passages on a website). Your hint basically just made Vivaldi viable as a regular browser for me.
I absolutely understand where the Vivaldi devs are coming from and why features like spatial navigation and keyboard browsing have higher priority for them, but their browser will not resonate with a larger mainstream audience until they add some of those allegedly more "superficial" features most non-enthusiast-users take for granted.
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Smooth scrolling with the mouse is coming, I'd bet - because it's already here for touch. On my tablet, it does smooth-scrolling when you use the finger, and the upside is it's even better than Opera Next; the downside is, occasionally it stops working for random reasons and you have to switch back to the scrollbar.
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It's also been available on Linux as an experimental feature via flags for I think one or two weeks now. Haven't had the chance to try it out just yet. Soon…
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