Learn how to switch or change tabs in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge using your scroll wheel on your Mouse for faster navigation.
Whether in Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, switching tabs usually means you either click the tab you want to switch to or use the “Ctrl + Tab” shortcut to cycle through all the available tabs. However, if you are looking for a faster way to switch tabs, you can use your scroll wheel. The best thing is that while the regular style of navigation is fine in most cases, if you have a lot of open tabs, finding and clicking individual tabs or repeatedly pressing the keyboard shortcut is not easy. In those cases, using the scroll wheel to switch tabs makes your life easier.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show the steps to configure Windows to change tabs using the mouse scroll wheel in Chrome and Edge. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- To make this feature work, we must install a free and open-source Windows modding software called Windhawk. It requires administrator rights to install.
Change Browser Tabs Using Mouse Scroll Wheel in Chrome and Edge
- Get Windhawk from the official website.
- Double-click the installer file and install Windhawk.
- After installing, search and open Windhawk from the Start menu.
- Click the “Explore” option on the main window.
- Type “scroll tabs with mouse wheel” in the top search bar and press “Enter“.
- Click the “Details” button under “Chrome/Edge scroll tabs with mouse wheel”.
- Click the “Install” button.
- Press “Accept Risk and Install” to install the mod.
- Close and reopen the browser.
- From now on, place your mouse pointer on any tab and use the scroll wheel to switch tabs.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
To start off, we need to download and install Windhawk. To do that, head over to the developer’s official website and click the Download button. After that, open the File Explorer (press Windows key + E), find the downloaded file, and double-click it. Follow the installation wizard to install Windhawk.
Next, open the Start menu, search for “Windhawk” and click “Open“.
This action opens the Windhawk application. In it, click the “Explore” button at the top.
Now, type “scroll tabs with mouse wheel” in the search bar and press “Enter“. This filters the available mods and shows the one we need. From the results, click the “Details” button under the “Chrome/Edge scroll tabs with mouse wheel” mod.
The above action opens the details page of the selected mod. Here, click the “Install” button.
Now, you will see a warning prompt. Simply click the “Accept Risk and Install” button to continue.
Once the mod is installed, close the Windhawk application and restart your browsers. After reopening the browser, you can change its tabs by placing your mouse cursor on the title bar or any tab and scrolling up and down with the mouse wheel.
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That is all. It is that simple to switch tabs with the scroll wheel in Chrome and Edge. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
