Enable Two-Finger Scrolling in Ubuntu: A Quick Guide
- 6 steps
- Needs administrator rights
Two-finger scrolling in Ubuntu lets you swipe up and down on your laptop touchpad to move through long web pages and documents without an external mouse. Modern laptop touchpads support this feature out of the box. Turning it on takes just a few clicks in the settings menu on recent releases like Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
You can change these touch settings at any time. This guide uses the standard Ubuntu desktop (GNOME), and the steps are the same on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and close releases. Labels and layout can differ slightly on older or newer versions.
Two-finger scrolling in Ubuntu is turned on in Settings Mouse & Touchpad. Open Settings from the System menu in the top-right corner of the top bar, select Mouse & Touchpad, switch the Touchpad toggle to On, then switch Two-finger Scrolling to On. No restart or admin rights are needed.
How to turn on or off two-finger scrolling in Ubuntu Linux
The two-finger scrolling setting lives in the main Settings app in Ubuntu Linux, and you can turn it on or off there. Place two fingers on the touchpad and move them up and down, or side to side. The page or document moves with them, so you don’t need to grab the scrollbar on the side of the screen.
The setting applies to your user account and takes effect immediately. You don’t need admin rights or a restart to change it.
The configuration steps follow below. You will open the Settings app, go to the Mouse & Touchpad panel, make sure the touchpad is on, and then switch on two-finger scrolling.
- Click the System menu in the top-right corner of your desktop. It is the group of small icons (network, sound and power) at the right end of the top bar.
A panel drops down with the volume slider, quick toggles for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and buttons along the bottom.
This is the same menu as in the previous step, so use whichever way you find easier. You can also press the Super (Windows) key, type Settings, and press Enter to open the Settings app without the menu.
- On the System menu, select Settings, as highlighted below.
The Settings app opens in a new window, with a list of categories down the left side.
- Click the Mouse & Touchpad tile in the Settings app to open the panel. On some releases it appears as an entry in the left-hand list rather than a tile.
The panel opens with mouse options at the top and, on a laptop, a Touchpad section below them. You may need to scroll down inside the window to see it.
- In the Settings Mouse & Touchpad panel, find the Touchpad section.
- Switch the Touchpad toggle to the On position.
The toggle turns colored when it is on. The options below it, such as Two-finger Scrolling, are now available for you to change.
A desktop PC, or a virtual machine with only a virtual mouse, usually won’t show it. Furthermore, the touchpad must be enabled before you can adjust any settings within the Touchpad section. If the options are greyed out, the touchpad is off. Some laptops also have a function key that switches the touchpad off in hardware, so check that too.
- With Touchpad enabled, switch the Two-finger Scrolling toggle to the On position.
The toggle changes color to show it is active. On some releases this setting sits next to an Edge Scrolling option, and you pick one or the other. Choose Two-finger Scrolling. To test it, open a long web page, put two fingers on the touchpad, and slide them up or down. The page should scroll right away.
To disable it, switch the toggle to the Off position. You can come back to this same panel and turn it on again whenever you like. If the scrolling direction feels backwards after you enable it, look for the Natural Scrolling option in the same section and switch it on or off to reverse the direction.
Configuration is now complete, and the Settings app can be closed. The change is saved automatically, so there is no Apply or Save button to click and no restart is needed. If scrolling still doesn't work, go back to the panel and confirm that both Touchpad and Two-finger Scrolling are on. If they are, log out and back in.
Enabling two-finger scrolling makes navigating documents and web pages on your laptop much easier. Once it is on, it works in most apps, including the browser, the file manager and text editors.
- Enabling or disabling Two-finger scrolling in Ubuntu Linux can greatly enhance the user experience for touchpad users.
- The centralized location for system settings in Ubuntu Linux makes accessing and modifying touchpad preferences easy.
- The visual aids in this post provide helpful guidance for users adjusting their touchpad settings.
- Have additional insights to share or spotted an error? Feel free to use the comment section below to provide feedback or suggestions.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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