Disappearing scrollbars

[Ean]

Hi,

I'm new to Linux and  installed LL 5.6 on a 64 bit AMD 2 core 2.7GHz, 4Gb RAM, legacy BIOS PC on Monday. All seems good.

My apologies for asking about a problem in the previous version of this post regarding fonts, This had been plaguing me for days, but a solution has just occurred to me. My apologies for breaking any forum protocols; I'm new to this.

Is there a way to get rid of the disappearing scrollbars, please, (or a way to make them more visible) as I find them mildly confusing? I can't find a setting for this; I've also done a search for Animations.

Solutions would be most welcome. Although I'm experienced with Windows, please respond as to a beginner.

Ean.

[stevef]

Ean,

The biggest single influence on this is probably the desktop theme.  Some themes may match your individual preferences better than others so first stop should be trying to find one with a look and feel you prefer.

Changes can be made under Control Panel->Settings->Appearance and Control Panel->Settings->Window Manager.

See the help manual under Themes for a bit more guidance.

[Ean]

Stevef,

Many thanks for your advice on this. I don't think there is a setting to stop disappearing scrollbars. Modern DE's seem to be fond of stuff disappearing. It's counter-intuitive because we naturally look at something before picking it up from a desk or workbench, and the eye is much, much faster than hand and mouse movement. Secondly, I've made minor errors in not seeing, say, menu options because there is no visible scrollbar, I've wrongly assumed there are no further options. Those little grey disappearing arrows in Windows 10 are a minor distraction, too.

I think this is something I'll have to adapt to, but I'm amazed that the industry in general is so fond of this useless and time wasting gimmick.

Having said all this, to date I'm very happy with LL, and when a HDD I've ordered arrives, plan to install it on an old laptop for use with Zoom, mainly.

Best wishes, Ean.

[WytWun]

Windows 10 has become very enamoured of some of these scrollbar behaviours too I've noticed, though not all MS apps have yet followed suit...

See here for something that might help you achieve what I think you're after.

You might also find a scrollbar behaviour change useful.

[Ean]

Thank you for your help, but I don't understand or know how to implement the solutions offered. I really need a step-by step guide with explanations in plain English, which I know is a lot to ask. My extremely limited experience with any Command Line stuff is a couple of diagnostic commands in Windows, and no programming experience whatsoever.

I did manage to install (temporarily because the app vanishes after closing the terminal) and run Neofetch, which gives system details. This was using Terminal and came from a Youtube tutorial video.

I know my way around the Windows OS, and am learning LL, but know nothing about LL filetypes yet.

Best wishes, Ean.

[stevef]

Ean,

I understand the frustration with things hiding themselves unless you know to move the pointer to them.

You may want to try this

Open the Linux Lite File Manager Thunar (I assume it is pointing to your home directory)
Click in the location field and over type where it says '/home/yourname' with '/etc/' and press enter
Scroll down to find a plain text file called 'environment'

Right click on this file and select 'Open as Administrator'
Enter your password and it should open text editor showing the file contents.
There is probably just one line beginning 'PATH='.  You need to take care not to change any existing lines
Cursor on the very end of the last existing line and press return to create a brand new line
Enter the text in the code box below as the new line

Code:

GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0

Save the file and close the text editor.

Logout of the desktop and log back in.

[Ean]

Hi Stevef,

Many, many thanks for the solution, and for taking the time to do it! The scrollbars are now visible and there's a nice, subtle change in their shade/colour when they're used. I don't know what a code box is, and couldn't get a clear answer from a search, (may be the blue bit) but the ENVIRONMENT file now looks like this:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin"
Code [select]
GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0

The first two lines are actually one line in the file. I think in retrospect the "code [select]" line may possibly be redundant, and I mistakenly didn't type in the ":" . This is all saved for future use.

How you worked this out is completely beyond me. This really needs to be publicised within the community in some way. Is this specific to the Xfce DE, or might this solution apply to all DE's?

Best wishes, Ean.

[Ean]

Hi again,

Sorry, but can't find out how to say "SOLVED" for this issue - please advise.  There are adverts down the sided of the page even when fully maximised. These cover some icons, which may or may not be related. Ean

[stevef]

Ean,

You're welcome, happy to help.

If you click 'modify' on the top right of your original post you can then use the Select Prefix drop down menu to mark as SOLVED.  If the ads are preventing you seeing the top right of the post maybe scrolling up or down might help.

Sorry that using the code box confused you - it was meant to indicate exactly what text you needed.  As you've inferred the intention was that you would just select, copy and paste the text inside the coloured box.

The extra "Code [select]" in the environment file shouldn't have crept in and I suppose you could/should tidy up so you file looks more like the code box below.  But as it doesn't seem to be causing you a problem you could leave well alone.  It could have been more of a problem if you hadn't left the PATH= statement intact.

Code:

PATH="/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin"
GTK_OVERLAY_SCROLLING=0

I had the same irritation with the scroll bars auto hiding as you.  Changing themes reduced the annoyance but this workaround was found after following a few internet search leads.

[Ean]

Hi Stevef,

Thanks for your advice on "Solved".

LL is also installed on one of my old laptops - the mic, cam, etc all work; impressive.

Ean.