There is one thing that has been bugging me big time with the unibody Mac Book Pro and that is the touchpad and Safari/Firefox. I just cannot stop myself from zooming webpages in and out as I scroll with the new trackpad and it is just driving me nuts. Apple provides no way to turn the zooming off.
I finally had enough of this and wrote a InputManager to stop the zoom gesture when Safari or Firefox is active. Please follow the instructions below carefully to install it.
Download link: http://www.cubeyellow.com/downloads.html
- Quit out of Safari/FireFox and Mail
- Unzip the download if it has not already been unzipped.
- open Terminal.app
- cd /Library
- mkdir InputManagers - Note this directory might already be there. That is ok.
- Using the Finder copy the StopSafariZoomInputManager folder that you downloaded and unzipped. You need the whole folder... not just its contents.
- Using the Finder navigate to Machintosh HD/Library/InputManagers and choose paste - You will be prompted to enter your admin password. Note Machintosh HD is the name of my hard drive yours may be different.
- Go back to Terminal.app and run the following command: sudo chown -R root:admin /Library/InputManagers - Note you will be prompted for your admin password
- Restart Safari and enjoy the no zooming :^)
If you decide to uninstall you can just delete the /Library/InputManagers/StopSafariZoomingInputManager folder - you will be prompted to enter your admin password.
I hope you enjoy this fix as much as I do and hopefully Apple will add a preference for this in the future.
Note the use of this software is at your own risk. This is experimental software and I make no warranties.
Enjoy!
Update 03/23/2010: Now handles Safari, Firefox, Open Office, Google Chrome and Apple Mail
thanks a ton.
ReplyDeleteok, I need to add that you fixed the ONLY behavior I have encountered on a MAC that made me want to heave it off a bridge. My last 60 minutes have been far more productive and enjoyable thanks to you. All the two finger touchpad guys honor you!!!!
ReplyDeleteTried this out, worked great on Firefox, but the target for this was Safari 4 beta, which doesn't seem to get picked up equally as well. I saw that it's mentioned that it's dependent on the active application, is this a simple fix that could be added/updated for this so that Safari 4 gets noticed as well?
ReplyDeleteHi Matt,
ReplyDeleteI'm running Safari 4 and its working for me. What type of mac are you running? Also, if you quit out of Safari, open the Console.app and then restart Safari do you see a message in Console.app similar to the following:
3/5/09 6:02:23 PM Safari[1595] Installed StopSafariZoomInputManager...
Thanks,
Jeff
It's actually my bosses Mac, but it's one of the newer MacBook Pros -- I'll look at the Console output and maybe mess around with it again. I assumed everything installed right though because as I said, it does work in FireFox -- thanks much for the feedback.
ReplyDeleteJeff,
ReplyDeleteThis appears to be a problem with the chown step, which I took for granted worked, but apparently it couldn't or didn't chown the permissions. Now it seems to be some other bug with chown or file permissions that isn't even allowing an sudo chown to change it. I think it might be related to a very common "unknown user" bug -- in short, I assume you put that step in there because it won't work without this step, and since I can't chown (no matter what, I'm done)
Thank you very much. I had the MBP for a week or two now and its one of the only things (the other being the flat, plasticky black keys) thats annoyed the hell out of me.
ReplyDeleteInstalled, configured and is working great!
Thank you! Works great and it was easy to install!
ReplyDeleteYour are my hero. The new unibody macs are nice but the trackpad gestures are really annoying esp if you can't turn them off. you saved my sanity.
ReplyDeleteI tried this on my MBP17 Unibody with Safari 4 and it didn't work.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting the following errors:
ReplyDelete3/16/09 12:53:43 AM Safari[396] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/StopSafariZoomInputManager.bundle
3/16/09 12:53:43 AM Safari[396] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/StopSafariZoomInputManager.bundle
3/16/09 12:53:44 AM Safari Webpage Preview Fetcher[397] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/StopSafariZoomInputManager.bundle
3/16/09 12:53:44 AM [0x0-0x3d03d].com.apple.Safari[396] 2009-03-16 00:53:44.394 Safari Webpage Preview Fetcher[397:10b] Can't open input server /Library/InputManagers/StopSafariZoomInputManager.bundle
everything is chown'd root:admin
i'm on a unibody MBP17 running MacOS 10.5.6
I believe you installed it incorrectly. You need to have the the StopSafariZoomInputManager.bundle in a directory named StopSafariZoomInputManager with in the InputManagers directory. See tv 5th step of the install instictions above.
ReplyDeleteJeff
Sorry I am new to the macbook...I can download the file but it just shows up as a folder and won't open with any of my applications. How do I unzip the file once I download it? I tried to download stuffit to unzip it but it said it couldn't because I was giving it a folder instead of a file. Please help!
ReplyDeleteThanks
Sounds like the folder is already unzipped. There should be two items in the folder. One named Info and one named StopSafariZoomInputManager.bundle. If this is the case then you can start at the second step in the instructions listed above.
ReplyDeleteJeff
Great!!! THANK YOU VERY VERY Much!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete/Martin
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI've noticed one issue with the input manager.
I use Textmate as my text editor of choice, and also use the Snipplr bundle - when inserting a snippet and focus is returned to Textmate, I get the following 2 entries:
2009-03-18 19:46:41.698 CocoaDialog[9215:10b] Installed StopSafariZoomInputManager...
2009-03-18 19:46:43.240 CocoaDialog[9231:10b] Installed StopSafariZoomInputManager...
Before installing the input manager I got nothing but the snippet.
Can you help, as I'd really like to keep the input manager but also really need the Snipplr Bundle in textmate too.
Thanks,
Chris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the downloads page again. I have created a version that does not put any messages in the console. This should solve your issue with TextMate.
http://www.cubeyellow.com/downloads.html
Jeff
Absolutely perfect Jeff!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much.
Excellent Jeff. I've been looking for a solution to this problem for a while now.
ReplyDeleteOn a new unibody MacBook here running Safari 3.2.1 (5525.27.1) and it doesn't work. However, it seems to have cured Firefox. Any ideas? Safari is the browser I use constantly and this pinch/zoom issue is a nightmare for me. I followed your instructions to the letter :(
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this might be a silly question but I open terminal and typed cd/Library but I'm getting things like "command not found"
ReplyDeleteI never use terminal so I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm eager to use this though and am very excited there is actually a solution!
I figured it out and it's glorrrious! Thank you
ReplyDeleteany chance of a version that does this for Apple Mail too?
ReplyDeleteI thought I was going crazy, with this random zooming in Safari
ReplyDeletehopefully this is addressed in snow leopard and/or or directly in Safari 4 (WebKit).
Has anyone notified the Apple Safari WebKit team that this is annoying and Safari should have a setting, "Ignore Two Finger Screen Zoom". That would be great
oh yeah forgot, InputManager bundle worked great, Unibody MBP 15", OS 10.5.6, Safari 4.
ReplyDeletefollow directions exactly and it will work
thanks, great job!
Stefan - Check the downloads page. I added a version to handle mail.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cubeyellow.com/downloads.html
Jeff
Much appreciated. Any app that makes use of a track pad feature that isn't controlled by the Pref Pane should offer its own preference, but I doubt very much Apple will do anything to address this because it would add more "complexity" to Safari. Though they'd probably save a lot of money in support calls.
ReplyDeleteYou are a LIFESAVER mate!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!!
Thanks a million. I was about to go crazy.
ReplyDeleteWorks great under Safari 4 beta Thanks!!! I like the zoom feature for pictures but for webpages it is kinda annoying.
ReplyDeleteNot working on my OS X.5.6 equiped 17" MBP with Safari(Version 4 Public Beta (5528.16). Properly installed.
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this! the pinch zooming has been driving me crazy as well.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless You!
ReplyDeleteOMG thank you soooo much for this! I just bought my new Macbook Pro today and this zooming nonsense in safari was driving me MAD already.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! You've saved my sanity!
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteI don't know you, but — I love you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, installed and working! Saved me a throwing my laptop out of the window.
ReplyDeleteHeh ... doesn't work for WebKit. Can you post the source?
ReplyDeleteHi Im dyslexic and having nightmares with that zoom!
ReplyDeleteIm trying to folow you instructions but dont understand the terminal utility really.
when I open the terminal console how do i get 'sd/library' and how do I then do the next bit. I understand how to do the rest
well I managed to bumble my way through it and ran the command at the end -(not 'within a shell'whatever that means) and it said process completed. I restarted Safari - and no difference made whatsoever!Did it again and no difference. I have new MBP. console didnt say anything about 'stop safarizoom'
ReplyDeleteHOOORAYY!!! I ran the command 'within a shell" and it works can F**** believe it. thanks a million.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this helpful add-on Jeff. You're a lifesaver!
ReplyDeleteI'm having a similar zoom issue but in Open Office. Any chance you have a fix for that or know where I might find one?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Thank you, was really bugging me!
ReplyDeleteJeff, OMG thank you thank you thank you so much! This was pissing me off no end! As soon as a resurrect my blog I'm sending my readers your way. What a hero!
ReplyDeleteYour code is working great on my new MBP 13" OS X 10.5.7 with Safari 4.0.1.
Have the new MBP 15", OS 10.5.7. Followed directions and got through Terminal but no go on Safari 4.0.1 (5530.18).
ReplyDeleteAny other suggestions? Would love to disable this annoying zoom!
Thanks.
Try running through the instructions again. I have the same setup here and its working fine. If its not working its most likely the step where permissions are being set with this command. Also, make sure Safari is not running when you install.
ReplyDeletesudo chown -R root:admin /Library/InputManagers
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou are my hero. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteMost useful piece of software I've installed in a year.
Now if you could just get a removable battery and expresscard slot back into the 15" macbook, you'd be Apple savior.
Thank you!
thank you so much from day one this was bugging me.
ReplyDeleteThis does not work for me with Firefox v3.5. It does work with Safari v4.0.2. I am running OS X 10.5.7.
ReplyDeleteI followed the instructions to a T, of course.
Any hints on how to get this working on Firefox?
Maybe the source code to the InputManager so I could (hopefully) build it myself with Xcode or at least debug it somehow?
yeah, i'm with the above commenter. It isn't running with FF3.5 or Safari 4.0.2 for me either. but a great app apparently for those that it's working for! :)
ReplyDeletejon
@jon
ReplyDeleteit does in fact work with the latest Firefox and Safari as you noted from the above comments. Most of the time the issue is the permissions are not set correctly. Try rerunning the sudo chown step from the install instructions above.
Good luck,
Jeff
thanks so much, this is definitely something that should be reported to apple, so they can provide a proper fix
ReplyDeleteI am so sad, I can't unzip the file. Stuffit isn't working. I keep getting this error, and the searches I've done on how to resolve it really don't reveal much of help: A folder was specified when a file was required (Error #17530)
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to get this to work on the new Aluminum Case MacBook Pro running OS 10.5.7. It appears to install correctly but it Firefox is still doing the annoying inadvertent zoom thing.
ReplyDeleteI may have done something wrong but it does not seem to work for my mbp 13"
ReplyDeleteAlong with the others: thanks for your work on this. It works perfectly. Is there a source where I could read up on how it works, so that others could (hypothetically) tweak it or do something similar in the future?
ReplyDelete@Matt - You can read about method swizzling and input managers here.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cocoadev.com/index.pl?MethodSwizzling
http://www.cocoadev.com/index.pl?InputManager
It worked perfectly on my MBP 15.4" Jeff. Thank you!!!!
ReplyDeleteMac OS 10.5.7, Safari 4.0.1. Followed instructions perfectly. Not working for me. Any Ideas?
ReplyDeleteHi, it's not fully working for me, and I'm wondering if it might be related to admin vs. standard users? I've followed the instructions, and it's stopped the zooming behaviour for my admin user, but back in the standard user account (I operate as a standard user most of the time, only logging in or authenticating as an admin when necessary), the zooming still happens. I tried mucking around with setting the permissions on the files to allow writing by others (they were rwxr-xr-x, and I tried setting them to rwxr-xrwx), but it made no difference: it still works for an admin user, and not for a non-admin.
ReplyDeleteHmm, but to add to my confusion: I just created a brand-new admin user account, and when I log in to that one, the zooming behaviour is still present. So it only solves the issue for my main admin user account. I smell permissions issues, but darned if I can figure out how to resolve them . . .
Followed the instructions but could not get it to function on my Macbook 13" Aluminium running 10.5.7 and Safari 4.0.2.
ReplyDeleteA few questions -
"open Terminal.app
cd /Library"
"cd/Library"? Should that be entered into terminal or do I navigate there? Also, not intending to sound like a complete fool but what's CD?
"mkdir InputManagers - Note this directory might already be there. That is ok."
Might already be where? I navigated to my users library folder and there was no folder called "mkdir InputManagers" so I made one and put the file that I downloaded (including the folder) in there. Is this right?
"Using the Finder copy the StopSafariZoomInputManager folder that you downloaded and unzipped. You need the whole folder... not just its contents."
Copy it to where? The folder called "mkdir inputManagers"?
"Using the Finder navigate to Machintosh HD/Library/InputManagers and choose paste - You will be prompted to enter your admin password. Note Machintosh HD is the name of my hard drive yours may be different."
There was no folder there with this name, so I created one and pasted the entire downloaded folder in there.
"Go back to Terminal.app and run the following command: sudo chown -R root:admin /Library/InputManagers - Note you will be prompted for your admin password
Restart Safari and enjoy the no zooming :^)"
I did this, I wasnt prompted for password and then rebooting safari showed no changes and the zoom function still works. I know i'm doing 99% of this wrong, I did find the guide hard to follow as a very very basic user.
cd = change directory, so you are changing the directory in Terminal.app to /Library
ReplyDeleteCopy it to where? The folder called "mkdir inputManagers"?
mkdir is a command that creates folders while you are in Terminal.app so you are creating the InputManagers folder. When done you should have something like:
Machintosh HD/Library/InputManagers
After copying the downloaded files and copying them you should have the following:
Machintosh HD/Library/InputManagers/StopSafariZoomInputManager
If you were not prompted for your admin password then the sudo chown -R root:admin /Library/InputManagers command did not run correctly.
Thanks for your really quick reply, I'm keen to get this working. I followed everything else fine (the mkdir command still wasnt working for me, so I created a new folder and placed it in HD/Library and I called it "InputManagers" - which is basically the same thing, just without using the prompt command in terminal, right?
ReplyDeleteI copied the file into the InputManagers folder and then opened terminal, entered "sudo chown -R root:admin/Library/InputManagers" was prompted for password, did so and the following appeared:
chown [-fhv] [-R [-H | -L | -P]] owner[:group] file ...
chown [-fhv] [-R [-H | -L | -P]] :group file ...
Restarted safari and it still isnt working. Any ideas? Thanks for this excellent guide all the same!
I entered
ReplyDeletesudo chown -R root:admin /Library/InputManagers
and Terminal tells me there is no such file or diretory...even though is.
Yes, I've checked spelling. I can't figure it out, I've performed ever step up to here.
By the way, to the poster above, there is a space before the admin/Library.. and after the colon.
Apple should pay you a service fee for making Safari usable again!
ReplyDeleteThanks!!!
If you are having problems you might want to delete the StopSafariZoomInputManager folder and start over. This time just copy the commands for terminal.app from the instructions above.
ReplyDeletethis is amazing, thank you. works perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI can't understand why Apple haven't added an option to disable these "features"
ReplyDeleteI still get it zooming very very rarely but this script has solved it 99.9% of the time.
Cheers
Hi i would like to ask if input managers is the same as input method? Pardon my ignorance
ReplyDeleteI get through every step until it tells me to enter my password after the sudo step and it wont let me type anything, what am I doing wrong?
ReplyDeleteThanks alot! Saved me from alot of headaches...
ReplyDeleteUnbelieveable that Apple hasn't included any way to disable this..
GTaurus: It will let you type, but it won't give you any indication that you are writing. Just type your password and press enter.
ReplyDeleteHey Jeff, thanks for the help. I figured out i did not have an input manager until i downloaded 'clutch'. Anyhoo thanks again for your help and like everyone who has posted you saved me from pulling out what hair i have left
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Anonymous. This really is a fantastic fix!!
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming this will need a complete re-write for Snow Leopard – was so excited to have found it! :(
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I hope either this is fixed in Snow Leopard or you'll write a patch for it!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Apple has disallowed InputManagers for 64 bit apps on Snow Leopard. If you want this fix to still work you will need to do the following:
ReplyDelete1. Quit out of Safari
2. Navigate to the Applications folder using the Finder
3. Select Safari and choose Get Info from the Finders File menu
4. Check the check box "Open in 32-bit mode"
5. Restart Safari and the zooming should be stopped again.
Hope this helps....
Jeff
More Snow Leopard Info...
ReplyDeleteYou can disable the zooming via the System Preferences now so you no longer need my fix as list above in this entry.
To disable the zooming do the following:
1. Open the System Preferences
2. Select the Trackpad preference
3. Unselect "Pinch Open & Close"
4. That's it! Safari should no longer zoom
Jeff
Jeff, this works great in Safari, but not in Firefox 3.5.3. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteThank you soooo much Jeff. Her Majesty the Queen should knight you for your efforts, Sir!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this for Safari/Firefox, but like someone else mentioned we really need a fix for this zooming in Open Office. It's driving me completely crazy, I just touch the trackpad and suddenly my document is enormous or so tiny I can't read it. The only way to get back to 100% is to go looking under View and choosing the 100% option. (If anyone knows another way to do that by using keyboard shortcut I'd be very glad to hear of it.)
ReplyDeleteSo please, can we have a fix for Open Office? I love that program and used it a lot on my previous MacBook, but I'm now back to using TextEdit on my MBP because I simply can't handle the constant page resizing on OO.
Many thanks for all your work! Apple should take heed and stop putting ridiculous things on their computers. I swear it's nearly enough to take me back to a pc. (Not really, but still ...)
@Dawn
ReplyDeleteCheck the downloads at http://www.cubeyellow.com/downloads.html
I have uploaded a version with a fix for OpenOffice. Note I have not tested this but it should work the same as the other apps we have stopped zooming on. Please install the same as you did with the original version. I'm running Snow now so I can't really test since Input Managers are not allowed for 64 bit apps on Snow.
If you have any problems contact me jeff.hawkins _at_ mac.com
I had this working on my mac when I was running 10.5.X I have recently updated to Snow and now I can not seem to make this work. Is there a way? This is such a pain in the ass feature. I can not believe that Apple has not implemented a way to turn this off yet.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff..
ReplyDelete1st thanks for all this man..
Its working for me in Safari.
Firefox.. its not working for me.. 3.5
please help...
Ashish
Brilliant tip. Much better without that in FF ;)
ReplyDeleteIf you get Info on Safari, you can tell it to open in 32-bit mode, and the InputManagers work again.
ReplyDeleteI think the Zooming is more annoying than any benefit 64-bit gives me.
You are my hero
ReplyDeletethank you!
ReplyDeleteYou are my man. I was getting ready to thorw my new shiny baby out of my window.
ReplyDeleteHallelujah, I will open a keg of German beer tonight for you. Prost!
Best regards from Hamburg, Germany
Jens
God bless you - Thanks to you, I'm loving OpenOffice.org again.
ReplyDeleteIVM
Hello Jeff, just got it working on OpenOffice. Thanks so much for your fix. Made my day :-)
ReplyDeleteAnother HUGE thanks from an almost-former-MAC-fan just because of this one little thing...
ReplyDeleteAm an old man -- never used a blog before so hope this works. I've just installed your device for OpenOffice and have a question about it: is it supposed to stop "pinch and spread" resizing or just resizing due to cursor movement? I still have a huge problem with inadvertent screen resizing (in calc especially, that I don't have in excel) due to clumsy fingers). I like being able to scroll with my fingers, but the font resizing feature is horrible. One last question, what is "Snow"? I have OSX 10.5.6 and am being prompted to upgrade to 10.5.8. Are either of those "Snow"? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI have the same zooming issues in Photoshop and it drives me crazy. Could anyone help. Thanks, K
ReplyDeleteI am about to install after spending two hours with Apple senior tech complaining about this. He gave me the link.
ReplyDeleteHe said they are not deleting this idiot feature in future versions. However he did say people should flood their website with complaints...that might make them rethink the decision. Obviously none of them use a lap top with this feature. One expects this from Microsoft but not Apple
Any hope for Chrome on Mac?
ReplyDeleteThank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIs there any possibility of making this work with Adobe InDesign? As it is carbon, it doesn't work with MultiClutch, and unlike Photoshop, Adobe hasn't provided a plug-in to disable multi-touch gestures. So there is simply no way to disable multi-touch gestures in Indesign CS4 (it seems CS5 has a pref for this, but there isn't anything else in CS5 that makes it worth the upgrade cost for me).
ReplyDeleteI just realised - as InputManagers require cocoa, I guess this can't be made to work with InDesign. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, thanks for this great little hack - it is an infinitely more elegant solution to this problem than MultiClutch (or MultiKludge as I like to call it).
Actually, there is one cocoa ap that I'd really like to see added - Camino. That would be greatly appreciated - thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI tried several times to get the plugin from this page but it wouldn't work for firefox 3.6.3.
ReplyDeleteI then found this page that had an easy solution that worked perfectly.
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/forum/1/425085
Try to set some prefs on the about:config page:
zoom.maxPercent : 100
zoom.minPercent : 100
toolkit.zoomManager.zoomValues : 1
To open the about:config page, type about:config in the location (address) bar and press the Enter key, just like you type the url of a web site to open a web site.
If you see a warning then you can confirm that you want to access that page.
Thankyou so much - this works with Camino as well!
ReplyDeleteOops, I spoke too soon - I can set these values in Camino, but they don't work! Grrr...
ReplyDeleteyou can change this simply by going to "about:config" in your browser (at least in firefox) and then searching for "gesture" and then change the pinch-in and pinch-out actions. set them to do nothing, or to do something else.
ReplyDeleteThis is great. Thanks again...I found this posted in one of those apple forums.
ReplyDeleteAlso we have this on the Aluminium Mac running 10.5.8 - the trackpad option does not even have the Two Fingers Scroll tickbox which is present in Leopard 10.6. Thank again - you are a livesaver!
This keeps happening to me and I can't seem to find out what I'm doing to cause it. I know I have command held down, and one or two fingers on the trackpad, and it seems to zoom the page (not the entire screen). Do you know exactly what sequence of steps causes this? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteYou seriously saved me so many headaches...
ReplyDeleteThank you SO MUCH!
ReplyDeleteSafari 5.02 and FireFox 3.6.11 both still zoom on me.
ReplyDeleteI've created /Library/InputManagers and placed the stopsafarizoominputmanager folder inside
I've verified permissions 755 root:admin
I also tried 775 root:admin per the other folders in /Library
Nothing get logged about this plugin and everything still zooms.
Please help!
Mmm, it just feels great - not be able to pinch and zoom in Chrome!!! Great! Great! Great! Love it! Merci!!! Also I hated this zooming feature in OpenOffice. Now it's disabled as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing that!
it's not working :( i did it the way you said but i am so baffled...
ReplyDeleteWould you mind posting the source? I'd love to check it out...
ReplyDeleteThanks a million!! Whenever I use my laptop on my lap, I always seem to have an extra thumb laying on the trackpad and I can't tell you how many times I accidentally zoomed in or out of Safari. What PITA!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!
The link appears to not work anymore.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe this issue hasn't been fixed yet! Your solutions seams to be the only one working, but link has been broken for a while! Anyone has another solution to propose?
ReplyDelete