Web/API/GlobalEventHandlers/onwheel

The onwheel property of the GlobalEventHandlers mixin is an EventHandler that processes wheel events.

The wheel event fires when the user rotates the mouse (or other pointing device) wheel.

Note: Don't confuse onwheel with onscroll: onwheel handles general wheel rotation, while onscroll handles scrolling of an object's content.

Syntax

target.onwheel = functionRef;

Value

functionRef is a function name or a function expression. The function receives a WheelEvent object as its sole argument.

Examples

This example shows how to scale an element using the mouse (or other pointing device) wheel.

HTML

<div>Scale me with your mouse wheel.</div>

CSS

body {
  min-height: 100vh;
  margin: 0;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
}

div {
  width: 80px;
  height: 80px;
  background: #cdf;
  padding: 5px;
  transition: transform .3s;
}

JavaScript

function zoom(event) {
  event.preventDefault();

  if (event.deltaY < 0) {
    // Zoom in
    scale *= event.deltaY * -2;
  }
  else {
    // Zoom out
    scale /= event.deltaY * 2;
  }

  // Restrict scale
  scale = Math.min(Math.max(.125, scale), 4);

  // Apply scale transform
  el.style.transform = `scale(${scale})`;
}

let scale = 1;
const el = document.querySelector('div');
document.onwheel = zoom;

Result

Specification

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of 'onwheel' in that specification.	Living Standard

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`onwheel`	Chrome Full support 61	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support Yes	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support 48	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support 61	Chrome Android Full support 61	Firefox Android Full support Yes	Opera Android Full support 45	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 8.0

Legend

Full support: Full support