Excel Why can’t I scroll freely in Excel and how to fix it? The use of programs such as Excel, allows you to enter data in a…
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Excel Why can’t I scroll freely in Excel and how to fix it? The use of programs such as Excel, allows you to enter data in a…

The use of programs such as Excel allows you to enter data into a spreadsheet. But it is possible that for some unknown reason we cannot do it and we will panic. But don’t worry, we’ll explain why right away. you can’t move freely in Excel and how to solve it.

How to fix scrolling issue in Excel document?

The navigation keys found on the right side of our keyboard, they are very useful when we want to move around in a spreadsheet. Since using the mouse can become not so practical, but the truth is that these keys can be blocked accidentally. In order for them to regain their functionality, you need to apply these tips.

Inside Windows 8

If you use the Windows 8 operating system you must enter the access bar, to do this you must go to the ‘Start’ section. A handy alternative if you have a Mac is to use keyboard shortcuts. If this is not the case, we can press the ‘Ctrl + C’ keys with the access bar on the screen and search the optionChange PC settings’. In the following options select ‘Accessibility’ and finally ‘Keyboard’.

solution to scrolling problem in excel

In this new window, look for the ‘On-Screen Keyboard’ option and move the selector so that the function is activated. To finish, simply select the ‘ScrLk’ key so that you will be able to move freely between the cells of your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

On Windows 10 and 11

In Windows 10 and 11, the procedure that you must carry out to regain mobility between cells in Excel is a little simpler. It will consist of unlocking the arrow keys, since you have accidentally been able to activate this function, pressing the ‘Scroll Lock’ key. This is located in the upper right corner of the physical keyboard, which you must press again to deactivate it.

How to solve with Windows virtual keyboard if I can’t scroll in Excel?

But this is not the only option you have to get back on the move. in your spreadsheet without problems. Since you can do it through the virtual keyboard which has a key that when pressed you will regain mobility between cells again. To activate said keyboard, the first thing you should do is go to the Windows icon and click on it.

Then you have to find and choose the ‘Settings’ option, in the next window you are going to select the ‘Access’ option and there select ‘Keyboard’. Now you need to click on the ‘On-Screen Keyboard’ option and it will appear immediately. The last step is to position yourself on the ScrLk button and click on it, thus unlocking the arrow keys.

remove key lock

What to do if I can’t scroll in Excel but ‘Scroll Lock’ doesn’t appear in Excel?

We have already shown you two different ways to regain mobility in your Excel document, but you still may not be able to do it. And this for not being able to activate the virtual keyboard and another because does not have the ‘Scroll Lock’ key. In this case you can use the mouse, although it may be impractical, it will help you solve the problem for the time being.

To use it you can position the cursor on a cell and use the wheel of this to go down or up down the column. In this step you will repeat it in each column to move without major problems. The only downside is that you won’t be able to scroll sideways. But for this you can create a scroll area, do you know how to do it? Let’s see.

How to set a scroll area in Excel?

In this case we will use the well-known keyboard shortcuts that will allow us to achieve a greater range of action in our spreadsheet. So, if we want to move along a row, either to the right or to the left. you should only press the ‘Ctrl + SHIFT’ keys and without letting go you will move to the sides.

In this way you can continue using Excel and solve the mobility problem that many headaches can generate. Thus we conclude with this interesting tutorial that I explain why you can not scrolling in excel and how to fix it. In a way as practical and simple as adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying manually or with formulas in Excel.