How to Fix Scroll Bar Not Working on Excel

Can’t figure out why your scroll bar is not working on Microsoft Excel?

Microsoft Excel is the leading spreadsheet software in the world. This tool is included with Microsoft Office Suite and has been around since 1985. Excel has an estimated user count of over 750 million people. 

Despite its status, this doesn’t mean that Microsoft Excel is free from errors and other issues. 

Recently, there have been reports from various users who encounter problems with the scroll bar. 

Based on what we know, this issue can be caused by several reasons. First, it’s possible that the scroll bar is disabled in your settings. However, it can also be due to corrupted data, locked columns and rows, or temporary glitches. 

To help out, we’ve decided to make a guide for fixing the scroll bar if it’s not working on Microsoft Excel. 

Let’s get right into it!

1. Restart Your Computer. 

Before tweaking your configurations, we suggest restarting your device if you encounter issues with Microsoft Excel. This should reload your resources and eliminate temporary errors in the process. 

Here’s what you need to do: 

1. First, tap on the Windows key on your keyboard to open the Start Menu. 
2. After that, access the Power Options tab. 
3. Lastly, click on Restart to reboot your computer. 

Relaunch Microsoft Excel afterward and check if the problem is solved. 

2. Unfreeze Panes.

If your dataset is currently frozen, you won’t be able to use the scrolling function in Microsoft Excel. To scroll through your workbook, you’ll need to unfreeze the panes in your worksheet. 

Here’s how you can do this: 

1. Open the Microsoft Excel file you are having problems with. 
2. Next, click on the View tab.
3. Finally, click on Freeze Panes and choose Unfreeze Panes. 

Once done, restart Microsoft Excel and see if you can scroll through your worksheet. 

3. Check Your Keyboard. 

Scroll Lock is a dedicated function key on your keyboard that enables or disables scrolling on your computer. If the function key is activated, you won’t be able to scroll through pages on your screen. 

If the scroll bar is not working on Excel, check your keyboard and ensure that Scroll Lock is not active. Depending on your keyboard, Scroll Lock could be abbreviated as ScrLk, Slk, or ScLk. 

You should also check Excel’s settings and see if the scroll lock option is active: 

1. First, open an Excel file you want to work on. 
2. After that, right-click at the bottom of the spreadsheet to open the Customize Status Bar tab.
3. Lastly, look for Scroll Lock and ensure that it is turned off. 

Go back to your workbook and check if the problem is solved. 

4. Try Using Keyboard Shortcuts. 

If the scroll bar is not working in Excel, we suggest using keyboard shortcuts to navigate through your worksheet. Depending on your system, you can use the Up and Down arrow keys or CTRL + Up and CTRL + Down to navigate columns and rows. 

On the other hand, you can also try using the scroll wheel on your mouse or swiping with two fingers on your trackpad. 

5. Update Excel. 

If you still encounter issues with the scroll bar on Microsoft Excel, we suggest updating the app on your computer. This should patch bugs and glitches in the current version of the app you are using. 

Check out the guide below to update Excel: 

1. First, open Microsoft Excel and access the File tab. 
2. Now, go to Accounts. 
3. Lastly, click on Update Options and choose Update Now or Enable Updates. 

Relaunch Excel and check if the problem is solved. 

6. Reinstall Microsoft Excel. 

At this point, the last thing you can do is delete Microsoft Excel from your computer and install a fresh copy. This way, you can ensure that the app is installed correctly and there are no missing resources from your system. 

Follow the guide below to delete Excel: 

1. On your computer, go to the Control Panel and click on Uninstall a Program. 
2. Look for Microsoft Excel afterward and right-click on it. 
3. Finally, choose Uninstall and follow the prompts. 

Reinstall the app afterward and see if the scroll bar is now working. 

That brings us to the end of our guide for fixing the scroll bar if it’s not working on Microsoft Excel. If you have questions, please drop a comment below, and we’ll do our best to respond. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂