How to Disable Scroll Lock in Excel on Windows and Mac: 3 Effective Methods

How to Determine If Scroll Lock is Active in Excel

To verify if the scroll lock feature is currently activated in Excel, take a look at the status bar located in the bottom right corner of the spreadsheet. You should spot a notification that reads ‘Scroll Lock’.

If you do not see this message, right-click on the status bar. Look for an option that indicates ‘on’ next to Scroll Lock in the listing.

Make sure to enable the Scroll Lock option from this menu so that its status is displayed in the status bar when it is active.

How to Disable Scroll Lock in Excel

Here are three effective methods to deactivate the scroll lock in Microsoft Excel. Let’s explore them.

Method 1: Turn Off Scroll Lock Using the Keyboard Shortcut

If you examine your Windows keyboard, you will likely find a Scroll Lock key. Pressing this key will deactivate the scroll lock for the active application, allowing you to easily turn it off in Excel.

For Mac Users: You can disable scroll lock by pressing the key combination fn + Shift + F12.

Method 2: Turn Off Scroll Lock Using the On-Screen Keyboard (Windows)

If your keyboard lacks a Scroll Lock key, don’t panic; there’s a convenient alternative method.

Windows offers an on-screen keyboard feature that simulates a full keyboard on your display. This virtual keyboard includes a scroll lock key which you can use to disable scroll lock while Excel is running.

To access it, launch the On-Screen Keyboard app via the start menu. You can find it using the search option.

Once opened, simply click on the ScrLk key to deactivate scroll lock in Excel.

Method 3: Disable Scroll Lock Using VBA

An alternative approach is to use a macro to turn off the scroll lock. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Press Alt + F11 for Windows or Option + F11 for Mac to open the VBA editor in Excel.

Step 2: In the VBA editor, go to the Insert menu and select Module to create a new module.

Step 3: Copy and paste the code below into the module:

Sub TurnOffScrollLock() Application.SendKeys "{SCROLLLOCK}" End Sub

Step 4: Close the VBA editor.

Step 5: Press Alt + F8 on Windows or Option + F8 on Mac. Select TurnOffScrollLock from the list, and click Run to execute the macro.