Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Controlling the Behavior of the Mouse Wheel.

Controlling the Behavior of the Mouse Wheel

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 21, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

If you have a computer mouse that has a wheel between its two buttons, you may know that Excel recognizes the wheel and allows you to use it for different purposes. The default behavior of the wheel is to scroll your worksheet up and down. You can modify how Excel reacts to moving the wheel by following these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 and later versions, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box, click Advanced. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Excel Options dialog box.

  4. Scroll through the available options until you find the Editing Options section.
  5. Select the Zoom On Roll With IntelliMouse check box.
  6. Click on OK.

Now when you use the mouse wheel, Excel zooms your worksheet in and out. If you decide you again want to use the wheel to scroll, simply repeat the steps but clear the check box.

It should be noted that if you only need to change the behavior temporarily, you can do so by holding down the Ctrl key as you move the mouse wheel. If you have Excel configured to use the mouse wheel to scroll up and down through the worksheet (the check box in step 4 is not selected), then holding down Ctrl as you roll zooms in and out. If you have the step-4 check box selected, then holding down Ctrl while you roll scrolls through the worksheet.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9395) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Controlling the Behavior of the Mouse Wheel.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Jumping to the Top of a Page

Do you want to easily jump to the top of a page in your document? You can use the Go To command to make the shift, or you ...

Discover More

Making a Drop-Down List Indicator Visible

Data validation allows you to create drop-down lists that aid data entry. If you want the indicator for the drop-down ...

Discover More

Searching for a Value Using a Function

Searching for a value using Excel's Find tool is easy; searching for that same value using a formula or a macro is more ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Changing Ribbon Tool Defaults

The tools available on the Ribbon allow you to easily format information in a worksheet. If you'd like those tools to ...

Discover More

Enlarging the Formula Bar

The Formula bar is used to display the formula that appears in a cell. You may want to modify how the Formula bar is ...

Discover More

Turning Headers On and Off

Normally Excel displays row and column headers in a worksheet. If you prefer, you can turn these navigational aids off ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 5 - 3?

2021-11-30 11:11:51

sam

I have been trying to figure this out for far too long and this sorted it out for me in less than ten seconds - thank you so much


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.