Mouse Scroll Wheel Doesn't Work with Some Worksheets

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 24, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021


1

Dave has a workbook that has a dozen worksheets in it. When working with ten of the worksheets he can use the scroll wheel on the mouse to scroll up or down. When working with the other two worksheets the scroll wheel will not scroll, however. Dave wonders what would cause this difference in behavior.

The most common cause of this issue is that the problem worksheet has frozen panes in it. When freezing panes horizontally, the top pane is literally "frozen" and cannot be scrolled. If the pane is large enough, it is possible to not even realize that the worksheet has a frozen pane.

The solution is to display the offending worksheet and, on the View tab of the ribbon, click the Freeze Panes tool. The tool acts like a drop-down list, displaying a few options. If one of those options is Unfreeze Panes, then click that option and the problem should be solved.

If there are no frozen panes on the worksheet, the only other possibility is that there is a macro that runs whenever the worksheet is activated. That macro may contain a command that limits the scrolling area or changes the settings that control the behavior of the mouse wheel. The only way to solve this potential cause is to take a look at your macro code and see if any of the statements exist to affect the scrolling area or mouse configuration.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (12985) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Excel in Microsoft 365, and 2021.

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

Dragging to Clear Cells

If you want to get rid of the contents of a range of cells, a quick way to do it is with the Fill handle. Yes, you can ...

Discover More

Formatting Axis Patterns

Create a chart in Excel can you can then modify it almost any way you desire. One modification is to adjust the color or ...

Discover More

Adding Caption Labels

When using the captioning capabilities of Word, you aren't limited to the three default caption labels provided in the ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Understanding R1C1 References

Referring to cells is typically done using a letter and a number, which represent the column and row. That's not the only ...

Discover More

Drop-Down List Font Sizes

Excel has several features that cannot be customized. The font size in the drop-down lists is one of them. If you need ...

Discover More

Speeding Up Large Worksheets

If your worksheet gets large enough, you may notice a severe slowdown when it is recalculated. This tip provides some ...

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 6 + 5?

2022-09-24 11:26:29

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox includes the following dynamic array function to list all panes of the active window in four columns (Pane, ScrollColumn, ScrollRow, VisibleRange):
=ListPanes()
The following dynamic array function will list all properties of the active window (including freeze, split, and scroll information):
=ListWNProperties([SkipIgnored],[SkipHeader])
The following dynamic array function will list all properties of the active worksheet (including ScrollArea):
=ListWSProperties([SkipIgnored],[SkipHeader])
The following dynamic array function will list all application properties (including RollZoom):
=ListAppProperties([SkipIgnored],[SkipHeader])
In older versions of Excel you can use these dynamic array functions with the SpillArray function described in UseSpillArray.pdf.
The following formulas can also be used in older versions of Excel:
=VLOOKUP("ScrollArea",ListWSProperties(),2)
Cells outside the scroll area cannot be selected.
=VLOOKUP("RollZoom",ListAppProperties(),2)
When RollZoom is True, the scroll wheel will zoom (or scroll if Ctrl is pressed).
When RollZoom is False, the scroll wheel will scroll (or zoom if Ctrl is pressed).
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/


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.