When you’re working with spreadsheets, you probably use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate around. This is a quick and seamless way to work with your data. However, you might someday find that your arrow keys don’t work correctly. Let’s learn what to do when arrow keys aren’t working in Microsoft Excel.
Arrow Keys Not Working in Excel
Normally, pressing your keyboard arrow keys moves your spreadsheets from cell to cell. This is an easy and precise technique that most Excel users practice every day.
But imagine this: when you press an arrow key, your entire spreadsheet starts scrolling! This is annoying and makes it hard to work efficiently. But don’t fret – the fix is easy.
When arrow keys don’t work in Excel, that means you’ve turned your Scroll Lock on inadvertently. Scroll Lock is a built-in Windows feature activated with the touch of a button on your keyboard. That makes it rather easy to turn on accidentally.
To disable Scroll Lock, you have two options. Start by looking at your computer’s keyboard. On larger desktop keyboards, you may have a Scroll Lock key. It may simply say Scroll Lock, or be abbreviated ScrLk. On laptops and other devices, Scroll Lock may exist as a function shortcut, with the feature sharing a key with another.
If for any reason you can’t find the Scroll Lock key, or it doesn’t work, you still have another option. Click on the Start (or Windows) button in the lower left corner of your screen. In the search box, type in On-Screen Keyboard.
The feature will launch, and you’ll see that it has a ScrLk key on your screen. Click this, and Scroll Lock will deactivate. Go back into your spreadsheet, and you can move around normally.
As you can see, if your arrow keys aren’t working in Excel, help is seconds away.
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