Simultaneous Scrolling

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 8, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

If you have worksheets that are very similar in nature, you may like to work with them side-by-side on the screen at the same time. This makes it easy to examine both worksheets for differences or for other reasons. It can be a bother, however, to scroll down at the same rate in both worksheets. First you have to scroll in one window, then in the other.

As with most tedious tasks, you can automate the process a bit. Consider the following macros:

Sub myScrollDown()
    ActiveWindow.SmallScroll Down:=1
    ActiveWindow.ActivateNext
    ActiveWindow.SmallScroll Down:=1
    ActiveWindow.ActivatePrevious
End Sub
Sub myScrollUp()
    ActiveWindow.SmallScroll Up:=1
    ActiveWindow.ActivateNext
    ActiveWindow.SmallScroll Up:=1
    ActiveWindow.ActivatePrevious
End Sub

If you add these to a workbook, and then assign them to a toolbar button or a shortcut key, you can scroll through both workbooks at the same rate. The SmallScroll method is used to move down one row at a time through a window. If you want to scroll a page at a time, simply replace all instances of SmallScroll with the LargeScroll method.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1979) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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

Changing the Ribbon Font Size

Changing the size at which your document is displayed is easy. What, though, of the elements that make up the Word ...

Discover More

Replacing Links with Values

Need to get rid of the links in your workbook but save the values that were retrieved by those links? It could be easy or ...

Discover More

Printing Placeholders and Answers

A common use to which teachers put Word is to create tests and answer sheets. By imaginatively applying the features of ...

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 (menu)

Using InputBox to Get Data

Need your macro to get some input from a user? The standard way to do this is with the InputBox function, described in ...

Discover More

Running a Macro in a Number of Workbooks

Got a macro that you need to run on each of a number of workbooks? Excel provides a number of ways to go about this task, ...

Discover More

Converting Text to Numbers

Import information from a program external to Excel, and your numbers may be treated as text because of the way that the ...

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 7 + 0?

2020-08-08 13:48:18

Ron S MVP

Web searches often find this "obsolete" article. It would not hurt to have a link to an updated version of this article, especially since the ribbon uses a synonym of simultaneous for the command, ie

Sychronous Scrolling (ribbon)
In View tab > Window group there are commands for “View Side by Side” and after that is enabled “Sychronous Scrolling”


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.