Simultaneous Scrolling

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated August 8, 2020)

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

Hiding Errors

If you find the green and red squiggly underlines that Word adds to your document distracting, you might want a quick way ...

Discover More

Hiding Columns Not within a Date Range

Want to automatically hide some columns that don't meet a date criterion that you set? You can't do it automatically, but ...

Discover More

Modified Rounding

Rounding is normally done so that values greater than or equal to .5 are rounded up and less than .5 are rounded down. ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Replacing and Converting in a Macro

When you use a macro to process data you always run the risk of making that data unusable by Excel. This is especially ...

Discover More

Counting All Characters

Need to know how many characters there are in a workbook? You can find out easily with the handy macro introduced in this ...

Discover More

Pulling Cell Names into VBA

Excel allows you to define names that can refer to either ranges of cells or to constant information, such as formulas. ...

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.

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

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 five minus 3?

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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2022 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.