Controlling Display of the Scroll Bars

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 15, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


At the bottom and right side of the worksheet there are scroll bars that control what part of the spreadsheet you are viewing at any given time. If you need more room to view a worksheet, or if you are using Excel without a mouse, you can turn them off. To control display of the scroll bars, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. You will see the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the View tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

  4. In the Window Options area, clear the Horizontal Scroll Bar check box if you want the horizontal scroll bar removed.
  5. In the Windows Options area, clear the Vertical Scroll Bar check box if you want the vertical scroll bar removed.
  6. Click on OK.

With the scroll bars turned off, you must use the cursor control keys to move through the worksheet.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2644) 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

Specifying a Delimiter when Saving a CSV File in a Macro

You can, within a macro, save a workbook in several different file formats that are understood by Excel. However, you may ...

Discover More

Turning Off Hyperlink Activation

Does it bother you when you enter a URL and it becomes "active" as soon as you press Enter? Here's how you can turn off ...

Discover More

Updating to Smart Quotes

As you type a document, Word automatically converts your quote marks and apostrophes to "curly" versions that look more ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Changing How Arrows Look

If you use Excel's graphic capabilities to insert a line or an arrow into a worksheet, you can change how that arrow ...

Discover More

Changing Line Color in a Drawing Object

Don't like the color of the lines that Excel chose for your drawing object? It's easy to choose your own colors, as ...

Discover More

Symmetric Resizing of Graphics

Graphics can be easily resized once they are placed in a worksheet. Here's how you can make sure that the relationship ...

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 3 + 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.