Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Controlling the Behavior of the Mouse Wheel.

Controlling the Behavior of the Mouse Wheel

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated April 8, 2020)

If you have a computer mouse that has a wheel between its two buttons, you may know that Excel recognizes the wheel and allows you to use it for different purposes. The default behavior of the wheel is to scroll your worksheet up and down. You can modify how Excel reacts to moving the wheel by following these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the General tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The General tab of the Options dialog box.

  3. Select the Zoom On Roll With IntelliMouse check box.
  4. Click on OK.

Now when you use the mouse wheel, Excel zooms your worksheet in and out. If you decide you again want to use the wheel to scroll, simply repeat the steps but clear the check box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3024) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Controlling the Behavior of the Mouse Wheel.

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. ...

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