How to Fix ‘Arrow Keys Not Working’ Issue in MS Excel – Guide
Arrow keys don’t work in Excel. There could be some possible explanations for this. There are also a few things you can do to fix this issue. But first, make sure the arrow keys are working properly on your computer. If it doesn’t, there is probably a problem with Windows. In Excel, make sure Scroll Lock (ScrLk) is not checked. This mode turns arrow keys into scroll buttons instead of moving them. If you find a power button on your keyboard, look for it and press it again to turn it off feature. Arrow keys in Excel are basically used to easily move between cells. These arrow keys facilitate directional access, allowing you to move from cell to cell with just a swipe of a button. You can disable keyboard scroll lock using the onscreen keyboard which is an accessibility tool. On Windows and macOS, use the search function to find the visual keyboard and find the Scroll Lock key. If arrow keys are not working in Excel, try enabling StickyKeys feature on Windows. Open the search bar on the taskbar by clicking the magnifying glass icon. You can also bring it up with the keyboard shortcut Windows + S. Type control panel in the search box. If you see it in the results, click on it to launch the app.
Enable Sticky Keys
The first method you should try to fix the arrow key won’t work is by enabling StickyKeys. It may seem strange to you because sticky keys are not directly related to arrow keys or your Excel application. But in many cases it is worth solving the arrow key not working in Windows 10.
Follow the steps to enable these sticky keys:
Unfreeze rows and columns
This arrow keys not working issue is unfreezing the column and rows present in the current view. If entire cells you want to work with are in the locked column or row group, then obviously your arrow won’t work in Excel at that time. In that case, if you don’t agree with the idea of unlocking those locked columns and rows, then expand your Excel spreadsheet. This will help you see sections of the worksheet that are locked. So now you can easily use arrow keys on unlocked areas.
Disable add-ins
While Excel add-ins are very useful in Excel, sometimes they also cause conflicts. So, you need to find this conflicting add-in to resolve the arrow key not working in Excel issue. Once you get this add-in, just turn it off and check if the arrow keys are working or not. Well it is very easy to disable the add-in in Excel but if you don’t know how to do that and follow these steps:
Unprotect Excel Workbook
Another method you should try is to unprotect your Excel workbook. As with the protected worksheet or workbook, you do not have permission to choose cells, nor can you scroll to them. So first you need to unprotect your Excel sheet and then only the arrow key will work. When the whole task is done, lock or protect it again.
Let the calculation process finish
If you are doing a lot of calculations, wait a while because sometimes it takes a long time to complete the process. This will prevent you from navigating Excel worksheets using arrow keys.
Disable scroll lock
A very common reason behind arrow keys not working in Excel is due to scroll lock enabled feature. Meanwhile, scroll lock feature kept enabled the arrow key will not work. On the keyboard you can see the light shining on the parchment button. Shows that your scroll lock button it’s on. You have to disable it to make your arrow key work again. If the arrow key doesn’t work in Excel due to this reason, fix it by applying some changes.
Final note
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