Bottom Line: Learn about a new feature update in Excel called Smooth Scrolling which improves the worksheet navigation experience. I also explain some tips for scrolling and resizing rows and columns on older versions of Excel.
Skill Level: Beginner
Watch the Tutorial
A Welcome Update
Excel just fixed an issue that has been an annoyance to users for more than 35 years! They've just rolled out Smooth Scrolling.
Up until now, when you would scroll either vertically or horizontally, the scrolling would have a snap-to-grid behavior. That means it would always jump to the beginning of a column or row.
Let's say you had a column that was extremely wide—wider than the width of your screen. If you were to use the scroll bar at the bottom of the page to move right, you wouldn't see the scrolling on your screen as you moved along the scroll bar. Instead, there is a screentip telling you where the grid will snap to when you release your mouse.
But with Smooth Scrolling, you can now scroll to any portion of the large column (or row) and the screen will move as you scroll. Then it will remain there when you stop scrolling.
So What's the Big Deal?
You might be thinking, “Why is this important? Does it really matter?”
It may be a small change, but it alleviates a good amount of frustration. For example, there are times when you might want to compare information in adjacent columns or rows but you simply aren't able to view both of them at the same time because of their size. Excel will snap you to a place you don't want to be because of the layout of the grid.
But with Smooth Scrolling, you can drag along the scrollbar with your mouse to exactly what you want to see, and when you take you finger off the mouse button, the screen will remain right where you want it.
Another annoyance that Smooth Scrolling resolves is in regard to resizing. If a column is larger than my screen width and I want to reduce the size by dragging the right side of the header to the left, I can't even see the right side of the column when the scrolling snaps me to the left side.
With Smooth Scrolling, that's not an issue anymore.
Smooth Scrolling is currently only available on the Beta channel for Microsoft 365, and will be released to additional channels in the future. So if you are working an older version of Excel, there are a couple of ways to resize your large columns or rows so that they are more manageable to work with.
Workarounds for Older Versions of Excel
It can be frustrating to not necessarily be able to see the portion of the column that you want to see. It's even more frustrating on smaller monitors or in smaller windows. The best way to deal with this is to resize the column width (or row height if you are dealing with a row that is too tall).
Here are a couple of ways to do that.
1. Right-click Menu
If you right-click on the column header, you will get a menu where you can select Column Width.
This brings up the Column Width window with the current size of the column. You can adjust that number to something smaller. That will resize your column so that the right edge is now visible on your screen.
Trivia Fact: 255 is the maximum cell width in Excel.
2. The Zoom Controls
Another option is to use the zoom feature. To zoom in and out, you can hold down the Ctrl key and scroll on your mouse. Or, you can use the zoom controls, found in the bottom-right corner of Excel.
Once you have zoomed out enough, you can resize the column like you normally would, and then you can zoom back in.
Either of these options to resize column widths would also apply to adjusting row heights as well.
A Quick Note
You can also press and release the scroll button on your mouse to create smooth scrolling to the right and left.
The issue is that when you click the button again, it snaps back to the grid. This is not a method I use very often, but I wanted to make mention of it.
Can I Still Snap to Grid?
The snap-to-grid behavior does still exist in the new version of Excel. You just have to use the arrow buttons instead of dragging the scroll bar.
Conclusion
I'm really happy about this small improvement, and I wonder if you are too. I hope this post is also helpful for anyone who is having trouble resizing their columns or rows in older Excel versions.
Let me know what you think about this updated feature in the comments below!
I am excited about this. Some columns in our company database are very wide even with wrapped text. Snapping was a pain. I’m looking forward to it being available on all 365 versions.
I can’t wait for this feature to be released in my version of Microsoft 365! Thanks, Jon!
Very interesting. Thanks.
my solution is to design a better spreadsheet in the first place
this “solution” is just enabling and encouraging bad design (see merged cells)
It is not even about bad designed files that have ginormous rows or columns. It also helps with files that have smaller cells because it puts less strain on your eyes and is less confusing. Currently when you scroll, everything just “jumps” around making it hard to follow. When things have a smoother “transition” it is a lot easier to follow for your eyes and the transition also makes it a lot more intuitive instead of the entire data just suddenly jumping / changing.
At my age, I hope I live long enough to see this very excellent feature on the Mac version.
I’m on MS 365, but don’t see this in my version of Excel yet – thoughts on when it will be released?
Ohmygosh I can’t wait for this. I work daily on a sheet with really wide rows and it is such a pain to scroll. I’m resizing constantly. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to.
Hi Jon,
It is a great feature, but I don’t see it on my office 365. Am I excited too early/Should I wait for a while (smile)?
Thanks!
Afzal
Thanks for doing this. Please release this asap. It has been a lacking for so many years and the fix is long overdue. Imagine the collective hours this will save among all of your users of excel.
How can u creat a effect of zooming while u selecting from drop down list
I have the current Office 365 Excel (2/15/2022) and it does not smooth scroll as demonstrated in your video. I wonder if there’s a setting you forgot to tell us about.
very helpful.
thanks Jon
You got nothing to say my man stop the rah rah
I am using Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2204 Build 16.0.15128.20158) 64-bit and this smooth scrolling function doesn’t work at all. Why do you advertise ‘improvements’ that don’t work!! I am sick and tired of spreadsheets that jump all over the page when they snap to the top of a cell that contains more than one line of wrapped text. Even of I unwrap the text it still doesn’t scroll smoothly horizontally. Really, this is UI/UX 101 stuff. Get it bloody well fixed!!
Great. But how do I turn it OFF?
My Excel just started using the Smooth Scrolling and I absolutely hate it. 90% of my files need the ability to scroll by lines, not by some imaginary distance it thinks I want.
Even when I use the bars, it won’t stay on the cell grids.
I see some people like this and others, like me, don’t. I prefer to snap to grid when scrolling vertically and like most people using the mouse scroll wheel is the best option. Microsoft should have included this feature as an option that people can turn on an off as they please.
This is a great tip! I’ve been struggling to get my rows and columns to scroll smoothly in Excel for a while now. Thanks for the tip!
This is a great tip! I’ve been struggling to get my rows and columns to scroll smoothly in Excel for a while now. Thanks for the tip!
Love the fix for smooth scrolling rows and columns in Excel! It’s been a huge pain point for me in the past, but this update has made such a big difference. Thanks for sharing!
Love this feature! It’s so convenient to be able to smoothly scroll through rows and columns without having to manually jump to the desired area. Time saver for sure! ️
Love this update! The smooth scrolling feature has made it so much easier to navigation through my spreadsheets. Thank you for sharing!
Great post! I’ve been using Excel for years and I never knew this feature existed. The smooth scrolling option is a game changer, especially when working with large datasets. Thank you for sharing!
This update on smooth scrolling is a game changer! Navigating large datasets just became so much easier. Thank you for highlighting this feature—can’t wait to give it a try!
Great to see this update! Smooth scrolling will definitely improve the workflow in Excel. I can’t wait to try it out and see how it enhances navigation through large datasets. Thanks for sharing the details!