Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Controlling Scroll Bars.
At the bottom and right side of the document there are scroll bars that control what part of the document you are viewing at any given time. If you need more room to view a document, or if you are using Word without a mouse, you can turn off the scroll bars. To control display of the scroll bars, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.
With the scroll bars turned off, you must use the cursor control keys to move through the document.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6704) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling Scroll Bars.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
When configuring Word so that it matches your preference in shortcut keys, you need to be careful about what shortcut ...
Discover MoreDisplaying graphics in a document requires a great deal more computer processing than displaying simple text. A document ...
Discover MoreNonprinting characters are a great boon when you are editing a document. Turn them on and you can easily see what ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-01-26 00:48:56
Erin
Honestly, I am so frustrated. I have tried these advanced settings and they are checked to show vertical and horizontal scroll bars and yet they still don't show. Other comments elsewhere show that they will only show up when you zoom in but I tried that too and they are still not there. I also tried saving the doc and reopening Word but no luck.
You wrote this article recently, any suggestions for me??? Greatly appreciated if so.
2021-12-30 02:43:02
YossiD
For some reason the vertical scroll bar fades out after a few seconds of inactivity. How can I get it to stop doing that?
I am in Word 2013.
2021-07-23 15:41:15
Polly Kummel
I'm hoping someone can help. I had to do a clean reinstall of Win 10 today, and now I cannot find my horizontal scroll bar in Word 2007 no matter what I do. Yes, it's checked under Options-->Advanced. Yes, I've told Windows not to hide scroll bars. The only way I can make it appear is to zoom up to 170 percent in Word, and that's no solution at all.
What's really got me stymied is what Dummies for Word 2007 says (and this is the only mention): "The horizontal scroll bar appears just above the status bar at the bottom of Word's window - but only when your document is wider than the window." I have no idea what "when your document is wider than the window" means or how to make that happen so perhaps I can reverse engineer the reappearance of my horizontal scroll bar. My margins are always set at zero, top, bottom, and sides.
Thanks for whatever enlightenment you may be able to provide!
2021-01-08 08:43:27
Jennifer Thomas
Modern versions have lost some controls, as @Izzi Raynaud notes, but if you right-click in the vertical scroll bar then Page Up, Page Down, Top, Bottom, and Scroll Here (which is handy) are all available. The only thing they completely removed (or at least I can't find it) is the Scroll By Object button, so you have to use Go To for that now. Hope that helps!
2018-10-13 15:19:55
"R" Addison (poet/artist/writor)
I have MS Word for Macs 2016, after using 2011 since 2012, and 2004-2010 updates. I like several features, and need same format to "pop-up" before uploading Office 2019 fir Macs, next! The one feature I needed yesterday is the right hand slider "button" used to grant page number where one was utilizing. Where do I activate. Secondarily, I use the color green and got that changed, but did not take notes how to locate.
2018-10-08 08:03:15
Izzi Reynaud
The options to move down a page at a time, which used to be at the bottom of the vertical scroll bar have gone. Do you know if this is by design (ie OTTB), or whether it's an additional option that needs to be turned on in Word? It's not in the above solution as options. Thanks,
2016-09-29 04:32:54
David
Some how the vertical scroll bar moved from the right side to the left side. Is there a way to get it back to the right side once again???
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2022 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
Comments