This article shows you some quick hacks to apply when arrow keys are not working in Excel.
Arrow keys fall under the family of navigation keys in a Microsoft Windows keyboard layout or QWERTY keyboard.
Microsoft Excel is no different.
This is popularly known as the arrow keys in Excel not working issue of Excel along with the keyboard.
Contents
Why Are Arrow Keys Important in Excel?
Working on Microsoft Excel is all about keyboard movements.
Experts and pros of Excel use hundreds of keyboard shortcuts to efficiently and quickly move around the Excel worksheet.
For such movements, you need the arrow keys.
Pressing Shift along with any of the arrow keys will let you select multiple cells without using the mouse.
The selection will move according to the exact arrow key you press.
This hotkey combination activates any filters on your worksheet.
Without the arrow keys, its almost impossible to move around freely on an Excel sheet.
Hence, resolving any issues related to arrow keys not working in Excel is extremely important.
The cell selection box wont move from its original place.
Youll, however, see that the Excel scroll bars are moving.
You wont be able to move between cells.
In this situation, disabling the Scroll Lock will fix the issue.
Here is how its done:
Where Is My Scroll Lock Key?
However, some keyboards with a compact architecture may not contain the Scroll Lock key.
In such scenarios, you’re free to use the on-screen keyboard on a Windows PC.
You should see theOn-Screen Keyboardapp under theBest matchsection.
Click it to reveal the on-screen keyboard.
Now, simply click theScroll Lockkey on the visual keyboard using the mouse to disable Scroll Lock.
Power Cycle the Keyboard
There could be a minor electronic glitch thats causing this issue directly from the keyboard.
Here are some scenarios:
Close Out the Formula Entry Mode
To get out of this, simply pressEnter.
Now, just click any blank cell on the Excel worksheet and try moving around using the arrow keys.
It should work now.
Open Excel in Safe Mode
Some rouge Excel add-ins may be running malicious code in the background.
Its another potential cause of the arrow keys not working in Excel.
you’ve got the option to try running Excel in safe mode to disable all Add-ins automatically.
If the issue resolves, uninstall the last used or installed Excel add-in that might be causing the issue.
This method will definitely patch up the issue if the keyboard isnt defective.
Conclusion
Now you know how to address the arrow keys not working in Excel issue.
Give the above methods a try according to your preference.
The issue should go away pretty easily.
Next up, you may also learn toenable or shut down the display of formulas in cells in Excel.
