This should repair the problem. This procedure applies to Microsoft Office 2019, 2016, and Microsoft 365. These sometimes take a long time to process and will prevent you from navigating around the Excel spreadsheet using the arrow keys. The information will be used subject to terms and conditions, for advertising purposes. If this doesn't work, double-check that the keys themselves aren't clogged with dust or other dirt by cleaning out your keyboard with a specialised keyboard cleaner. To get arrow keys working again, press Enter and then Ctrl-Z to undo the current formula. Disable scroll lock. Formula Entry mode is when you select a cell in Excel, type = and then start typing a function. Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day, Lifewire uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Then press Ctrl+R to fill them with the contents of the original cell. Using Excel on a larger screen makes it less unlikely that you'll encounter this issue since the screen is usually larger than the area of the frozen pane. Complicating things further, there are a number of other issues that can lead to arrows not working in Excel. Keyboard shortcut functions aren’t working. On MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, FN + Shift + F12 will do the same. For more information, click this privacy policy A few words of thanks would be greatly appreciated. The issue with arrows not working in Excel can happen at any time, whether you're in the middle of editing a worksheet or switching between sheets. Find the right keyboard, for me this is Razer Diamondblack. In Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet programs, pressing Ctrl+R fills the row cell to the right with the contents of the selected cell. Open the Device Manager and search for Keyboards. Right click the driver and choose Uninstall Device. To find a recent add-in you installed and disable it, select File > Options > Add-ins. In excel CTRL+Shift+L is not working; when I press the key sequence and the cursor spins and comes back without having accomplished turning on the filters or anything visible to me. I've never had this issue before, so it was a surprise. Go to Start and search for Device Manager. The following troubleshooting tips are listed in order of the most common to the least common causes for this issue, so working from first to last will solve the problem faster. Unprotect the sheet first and arrow keys will work. The most common cause for arrow keys not working in Excel is scroll lock being enabled. Ryan Dube is a freelance contributor to Lifewire and former Managing Editor of MakeUseOf, senior IT Analyst, and an automation engineer. Our content is written in collaboration with, This document, titled « Fix Laptop Control (CTRL) Keys That Won't Work », is available under the. On your keyboard, locate and press the ALT + ctrl + fn keys. Check the status bar in Excel to see whether scroll lock is enabled. Happened across your "how to" article, and worked like a charm. Press +F, and then type your search words. After disabling Sticky Keys, repeat the instructions in step 1 to ensure scroll lock is actually disabled after you've turned off the Sticky Keys feature. If it is, disable it using the Scroll Lock key on your keyboard, or using the on-screen keyboard in Windows. If you don't want to unfreeze those panes, you could also try to zoom out the magnification in Excel so that you can use the arrow keys in the section of the spreadsheet that isn't frozen. Thanks. Older versions of Excel may not display the scroll lock status as described in this article, but many of the solutions may still work. To quickly find a shortcut in this article, you can use the Search. Exit Formula Entry mode by pressing Enter. This makes it even more difficult to troubleshoot the source of your problem. After restarting your PC, keyboard functions such as CTRL + C and V should work again. The most common cause for arrow keys not working in Excel is scroll lock being enabled. Then select Excel Add-ins > Go. If your arrow keys work again, you can go back and enable the add-ins one at a time to narrow down the culprit. If you press an arrow key in this mode, the selected cell in the formula will change, but the arrow keys won't control the cursor in the sheet. Deselect all add-ins and select OK. CCM is a leading international tech website. It can be very annoying when your arrow keys are not working in Excel. You can also review your targeting options. Unprotect the Excel workbook. So, the best approach is to confirm whether scroll lock is enabled, and if it isn't, move down the list of other troubleshooting tips. Disabling Sticky Keys often resolves this issue. Click-to-add is available but requires a bit of setup. Sometimes, glitches with the Sticky Keys feature in Windows can cause Excel to see the Scroll Lock key as enabled even when it isn't. However, not all do. Tried few other things from the internet to no avail. On other Mac laptops or smaller keyboards, you'll need to install a virtual keyboard app that includes the F14 key in order to disable scroll lock in Excel. Cause of Arrow Keys Not Working in Excel . If all the cells in the sheet you're looking at are inside of a group of columns or rows you've frozen, it may appear as though arrow keys stopped working in Excel. Check if you're performing multiple calculations. This isn't the case. To fix this issue, the steps are quite simple. I'm sure it's a setting I have changed my mistake but I can find it. To fill more than one cell, select the source cell and press Ctrl+Shift+Right arrow to select multiple cells. If you highlight the columns just filled with "Control R" you find that the columns have the correct formulas inserted but the cells are not reading the column. Then you can protect it again when you're done. This behavior can be confusing so make sure you understand how to correctly enter data into Excel cells. The information gathered is for Communitic International to ensure the sending of the newsletter. If you have an extended keyboard on a Mac, you can press either F14, Shift + F14, or Command + F14 to toggle scroll lock. This can be especially frustrating if your keyboard doesn't have a Scroll Lock key, or there is no light indicator showing it's enabled. When you open a protected workbook or worksheet, you won't be able to select cells or scroll through them.
2020 ctrl+r in excel not working