How to Fix Slow or Choppy Scrolling in Excel 365
Question details
The user is experiencing lagging, slow, or choppy scrolling in Excel 365, even when navigating simple workbooks.
- Product
- Microsoft Excel 365
- Device & OS
- Windows
- Scenario
- Scrolling through data in an Excel workbook.
- Observed behavior
- The screen updates slowly or stutters during scrolling, instead of moving smoothly.
Before editing system or registry settings, save your current workbooks and fully close Microsoft Excel to ensure changes take effect properly.
Disable Windows Animation Effects
Turning off the 'Animate controls and elements inside windows' setting can immediately improve Excel's scrolling responsiveness.
Windows animation effects can sometimes conflict with Excel's rendering engine, leading to visual stutter. Disabling this specific effect is the safest and most effective first step.
Press the Windows key, type 'Settings', and hit Enter. Navigate to System, then select About from the left-hand menu.
Click on 'Advanced system settings' located on the right side or at the bottom of the About page.
In the System Properties window, stay on the Advanced tab and click the 'Settings' button under the Performance section.
In the Visual Effects tab, uncheck 'Animate controls and elements inside windows'. Click Apply, then OK. Restart Excel to test if scrolling is smoother.
Adjust Office Hardware Acceleration via Registry Editor
If disabling animations doesn't work and the hardware acceleration option is missing in Excel, you can manually disable it using the Windows Registry.
Experience Smooth Scrolling with WPS Office
Tired of lagging and choppy scrolling in Excel 365? Switch to WPS Office, a highly optimized, lightweight, and free alternative that ensures smooth performance even on older hardware, with flawless Microsoft Excel compatibility.
- 1. Download and Install: Visit the official WPS website to download and install WPS Office for free.
- 2. Launch WPS Spreadsheet: Open the WPS Office application and select the Spreadsheet module.
- 3. Open Your Files: Directly open your existing .xlsx files and enjoy smooth, stutter-free scrolling immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Excel 365 lag when scrolling even on a fast computer?
Excel 365 may experience scrolling lag due to conflicting Windows animation settings, outdated graphics drivers, or unoptimized hardware acceleration processing between Microsoft Office and your GPU.
Can I disable hardware acceleration directly inside Excel 365?
In recent updates to Excel 365, Microsoft removed the 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration' checkbox from the File > Options > Advanced menu. To modify this setting now, you must use the Windows Registry.
Will turning off Windows animations affect my other programs?
Disabling 'Animate controls and elements inside windows' removes smooth visual transitions (like fading menus or sliding panels) across all Windows applications. While it makes the UI feel slightly more abrupt, it generally improves overall system and application responsiveness.
Does safe mode help fix Excel scrolling issues?
Starting Excel in Safe Mode (holding the Ctrl key while launching) disables third-party add-ins. If scrolling is smooth in Safe Mode, the choppy behavior is likely caused by an active COM add-in rather than animation settings.
