Often there are times when a spreadsheet developer has the need to set the screen scroll lock area in Excel restricting where the user can scroll and has visibility. A perfect example would be Excel Dashboards.

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Setting the screen scroll lock area improves the user experience and can make a dashboard or other spreadsheet application have more of that App like feel.

In this article, we will look at 3 ways to set the screen scroll lock area in Excel. The first using Worksheet protection, the second using advanced excel options, and the third, using VBA.

Our Example

Our Dashboard contains information from cells A1 to U40 and we want to lock the screen so the user is unable to scroll beyond this point.

1. Worksheet Protection to limit the screen scroll area

When you have protected a worksheet and workbook, the user retains the ability to scroll to the far side or bottom of the worksheet. Worksheet or workbook protection does not lock the scroll unless you first ensure the cells outside the scroll area are locked and cannot be selected. However, when you are creating a dashboard or other spreadsheet application, to improve the user experience, it is often a good idea to lock the scroll. This way the user cannot ‘lose’ the dashboard because they have scrolled too far, and it will give the dashboard a more app-like feel.

Start by selecting the first column of blank cells after the dashboard.