How to Customize the Scrollbar in Windows 11

So that it best suits your needs

The Windows operating system changes over time—it doesn’t remain static. How it looks and works can often change from one version to the next.

Scrollbars in Windows 11 are no different. You might find that the scrollbar in Windows 11 is too thin to use, or doesn’t appear at all, appearing hidden by default. If you want to change this behavior, you’ll need to know how to customize the scrollbar on your Windows 11 PC (especially if you’re using a touchscreen device).

There are a few ways you can customize your Windows 11 scrollbars, from making them always visible to changing their size and behavior. We’ll explain how below.

How to Make the Scrollbars Always Visible

The default behavior in most Windows 11 applications is for the scrollbar to appear hidden. You’ll have to hover your mouse over the edge of the window or swipe your finger on the screen to reveal them. This can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially if you’re actively trying to scroll through a long document or website.

To make the scrollbars always visible on Windows 11, you can use the accessibility settings. Here’s how:

This will make the scrollbars appear permanently in supported Windows apps including Notepad, WordPad, and other default Microsoft apps. To hide them in the future, return to the settings menu and disable theAlways show scrollbarsslider.

It may also impact how scrollbars appear in other non-Microsoft apps. However, this will depend on the application you’re using, and your experience may vary.

How to Change the Size of Windows 11 Scrollbars

If you want to customize the Windows 11 scrollbar so that they appear smaller or larger than the default size, there’s only one way to do it without third-party software—via the Windows Registry. Bymodifying the Registry, you’ll be able to set the size of your scrollbars via a Registry key change.

A word of warning, however. Making changes to the Registry is potentially dangerous to your computer, as the wrong change can cause your PC to become unstable or stop working.

Before you begin, make sure that youbackup your Registryto allow you to restore it. You should alsocreate a new System Restore pointto ensure you can restore your PC if something goes wrong.

To change the size of the scrollbars on Windows 11 (or Windows 10) using the Registry Editor, follow these steps:

You should now see that your scrollbars have changed their size. If you’re unhappy, repeat these steps to increase (or decrease) the scrollbars, or revert back to the default size by changing the ScrollHeight and ScrollWidth values back to -255.

How to Adjust Mouse Scrolling Behavior on Windows 11

Most users don’t actively drag a scrollbar up or down—they use their mouse to achieve the scrolling effect they want. Another way to customize the scrollbars on Windows 11 is to adjust how they behave when (or how) your mouse interacts with them.

For instance, you can enable or disable scrolling on inactive windows, which means that you can scroll through any window without clicking on it first, and thus making it the ‘active’ window. This can be useful for multitasking or when you’re comparing different documents or web pages (as long as mouse scrolling workson your PC).

To adjust the scrolling behavior on Windows 11, you’ll need to adjust your mouse settings. Here’s how:

The change will apply immediately—you won’t need to restart your PC. If you want to revert back, return to the menu and disable (or re-enable) the feature.

Customizing Your Windows 11 PC

There’s no right or wrong way to scroll through pages or applications on your Windows 11 PC. If you want to customize the scrollbar on Windows 11 to suit your own requirements, the steps above will help you to get the job done.

Did you know that you didn’t even need to scroll yourself to work through a webpage? You canset your mouse to scroll automaticallyby using different browser extensions or add-ons.

If you’re using a touchscreen device, however, scrolling might be a lot easier, thanks to two-finger scrolling. However, iftwo-finger scrolling isn’t working, you’ll need to troubleshoot the problem next.

Ben Stockton is a freelance technology writer based in the United Kingdom. In a past life, Ben was a college lecturer in the UK, training teens and adults. Since leaving the classroom, Ben has taken his teaching experience and applied it to writing tech how-to guides and tutorials, specialising in Linux, Windows, and Android. He has a degree in History and a postgraduate qualification in Computing.Read Ben’s Full Bio

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