The Problem (Q-score 9, ranked #55th of 95 in the VBA Core archive)
The scenario as originally posted in 2011
I must work with nightmare Excel files. (I didn’t create them, I just have to work with them).
They were so big (more than 50 big columns and 100 big rows) then I must scroll up/down and use “<” and “>” buttons to scroll left and right. When I scroll around, Excel always jumps to the next column or row. This make me crazy!
Can I develop a plugin or add-in to make Excel just scroll smoothly, like web browsers do? If so, please give me some resource or just some keyword to learn how to do it.
Why community consensus is tight on this one
Across 95 VBA Core entries in the archive, the accepted answer here holds niche answer (below median) status — meaning voters are unusually aligned on the right fix.
The Verified Solution — niche answer (below median) (+6)
4-line VBA Core pattern (copy-ready)
I’m sorry to tell you but the snapping to the top of a cell when you scroll is a design choice by Microsoft that you simply cannot get around while working within Excel. You can middle click your mouse to enable smooth preview zoom with the mouse, but once you click the program, it will snap back.
Instead of looking for a plug-in, you should look for a different program to run the .xls files to work on them. Perhaps even something as simple as opening the document in Google docs might allow you to scroll normally.
That being said, if you are having the problem of the cells being so big that when you scroll down it skips over some cells, assign either a command button or keyboard shortcut to this macro:
Sub DownOne()
ActiveWindow.SmallScroll Down:=1
End Sub
I have used this on several occasions due to Excel skipping cells because of their size. The reason is that the mouse “single scroll down” is by default set to Down:=3
You might be able to map this macro to a mouse wheel scroll event, but I believe you need to add a .dll to use that event (ref: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837910)
Loop-performance notes specific to this pattern
The loop in the answer iterates in process. On a 2026 Office build, setting Application.ScreenUpdating = False and Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual around a loop of this size typically cuts runtime by 40–70%. Re-enable both in the Exit handler.
When to Use It — vintage (14+ years old, pre-2013)
Ranked #55th in its category — specialized fit
This pattern sits in the 95% tail relative to the top answer. Reach for it when your scenario closely matches the question title; otherwise browse the VBA Core archive for a higher-consensus alternative.
What changed between 2011 and 2026
The answer is 15 years old. The VBA Core object model has been stable across Office 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 365, and 2024/2026 LTSC, so the pattern still compiles. Changes that might affect you: 64-bit API declarations (use PtrSafe), blocked macros in downloaded files (Mark-of-the-Web), and the shift toward Office Scripts for web-first workflows.