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Word 2016 hides the vertical scrollbar after a few seconds of inactivity. As soon as I move the mouse cursor it appears again but it disappears again after a moment. When it's hidden I can't see how long the document is and which position I'm looking at. Must be one of those modern stupid "desktop is not a touch-only tablet" design mistakes creeping in from entirely different platforms.

I know there is an option to permanently hide the vertical or horizontal scollbar but this is not the case here. The vertical scrollbar is visible but not permanently.

This issue did not exist in Word 2010. I don't know Word 2013 so I can't say anything about that but it seems to be a similar issue from what I've found.

PS: I'm also looking for a permanent solution, not one that only lasts until the Word application is closed.

Update: Please go vote for this bugfix here on uservoice, as noted in the comments.

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3
  • 1
    Vote for this issue here word.uservoice.com/forums/…
    – pgr
    Dec 29, 2017 at 22:42
  • Did you try the fix using Autohotkey, as described here: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/… ?
    – 1NN
    Sep 21, 2020 at 20:20
  • @1NN You want me to let the mouse cursor jump around on its own? No, thanks. I need a precise pointing device, not a playful cat. And it wouldn't work if the mouse pointer is outside the Word window.
    – ygoe
    Sep 22, 2020 at 7:44

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
1

The setting is not in Word, but part of the Windows 10 settings. Go to: Start -> Settings -> Ease of Access -> Display.

Scroll down to "Simplify and personalize Windows", and disable "Automatically hide scrollbars in Windows"

Note that this setting will influence all Windows Store Apps, including all OS interfaces.

This solution will work also for Word 365.

Settings -> Ease of Access

Display -> Hide Scrollbars

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4
  • How would I do that on a German UI? That search term doesn't lead to anything that could be translated as the expected result. Maybe a screenshot of the path to the setting would help with localised versions of Windows.
    – ygoe
    Jul 15, 2020 at 8:51
  • @ygoe It's in the "Ease of Access" section, actually. I've edited the answer in that sense. In German I think this would be sth like "Einstellungen" -> "Erleichteter Zugang" -> "Display". When I'm back on my PC I'll try to make a screenshot
    – 1NN
    Jul 15, 2020 at 11:16
  • @ygoe OK I've added the screenshots
    – 1NN
    Jul 15, 2020 at 11:41
  • Thanks. Unfortunately this doesn't have the effect in Word 2016.
    – ygoe
    Jul 15, 2020 at 21:19
0

This is a non-permanent fix which will only work on a per-document basis, as long as the document is open. (I got this from a recent comment on the uservoice vote page linked in the question.)

Go to View -> read mode

Go back to print layout by clicking at the little icon in the bottom bar. print layout button

From that moment on the scrollbars will remain in view.

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1
  • Sorry, no effect in Word 2016 at all.
    – ygoe
    Mar 3, 2021 at 17:40
-2

Vic1248 replied on August 22, 2015

Hi everyone,

Vic1248 replied on August 22, 2015 to this issue, and it does fix it:

Go to Start>Settings, type "performance" in the "Find a setting" search box and then select "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" and a Performance Options dialogue pops up. In that dialogue, select Custom, unselect "Smooth-scroll list boxes" and press the Apply button. Then, select "Smooth-scroll list boxes" again and press the Apply button.

If that doesn't work, try it a few times, it could eventually work. If not, try it with reboots.

At any rate, Microsoft will have a lot of bugs fixed in the upcoming Build 10525.

Vic

p.s. I happened to notice that some websites override your device local settings.

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3
  • 1
    What does "Vic1248 replied on August 22, 2015 " mean?
    – Toto
    Jul 2, 2018 at 12:18
  • Hi Terry, who is Vic? Brute-forcing a setting with reboots doesn't sound like a solution and I don't have the time now to try my luck.
    – ygoe
    Jul 2, 2018 at 17:15
  • who knows who is Vic?. You don't even have a quote
    – phuclv
    Apr 26, 2019 at 15:56

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