How to turn on scroll lock when your keyboard has no scroll key

When a keyboard doesn’t have a scroll key, it’s usually because you’re looking at a laptop keyboard that aims to minimise the size by cutting out or merging keys that are rarely used. Many 75 per cent keyboards also omit the key, as Scroll Lock isn’t an oft-used key. Scroll Lock as a function is essentially phased out today anyway as we only ever see it used by a niche crowd in Excel, FLStudio, and a handful of professional scenarios.

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Here are some ways to enable scroll lock on your laptop:

Enabling scroll lock on laptop keyboards

Most laptop makers include some sort of shortcut to enable and disable scroll lock while not including a separate key. This includes Fn + S, C, or K in the case of Dell, HP, and Lenovo laptops, and Fn + Insert in ASUS. Some also use scroll lock in combination with the function keys.

On a MacBook, you can use Fn + F14, Fn + F12, or Fn + Shift + F12 depending on the model of device you have. The Fn key and Globe key are the same.

Using the on-screen keyboard

If these don’t work, you can also use the on-screen keyboard on Windows to toggle scroll lock. Activate the keyboard by either opening the Run command (Win + R) and typing osk, or by toggling the keyboard from the system tray or taskbar on devices that have detachable keyboards.

It’s nice to see that even those few holdouts who swear by the Scroll Lock function have an option to use the key even if it’s not in widespread use. When in doubt, look up the manufacturer’s website for your specific laptop or keyboard model to confirm that Scroll Lock is supported, and what the shortcut for it is.