How to Use Buttons to Scroll When a Scroll Ball Is Broken
A broken scroll ball doesn't have to mean it's time to throw your computer away. Most computer programs recognize "hot keys" that can duplicate the function of the scroll ball, better known as a trackball. Early computers did not support mouse technology and users had to rely strictly on the keyboard to navigate. Many of the buttons that early computer users pressed to scroll up and down are still available in contemporary software programs.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Press the arrow key corresponding to the direction you want to scroll. For example, press the "Up Arrow" key to scroll up and the "Down Arrow" key to scroll down. The arrow keys work in most applications, but these keyboard actions are somewhat inefficient because you can only scroll one line at a time.
-
2
Press the "Page Up" or "Page Down" key to quickly navigate through a document or Web page. These keys allow you to skip multiple lines at once. You can use the "Home" and "End" keys to jump to the first line and last line of a document or Web page with a single keystroke.
-
-
3
Tap the "Space bar" in your Web browser to scroll down several lines at once. Press "Shift" and tap the "Space bar" to scroll up several lines. These keyboard shortcuts typically work only in Web browsers and not in word processor applications where the space bar is used to insert spaces in the text you are typing.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
