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I have a keyboard where the backlight is wired to the scroll lock indicator, so in order to have the backlight on, scroll lock needs to be enabled and some users of this computer need keyboard labels to be visible in order to type. This makes arrow-key navigation in Excel not work as typically expected.
Is there a way I can either force the scroll lock indicator to be on while Windows reports scroll lock as off to applications, or an Excel-specific way to override this functionality?
I am using Windows 10 v1607.
Reinstate Monica - ζ--
Posted 2017-09-22T15:27:37.890
Reputation: 354
There are ways to prevent scroll lock from turning on at all, but I don't think you can block it from affecting Excel once enabled. What keyboard make/model do you have that uses the scroll lock key to control the backlight? If you turn on the backlight with the physical scroll lock key, but then disable scroll lock with the on-screen keyboard, does the backlight stay on? – techturtle – 2017-09-22T17:03:54.453
@techturtle It's a CM Storm Devastator; this seems to be a cost-saving measure of some sort. I'm fairly certain that the backlight is driven directly by that indicator, possibly through a MOSFET. Using the on-screen keyboard tool does disable the indicator+backlight. – Reinstate Monica - ζ-- – 2017-09-22T19:20:41.757
That does seem like a cheap-out way to run the switch. I found a few places that had scripts to purportedly fix the lighting issue, but many people said they didn't work. If you're willing to physically alter the keyboard, you can short two contacts on the circuit board to force the backlight to be on all the time. The ultimate answer to your question, though, seems to be that you can't disable that function in Excel.
– techturtle – 2017-09-22T19:38:34.543