The Invisible Scrollbar Issue
In an effort to make the operating system look more modern and minimalist, Windows 11 automatically hides scrollbars in many built-in applications (like Settings, the Start Menu, and the Microsoft Store) when you are not actively scrolling. The scrollbars shrink down to a tiny, almost invisible sliver of a line until you hover your mouse directly over the very edge of the window. While this looks sleek, it is a significant accessibility issue, making it difficult to quickly gauge how long a page is or to manually click and drag the bar.
How to Keep Scrollbars Always Visible in Windows 11
You can force Windows 11 to display full-width, permanent scrollbars across all supported applications by tweaking a simple accessibility setting.
1. Open the Windows Settings app. (You can do this quickly by pressing the Windows Key + I on your keyboard).
2. In the left-hand sidebar menu, click on Accessibility.
3. Under the “Vision” section on the right, click on Visual effects.
4. Locate the setting labelled Always show scrollbars.
5. Click the toggle switch to turn it On.
The Impact on Your Applications
Once enabled, the change is instantaneous—you do not need to restart your computer. All UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps and core Windows menus will immediately display thick, easy-to-grab scrollbars on the right-hand side of the screen. Please note that this setting only affects modern Windows applications that respect global UI guidelines; older legacy software (like classic Control Panel menus) or third-party web browsers (like Google Chrome) use their own scrollbar rendering engines and will remain unaffected.