How to Make Scroll Bars Always Visible in macOS - MacRumors
Skip to Content

How to Make Scroll Bars Always Visible in macOS

by

Since macOS Ventura, Apple has made hiding scroll bars when not in use a default behavior of the operating system, but you can prevent this from happening if you know where to look. Keep reading to learn how it's done.

finder
If your Mac is running macOS Ventura, you may have noticed that it makes window scroll bars visible only when you are actively scrolling with your mouse or trackpad.

Apple has made this the default setting because it is in keeping with the minimalist UI design of macOS, but if you don't see a scroll bar, you may not even know that a window can be scrolled, making navigation more difficult in general.

Fortunately, you can change this behavior pretty easily in macOS and make it so that scroll bars always remain visible. The following steps show you how.

  1. Click the Apple () symbol in the top-left corner of your Mac's menu bar, then click System Settings....
  2. Using the sidebar, scroll down and select Appearance.
  3. Under the "Show scroll bars" option, click the radio button next to Always.

finder

Your preference will be implemented instantly, and you should now see scroll bars wherever scrolling is available.

Note that if you're using macOS Monterey or earlier, the same setting can be found in the General panel of System Preferences.

Popular Stories

Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday August 20, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. As usual, the iPhone event is expected to take place in the first half of September. Labor Day falls on September 7 this year. The last time the holiday was on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Gurman: iPhone Ultra Wows Early Testers, Except for Its Camera

Sunday August 23, 2026 11:19 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra is winning over the few people who have had hands-on time with the device, though the camera setup may leave some users wanting, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says people who have used the device – which is reportedly referred to internally as the iPhone Ultra – like how it fits in your...
macOS 27 next to MacBook Pro Running macOS 27

macOS Golden Gate Marks the End of an Era

Thursday August 20, 2026 2:19 pm PDT by
macOS 27 Golden Gate is not compatible with any Macs with Intel processors, marking the end of an era. The update, which is currently in beta ahead of a release later this year, is limited to Apple silicon Macs with an M1 chip or newer. Last year, Apple said that macOS 26 Tahoe would be the final macOS release compatible with Intel-based Macs, so this was an expected development. Intel...