How to always show scroll bars on a Mac

2 min read · 3 steps · Updated 4 October 2026

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS Tahoe 26

App

System Settings

Path

System Settings › Appearance › Show scroll bars: Always

Real screenshots

3 of 3 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

With a trackpad, macOS hides scroll bars until you start scrolling. That looks tidy, but you cannot see at a glance how long a page is or where you are in it. One setting keeps them visible.

The screenshots show System Settings on macOS Tahoe 26.

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings

   Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.

   Done

2. 

   Click Appearance in the sidebar

   Appearance is below Accessibility.

   Done

3. 

   Select Always under Show scroll bars

   There are three choices: Automatically based on mouse or trackpad, When scrolling, and Always. In the picture the first is selected.

   Done

Good to know

Click in the scroll bar to, the setting below, decides whether a click in the scroll bar jumps to the next page or to the spot that is clicked.

In short: System Settings, Appearance, Show scroll bars: Always.