Text box lagging when typing inside

When typing or moving the cursor in a text field, you may experience lag or delays in input, especially in large or complex workbooks. There are several possible causes and solutions. Here are some possible causes.

First make sure:

• Your GPU drivers are up to date.
• Excel and Office are updated via File → Account → Update Options → Update Now.

Change in Excel’s bottom-right corner or via View → Zoom — e.g., 80%, 100%, 120%.

that text boxes lag more when Excel is not at 100% zoom (like 90%, 110%, or 130%).

So it’s worth setting the workbook zoom to exactly 100% to test.

Windows scaling:

This is your screen scaling in Windows Settings → System → Display → Scale and layout, where you might have:

• 100% (recommended for native DPI)
• 125%, 150%, 175%, etc.

When Excel runs on a high-DPI display (like a 4K or Retina screen) and the scaling isn’t handled cleanly, it can make text boxes laggy when editing or moving them.

That’s why I mentioned:

Right-click Excel → Properties → Compatibility → Change high DPI settings → Override high DPI scaling behavior → Application

This tells Windows to let Excel handle its own DPI scaling — which often reduces lag in text boxes and other drawing objects.

Too Many Shapes or Text Boxes

Each text box is treated like a separate drawing object. If you have dozens or hundreds of shapes, charts, or text boxes, Excel slows down.

• Try reducing the number of text boxes if possible.
• Use cell comments, cell notes, or merged cells with text wrapping instead, if feasible.

Third-Party Add-ins

Some add-ins hook into Excel’s rendering engine and cause lag.

• Go to File → Options → Add-ins
• At the bottom, select COM Add-ins → Go…
• Temporarily uncheck all and restart Excel to test.