Adaptive scrolling can be used to navigate through a file displayed in a viewing area of a screen of a computer system. A method of adaptive scrolling can include receiving a user input of a start indicator in the form of a character or format feature of the file and detecting an end indicator corresponding to the start indicator. The user input can define a bound section between the start indicator and the end indicator. The method can also include detecting user input of scrolling in the bound section and, in response, activating adaptive scrolling to accelerate the scrolling through at least a portion of the bound section towards the end indictor.