Freeze the panes in excel

Freeze panes to lock rows and columns

To keep an area of a worksheet visible while you scroll to another area of the worksheet, go to the View tab, where you can Freeze Panes to lock specific rows and columns in place, or you can Split panes to create separate windows of the same worksheet.

Freeze rows or columns

Freeze the first column

• Select View > Freeze Panes > Freeze First Column.

            The faint line that appears between Column A and B shows that the first column is frozen.

Freeze the first two columns

1. Select the third column.

2. Select View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes.

Freeze columns and rows

1. Select the cell below the rows and to the right of the columns you want to keep visible when you scroll.

2. Select View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes.

Unfreeze rows or columns

• On the View tab > Window > Unfreeze Panes.

  

  Note: If you don’t see the View tab, it’s likely that you are using Excel Starter. Not all features are supported in Excel Starter.

Need more help?

You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.

See Also

Freeze panes to lock the first row or column in Excel 2016 for Mac

Split panes to lock rows or columns in separate worksheet areas

Overview of formulas in Excel

How to avoid broken formulas

Find and correct errors in formulas

Keyboard shortcuts in Excel

Excel functions (alphabetical)

Excel functions (by category)

Freeze Top Row | Unfreeze Panes | Freeze First Column | Freeze Rows | Freeze Columns | Freeze Cells | Magic Freeze Button

If you have a large table of data in Excel, it can be useful to freeze rows or columns. This way you can keep rows or columns visible while scrolling through the rest of the worksheet.

Freeze Top Row

To freeze the top row, execute the following steps.

1. On the View tab, in the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

2. Click Freeze Top Row.

3. Scroll down to the rest of the worksheet.

Result. Excel automatically adds a dark grey horizontal line to indicate that the top row is frozen.

Unfreeze Panes

To unlock all rows and columns, execute the following steps.

1. On the View tab, in the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

2. Click Unfreeze Panes.

Freeze First Column

To freeze the first column, execute the following steps.

1. On the View tab, in the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

2. Click Freeze First Column.

3. Scroll to the right of the worksheet.

Result. Excel automatically adds a dark grey vertical line to indicate that the first column is frozen.

Freeze Rows

To freeze rows, execute the following steps.

1. For example, select row 4.

2. On the View tab, in the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

3. Click Freeze Panes.

4. Scroll down to the rest of the worksheet.

Result. All rows above row 4 are frozen. Excel automatically adds a dark grey horizontal line to indicate that the first three rows are frozen.

Freeze Columns

To freeze columns, execute the following steps.

1. For example, select column E.

2. On the View tab, in the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

3. Click Freeze Panes.

4. Scroll to the right of the worksheet.

Result. All columns to the left of column E are frozen. Excel automatically adds a dark grey vertical line to indicate that the first four columns are frozen.

Freeze Cells

To freeze cells, execute the following steps.

1. For example, select cell C3.

2. On the View tab, in the Window group, click Freeze Panes.

3. Click Freeze Panes.

4. Scroll down and to the right.

Result. The orange region above row 3 and to the left of column C is frozen.

Magic Freeze Button

Add the magic Freeze button to the Quick Access Toolbar to freeze the top row, the first column, rows, columns or cells with a single click.

1. Click the down arrow.

2. Click More Commands.

3. Under Choose commands from, select Commands Not in the Ribbon.

4. Select Freeze Panes and click Add.

5. Click OK.

6. To freeze the top row, select row 2 and click the magic Freeze button.

7. Scroll down to the rest of the worksheet.

Result. Excel automatically adds a dark grey horizontal line to indicate that the top row is frozen.

Note: to unlock all rows and columns, click the Freeze button again. To freeze the first 4 columns, select column E (the fifth column) and click the magic Freeze button, etc.

Freeze Panes is a useful tool located in View Bar. In larger sheets, we have the data headers in the top rows and first columns. And on scrolling down or to the right, these headers do not appear.

The Excel Freeze Panes tool allows us to freeze the column/row or multiple columns/rows headings so that when we scroll down or move to the right to view the rest of the sheet, the rows/columns are that are frozen remain on the screen. After freezing, below that row and column, a grey line appears to make the partition. 

In the window group (View tab), we can see its variations :

1. Freeze Panes
2. Freeze Top Row
3. Freeze First Column

Let’s discuss them and the other possibilities.

Freeze Top Row:

On clicking Freeze Top Row, the First row gets frozen and on scrolling down, we can still see the top Row throughout the pages. 

Freeze First Column:

On clicking Freeze First Column, the First Column gets frozen and on moving to the right, we can still see the First Column and can match the data values to the headers present in the first column. 

Freezing First Column and Top Row only freezes the one row/column to the screen. To freeze multiple, the Freeze Panes option is used.

Freeze Multiple Rows: 

To freeze the multiple rows, select the cell in the first column(A) below the last row we want to freeze and then click on Freeze Panes. On scrolling down, frozen rows will stay fixed.

Cell A4 is selected so that the 3 rows above it get frozen.

Freeze Multiple Columns:

To freeze the multiple columns, select the cell in the first row(1) right to the last column we want to freeze and then click on Freeze Panes. On moving to the right, frozen columns will stay fixed.

Cell C1 is selected, and after clicking on Freeze Panes, columns A and B get frozen.

Freeze Cells:

We can also Freeze Multiple Rows and Columns together as per requirement. The tool Freeze Panes will do the work for us. To freeze, we have to select the cell whose left columns need to be frozen and whose above rows need to be frozen and then click on Freeze Panes in the View Bar under Window Group. 

Cell C4 is selected to freeze the rows above it and the columns left to it. 

Unfreeze Panes:

Unfreeze Panes is the tool used to unfreeze the formerly frozen row/column and the sheet gets back to normal view.

After freezing, the option Freeze Panes gets changed to Unfreeze Panes.

I recently helped a friend with Excel, and when I asked him how the spreadsheet looked, he hesitated. Finally, he looked at me and said, “It’s overwhelming.” The data was OK, but he wanted to see the top row when he scrolled. The solution was to show him how to freeze rows and columns in Excel so that key headings or cells were always visible. I’ve outlined four scenarios and solution steps.

This was a good communication lesson for me. It reminded me that we all have different skill levels and vocabularies. For example, when you’re new, you’re probably not thinking in terms like “how to freeze panes in Excel.” You may not know what a pane is. It’s not describing your problem. My friend was thinking in terms of a “sticky header,” or “Excel floating header,” or “pinning rows.” I wasn’t thinking of any of those.

Let’s Start with Excel Panes

An Excel pane is a set of columns and rows defined by cells. You get to determine the size, shape, and location. For many people, it might be the top row. For others, it’s an inverted L-shape and contains the top row and first column. You’re the spreadsheet architect and can define your pane.

Regarding spreadsheets, you can “freeze panes” or “split panes.” Splitting panes is a bit more complex because you have separate windows of your data on the worksheet. So, for the sake of simplicity, this tutorial will cover freezing panes.

If your columns and rows aren’t in the orientation you want, you may want to learn how to transpose or switch columns and rows in Excel.

Why Lock Spreadsheet Cells?

A key benefit to locking or freezing cells is seeing the important information regardless of scrolling. The split pane data stays fixed. Your spreadsheet can contain panes with column headings, multiple rows, multiple columns, or both.

Otherwise, losing focus on a large worksheet is easy when you don’t have column headings or identifiers. I’ve had times where I’ve entered data only to see I was one cell off and produced Excel formula errors. By locking various sections, you have a consistent reference point. This also helps readability.

Typically, the cells you want to stay sticky are labels like headers. However, they could just as easily be an entire column, such as employee names.

Let’s go through four examples and keyboard shortcuts to freeze panes in Excel.

1 – How to Freeze the Top Row

This freeze row example is perhaps the most common because people like to lock the top row that contains headers, such as in the example below.

Another solution is to format the spreadsheet as an Excel table.

1. Open your worksheet.
2. Click the View tab on the ribbon.
3. On the Freeze Panes button, click the small triangle ▼ (drop-down arrow) in the lower right corner. You should see a new menu with three options.

1. Click the menu option Freeze Top Row.
2. Scroll down your sheet to ensure the first row stays locked at the top.

You should see a darker border under row 1.

Keyboard Shortcut – Lock Top Row

I like to do this shortcut slowly the first time to see the ALT key letter assignments as you type. I can see the keyboard assignments in the example below once I hit my Alt key. Some people prefer to add the Freeze Panes command to the Quick Access toolbar because they frequently use it.

Alt + w + f + r

2 – How to Freeze the First Column

A similar scenario is when you want to freeze the leftmost column. I guess Microsoft researched this to determine the most common sub-menu options.

I find this option helpful when I have a spreadsheet with many columns and I need to fill in data without using an Excel data form.

1. Open your Excel worksheet.
2. Click the View tab on the ribbon.
3. On the Freeze Panes button, click the small triangle ▼. You should see a new menu with your 3 options.
4. Click the option Freeze First Column.
5. Scroll across your sheet to make sure the left column stays fixed.

Keyboard Shortcut – Lock First Column

Alt + w + f + c

3 – How to Freeze the Top Row & First Column

This is my favorite option. If you look at Microsoft’s initial Freeze Panes options, there isn’t one for the top row and first column. Instead, we’ll use the generic option called Freeze Panes.

The subtext reads, “Keep rows and columns visible while the rest of the worksheet scrolls (based on current selection).” Some folks get confused as they think they have to highlight data to make a selection.

Instead, consider the selection of the first cell outside your fixed column and row. If I wanted to lock the top row and top column, that selection cell would be cell B2 or Nevada. Regardless of whether I scroll down or to the right, the first cell that disappears when I scroll is B2.

1. Open your Excel spreadsheet.
2. Click cell B2. (Your set cell.)
3. Click the View tab on the ribbon.
4. On the Freeze Panes button, click the small triangle ▼ in the lower right corner. You should see a dropdown menu with your 3 options.
5. Click the option Freeze Panes.
6. Scroll down your worksheet to make sure the first row stays at the top.
7. Scroll across your sheet to make sure your first column stays locked on the left.

Keyboard Shortcut – Freeze Panes

Alt + w + f + f

4 – Freeze Multiple Columns or Rows

On occasion, I get some Excel worksheets where the author puts descriptive text above the data. My header isn’t in Row 1 but further down in Row 5. Or I want to lock multiple columns to the left. In the example below, I want to lock Columns A & B and Rows 1-5.

The process is the same, I just need to click the set cell that stops the fixed area. In this case, it would be cell C6 or “Regions Field.” The content above and to the left is frozen.

Everything in the red boxes would be locked. The downside is you may give up much of the screen real estate.

Why Freeze Panes May Not Work

There are some rules surrounding this feature. If you don’t follow these, freeze panes may not work.

Quick test: If you type Ctrl + Home and your cursor moves to cell A1, you haven’t locked anything.

• If you dislike your settings, use the Unfreeze Panes command.
• This feature won’t work on a protected worksheet or Page Layout View.
• If you’re editing a value in the Formula bar, the View menu will be disabled.

If you need to see the same header on printed pages, Microsoft has instructions.

As you’ve seen, choosing what content to freeze is easy. You can freeze the top row, first column, both, or a subset of your data, depending on what you want to do with it. The flexibility is part of what makes Microsoft Excel such an excellent program for organizing and analyzing information from any field.

Russian (Pусский) translation by Ilya Nikov (you can also view the original English article)

Когда вы работаете в крупной таблице Excel, то блокировка столбца или строки может быть весьма полезным, чтобы они всегда были видны. В этом кратком руководстве вы узнаете, как это сделать в Microsoft Excel.

Как заблокировать области, строки и столбцы в Excel (быстро)

Примечание. Просмотрите этот короткий видеоролик или выполните следующие быстрые шаги, которые дополняют это видео:

1. Как заблокировать верхнюю строку в Excel

В этой электронной таблице у меня длинный список данных, и когда я прокручу список вниз, вы увидите, что я быстро теряю из виду мои заголовки сверху. Вместо того, чтобы прокручивать снова вверх, чтобы держать заголовки столбцов в поле зрения, мы можем заблокировать верхний ряд.

Я собираюсь выделить первую строку, нажав на нее слева. Теперь перейдем в меню «Вид» и выберите Закрепить панели>Закрепить верхнюю строку, теперь, когда я прокручиваю страницу вниз, она всегда будет оставаться в поле зрения.

2. Как закрепить первый столбец в Excel

Давайте сделаем что-то подобное с первым столбцом, чтобы при прокрутке слева направо он всегда оставался в поле зрения. На этот раз я нажму на заголовок столбца для столбца A и вернусь в это же меню, а затем выберу Закрепить первый столбец.

Теперь вы видите, что, когда я двигаюсь направо, первая колонка остается в поле зрения, так что нам не нужно постоянно скроллить назад и вперед.

Подведем итоги!

Если бы я хотел отменить все это, я щелкнул бы в верхнем левом углу листа, а затем выбрал Закрепление панелей> Убрать закрепление.

Это отменит ваше закрепление и сбросит представление листа. Это все, что нужно для быстрого закрепления панелей в Excel.

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