Many struggles with row headers when the data increases from left to right in Excel. They struggle to pick the row headers when printing a large amount of data, referring to row headers when scrolling from left to right.
In this article, we will concentrate on complete row headers, right from locking them, showing them, hiding them, printing row headers, freezing row headers to see them at all points of time, changing row and column references from A1 to R1C1, and many more in this article.
Table of contents
- Excel Row Header
- #1 How to Lock, Show, or Hide Row Headers in Excel?
- #2 How to Freeze and Lock Row Headers in Excel?
- #3 How to Print Excel Row & Column Headers?
- Things to Remember
- Recommended Articles
You are free to use this image on your website, templates, etc, Please provide us with an attribution linkArticle Link to be Hyperlinked
For eg:
Source: Row Header in Excel (wallstreetmojo.com)
We can see all the row and column headers in excelHeader and Footer is the top and bottom portion of a document respectively, similarly excel also has options for headers and footers, they are available in the insert tab in the text section, using this features provides us with two different spaces in the worksheet one on the top and one on the bottom.read more by default.
We can hide the row and column header by showing them under the “VIEW” tab. We need to uncheck the box “Headings” to turn them off from showing. We can see the row header when we open any new Excel file. If someone does not like them, we can turn them off by showing them to the user.
Uncheck the box, which will turn off ROW and COLUMN headers from the current sheet.
The Output is shown below:
We can also turn off the row and column headers by following the below steps.
- Go to “FILE” and “Options”.
- Go to “Advanced.” Next, scroll down and select this worksheet’s “Display options for this worksheet” option.
- Uncheck the box “Show row and column headers.”
- It will hide row and column headers from the selected worksheet.
#2 How to Freeze and Lock Row Headers in Excel?
Now, take a look at the huge datasheet below.
The first column is the heading for all the rows for this data. Now, we will move from left to right. When we move from left to right, suppose to the end of the data, the last column of the data, we cannot see the row headers now.
We can only see Excel row headers but not the data row headers here. It is so confusing which row header we are referring to now. Going back and seeing the row header now and then is a frustrating job to do.
Nothing to worry about. We can lock or freeze our row heading by following the below steps.
- Step 1: Go to View > Freeze Panes.
- Step 2: Click on the drop-down list of Freeze Panes in excelFreezing panes in excel helps freeze one or more rows and/or columns so that they remain fixed while scrolling through the database.read more and select the Freeze first column.
- Step 3: It does not matter where we are on the sheet. We can see our row heat at all points in time.
Now, it is easier to understand exactly which row we are referring to and what the row header is.
#3 How to Print Excel Row & Column Headers?
We often do not worry about printing our row and column headers in our printing options. But now, look at the screenshot below of print preview in excelPrint preview in Excel is a tool used to represent the print output of the current page in the excel to see if any adjustments need to be made in the final production. Print preview only displays the document on the screen, and it does not print.read more.
It shows only the data range but not our Excel row and column headers. Remember, “Data Headers” are user headers, and row and column headers are Excel headers.
To print the row and column headers, we need some twists in the print settings before we go ahead and print.
- Step 1: Go to “PAGE LAYOUT” and click on the “PAGE SETUP” arrow.
- Step 2: Now, we will see the Page SetupTo set up a page in MS excel, in the page layout tab, click on the small arrow mark under the page setup group> A dialogue box will open, click on «fit to 1 page» option>go to print preview option and choose landscape mode>save changes, it’s done.
read more window.
- Step 3: Click on the “Sheet” tab in this “Page Setup” window.
- Step 4: Under this tab, check the box Row & Column Headings.
- Step 5: Now, see the print preview. We can see row & column headers here.
Things to Remember
- Hiding row and column headers will only add confusion when dealing with a huge data set.
- The shortcut key for hiding or showing row and column headers is ALT + W + V + H.
- Whatever changes we make apply only to the current worksheet where you are currently working.
- We can freeze or lock as many rows as possible by placing the cursor after the last row.
Recommended Articles
This article is a guide to Row Header in Excel. Here, we discuss how to show, lock, freeze, or hide a row header in Excel, along with practical examples and a downloadable Excel template. You may learn more about Excel from the following articles: –
- Freeze Cells in ExcelFreezing cells in excel is when we move up or down in the sheet, we freeze desired cells, not to be moved. To freeze cells in excel, select the cells to freeze. Then, in the View tab of the windows section, click on freeze panes.read more
- Excel VBA Last RowThe End(XLDown) method is the most commonly used method in VBA to find the last row, but there are other methods, such as finding the last value in VBA using the find function (XLDown).read more
- Cell Reference in Excel
- Use of Uppercase in Excel
Excel for Microsoft 365 Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac Excel for the web Excel 2021 Excel 2021 for Mac Excel 2019 Excel 2019 for Mac Excel 2016 Excel 2016 for Mac Excel 2013 Excel 2010 Excel 2007 Excel for Mac 2011 More…Less
When you create an Excel table, a table Header Row is automatically added as the first row of the table, but you have to option to turn it off or on.
When you first create a table, you have the option of using your own first row of data as a header row by checking the My table has headers option:
If you choose not to use your own headers, Excel will add default header names, like Column1, Column2 and so on, but you can change those at any time. Be aware that if you have a header row in your data, but choose not to use it, Excel will treat that row as data. In the following example, you would need to delete row 2 and rename the default headers, otherwise Excel will mistakenly see it as part of your data.
Notes:
-
The screen shots in this article were taken in Excel 2016. If you have a different version your view might be slightly different, but unless otherwise noted, the functionality is the same.
-
The table header row should not be confused with worksheet column headings or the headers for printed pages. For more information, see Print rows with column headers on top of every page.
-
When you turn the header row off, AutoFilter is turned off and any applied filters are removed from the table.
-
When you add a new column when table headers are not displayed, the name of the new table header cannot be determined by a series fill that is based on the value of the table header that is directly adjacent to the left of the new column. This only works when table headers are displayed. Instead, a default table header is added that you can change when you display table headers.
-
Although it is possible to refer to table headers that are turned off in formulas, you cannot refer to them by selecting them. References in tables to a hidden table header return zero (0) values, but they remain unchanged and return the table header values when the table header is displayed again. All other worksheet references (such as A1 or RC style references) to the table header are adjusted when the table header is turned off and may cause formulas to return unexpected results.
Show or hide the Header Row
-
Click anywhere in the table.
-
Go to Table Tools > Design on the Ribbon.
-
In the Table Style Options group, select the Header Row check box to hide or display the table headers.
-
If you rename the header rows and then turn off the header row, the original values you input will be retained if you turn the header row back on.
Notes:
-
The screen shots in this article were taken in Excel 2016. If you have a different version your view might be slightly different, but unless otherwise noted, the functionality is the same.
-
The table header row should not be confused with worksheet column headings or the headers for printed pages. For more information, see Print rows with column headers on top of every page.
-
When you turn the header row off, AutoFilter is turned off and any applied filters are removed from the table.
-
When you add a new column when table headers are not displayed, the name of the new table header cannot be determined by a series fill that is based on the value of the table header that is directly adjacent to the left of the new column. This only works when table headers are displayed. Instead, a default table header is added that you can change when you display table headers.
-
Although it is possible to refer to table headers that are turned off in formulas, you cannot refer to them by selecting them. References in tables to a hidden table header return zero (0) values, but they remain unchanged and return the table header values when the table header is displayed again. All other worksheet references (such as A1 or RC style references) to the table header are adjusted when the table header is turned off and may cause formulas to return unexpected results.
Show or hide the Header Row
-
Click anywhere in the table.
-
Go to the Table tab on the Ribbon.
-
In the Table Style Options group, select the Header Row check box to hide or display the table headers.
-
If you rename the header rows and then turn off the header row, the original values you input will be retained if you turn the header row back on.
Show or hide the Header Row
-
Click anywhere in the table.
-
On the Home tab on the ribbon, click the down arrow next to Table and select Toggle Header Row.
—OR—
Click the Table Design tab > Style Options > Header Row.
Need more help?
You can always ask an expert in the Excel Tech Community or get support in the Answers community.
See Also
Overview of Excel tables
Video: Create an Excel table
Create or delete an Excel table
Format an Excel table
Resize a table by adding or removing rows and columns
Filter data in a range or table
Using structured references with Excel tables
Convert a table to a range
Need more help?
The row heading or row header is the gray-colored column located to the left of column 1 in the worksheet containing the numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.)used to identify each row in the worksheet.
Contents
- 1 What does row heading mean in Excel?
- 2 How do you make a header row in Excel?
- 3 What is row heading called?
- 4 What is a heading used for a row?
- 5 How do I create a column header row in Excel?
- 6 How do I show column and row headings in Excel?
- 7 What are headings and titles in a spreadsheet called?
- 8 What is cell heading?
- 9 How do you create a label heading in a table?
- 10 What is a column header in Excel?
- 11 How do I make the top row of Google Sheets always visible?
- 12 How do I make a header row in Google Docs?
- 13 What is the difference between row and column?
- 14 How do I format a text header in Excel?
- 15 What is row and?
- 16 How do you insert a row?
What does row heading mean in Excel?
A row heading identifies a row on a worksheet. Row headings are at the left of each row and are indicated by numbers.
Click the [Page Layout] tab > In the “Page Setup” group, click [Print Titles]. Under the [Sheet] tab, in the “Rows to repeat at top” field, click the spreadsheet icon. Click and select the row you wish to appear at the top of every page. Press the [Enter] key, then click [OK].
The rows headings of a table are known as caption.
What is a heading used for a row?
The row heading or row header is the gray-colored column located to the left of column 1 in the worksheet containing the numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) used to identify each row in the worksheet.
How do I create a column header row in Excel?
Open the Spreadsheet
- Open the Spreadsheet.
- Open the spreadsheet where you want to have Excel make the top row a header row.
- Add a Header Row.
- Enter the column headings for your data across the top row of the spreadsheet, if necessary.
- Select the First Data Row.
How do I show column and row headings in Excel?
On the Ribbon, click the Page Layout tab. In the Sheet Options group, under Headings, select the Print check box. , and then under Print, select the Row and column headings check box .
What are headings and titles in a spreadsheet called?
Your Excel 2013 spreadsheets can benefit from page headers and fixed column titles, also called description rows.
What is cell heading?
Header cells are those that contain the information that is critical to understanding the raw data in a table. For example the number 210 is meaningless on its own, but becomes information if you know that it is the data for a) the number of properties in b) a given street.
How do you create a label heading in a table?
How to insert a table heading
- Step 2: In the References tab, click on ‘Insert Caption’.
- Step 3: Type your heading into the ‘Caption’ box at the top.
- Step 2: When the box appears, click on the dropdown menu next to ‘Label’.
- Step 3: Make sure the position reads ‘Below selected item’.
What is a column header in Excel?
In Excel and other spreadsheet applications, the column header is the colored row of letters used to identify each columnwithin the sheet, or workbook. The column header row is located above the row one.
How do I make the top row of Google Sheets always visible?
Freeze or unfreeze rows or columns
- On your computer, open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.
- Select a row or column you want to freeze or unfreeze.
- At the top, click View. Freeze.
- Select how many rows or columns to freeze.
To create a table header for tables that run across pages, try inserting a section break at the end of each page via Insert > Break > Section break (next page). You can then put your table headings in the header area of your document rather than at the top of each table.
What is the difference between row and column?
Rows are a group of cells arranged horizontally to provide uniformity. Columns are a group of cells aligned vertically, and they run from top to bottom.
On the status bar, click the Page Layout View button. Select the header or footer text you want to change. On the Home tab in the Font group, set the formatting options that you want to apply to the header / footer.
What is row and?
A row is a series of data placed out horizontally in a table or spreadsheet. It is a horizontal arrangement of the objects, words, numbers, and data. In Row, data objects are arranged face-to-face with lying next to each other on the straight line.
How do you insert a row?
Insert or delete a row
- Select any cell within the row, then go to Home > Insert > Insert Sheet Rows or Delete Sheet Rows.
- Alternatively, right-click the row number, and then select Insert or Delete.
Excel Header Row (Table of Contents)
- Header Row in Excel
- How to turn the Row Header on or off in Excel?
- Row Header formatting options in Excel
Microsoft Excel sheet has the capacity to hold a million rows with a numeric or text dataset in it.
Row header or Row heading is the gray-colored column located on the left side of column 1 in the worksheet, which contains the numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) where it helps out to identify each row in the worksheet. Whereas the column header is the gray-colored row, it will usually be letters (A, B, C, etc.), which helps identify each column in the worksheet.
Row header label will help you out to identify & compare the information of the content when you are working with a huge number of data sets when it is difficult to accommodate the data in a single window or page & to compare information in your worksheet of excel.
Usually, a combination of column letters and row numbers helps out to create cell references. Row header will help you identify individual cells located at the intersection point between a column and row in a worksheet in excel.
Definition
Header rows are the label rows containing information that helps you identify the content of a particular column in a worksheet.
If the dataset table spans over several pages in an excel sheet print layout or towards the right if you scroll on & on, the header row will remain constant & stagnant, which usually repeat itself at the beginning of each new page.
How to turn the Header Row on or off in Excel?
Row headers in excel will always be visible all the time, even when you scroll the column data sets or values towards the right in the worksheet.
Sometimes, the row header in excel will not be displayed on a particular worksheet. It will be turned off in several cases, the main reason for turning them off is –
- Better or improved appearance of the worksheet in excel or
- To obtain or gain the extra screen space on worksheets containing a large number of tabular datasets.
- To take a screenshot or capture.
- When you take a printout of a tabular dataset, the row header or heading makes things complicated or confusing with the printed data set because of interference of row & column header; therefore, whenever you take a print out, the row header should always be turned off for each individual worksheet in the excel.
Now, let’s check out how to turn off the row headers or headings in Excel.
- Select or Click on the File option in the home toolbar of the menu to open the drop-down list.
- Click on Options in the list present on the left-hand side to open the Excel Options dialog box.
- Now, the Excel Options dialog box appears; in the left-hand panel of the excel options dialog box, select the Advanced option.
- Now, if you move the cursor down after the advanced option, you can observe Display options for this worksheet section located near the bottom of the right-hand pane of the dialog box; by default, it shows the row and column headers option always checked or ticked in.
- If you want to turn off the row headers or headings in Excel, click on or uncheck the selection box of a checkbox in the Show row and column headers option.
- Simultaneously, you can turn off the row and column headings for additional worksheets in the open workbook or current workbook of excel. It can be done by selecting the name of another worksheet under the drop-down box located next to the Display options.
- Once you have unchecked the box, Click OK to close the excel options dialog box, and you can return to the worksheet.
- Now, the above procedure disables the visibility of a row or column header.
When you try to open a new Excel file, the row header or heading is displayed by default of normal style or theme font similar to the workbook’s default format. This same normal style font is also applicable for all the worksheet in the workbook.
The default heading font is Calibri & the font size is 11. It can be changed based on your choice as per your requirement; whatever font style & size you apply will reflect in all the worksheets in a workbook of excel.
You have an option to format font & its size settings, with various options in format settings.
- In the Home tab of the Ribbon menu. Under the Styles group, select or click on Cell Styles to open the Cell Styles drop-down palette.
- In the dropdown, under Good, bad & neutral, Right-click or select on the box in the palette entitled Normal – it is also called a Normal style.
- Click on Modify option under normal.
- A style dialog box appears; click on the Format in that window.
- Now, the Format Cells dialog box appears. In that, you can change the font size and its appearance, i.e. Font style or size.
- I changed the font style & size, i.e. Calibri & font style to Regular, and I increased the font size to 16 from 11.
Once the desired changes are made, click OK twice, i.e. in the format cells dialog box & style dialog box based on your preference.
Note: Once you made changes in the font settings, you have to click on the save option in the workbook; otherwise, it will revert back to the default normal style or theme font (i.e.default heading font is Calibri & font size is 11).
Things to Remember
- Row header (with row number) make things easier to view or access the content when you try to navigate or scroll to another area or different parts of your worksheet at the same time in excel.
- An advantage of the header row is you can set this label row to print on all pages in excel or word; it is very significant & will be helpful for spreadsheets that span multiple pages.
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to Header Row in Excel. Here we discuss how to turn row header on or off and row header formatting options in excel. You can also go through our other suggested articles –
- ROWS Function in Excel
- Column Header in Excel
- Excel Header and Footer
- Add Rows in Excel Shortcut
Updated on November 18, 2019
In Excel and Google Sheets, the column heading or column header is the gray-colored row containing the letters (A, B, C, etc.) used to identify each column in the worksheet. The column header is located above row 1 in the worksheet.
The row heading or row header is the gray-colored column located to the left of column 1 in the worksheet containing the numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) used to identify each row in the worksheet.
Column and Row Headings and Cell References
Taken together, the column letters and the row numbers in the two headings create cell references which identify individual cells that are located at the intersection point between a column and row in a worksheet.
Cell references – such as A1, F56, or AC498 – are used extensively in spreadsheet operations such as formulas and when creating charts.
Printing Row and Column Headings in Excel
By default, Excel and Google Spreadsheets do not print the column or row headings seen on screen. Printing these heading rows often makes it easier to track the location of data in large, printed worksheets.
In Excel, it is a simple matter to activate the feature. Note, however, that it must be turned on for each worksheet to be printed. Activating the feature on one worksheet in a workbook will not result in the row and column headings being printed for all worksheets.
Currently, it is not possible to print column and row headings in Google Spreadsheets.
To print the column and/or row headings for the current worksheet in Excel:
- Click Page Layout tab of the ribbon.
- Click on the Print checkbox in the Sheet Options group to activate the feature.
Turning Row and Column Headings on or off in Excel
The row and column headings do not have to be displayed on a particular worksheet. Reasons for turning them off would be to improve the appearance of the worksheet or to gain extra screen space on large worksheets – possibly when taking screen captures.
As with printing, the row and column headings must be turned on or off for each individual worksheet.
To turn off the row and column headings in Excel:
- Click on the File menu to open the drop-down list.
- Click Options in the list to open the Excel Options dialog box.
- In the left-hand panel of the dialog box, click on Advanced.
- In the Display options for this worksheet section – located near the bottom of the right-hand pane of the dialog box – click on the checkbox next to the Show row and column headers option to remove the checkmark.
- To turn off the row and column headings for additional worksheets in the current workbook, select the name of another worksheet from the drop-down box located next to the Display options for this worksheet heading and clear the checkmark in the Show row and column headers checkbox.
- Click OK to close the dialog box and return to the worksheet.
Currently, it is not possible to turn column and row headings off in Google Sheets.
R1C1 References vs. A1
By default, Excel uses the A1 reference style for cell references. This results, as mentioned, in the column headings displaying letters above each column starting with the letter A and the row heading displaying numbers beginning with one.
An alternative referencing system – known as R1C1 references – is available and if it is activated, all worksheets in all workbooks will display numbers rather than letters in the column headings. The row headings continue to display numbers as with the A1 referencing system.
There are some advantages to using the R1C1 system – mostly when it comes to formulas and when writing VBA code for Excel macros.
To turn the R1C1 referencing system on or off:
- Click on the File menu to open the drop-down list.
- Click on Options in the list to open the Excel Options dialog box.
- In the left-hand panel of the dialog box, click on Formulas.
- In the Working with formulas section of the right-hand pane of the dialog box, click on the checkbox next to the R1C1 reference style option to add or remove the checkmark.
- Click OK to close the dialog box and return to the worksheet.
Changing the Default Font in Column and Row Headers in Excel
Whenever a new Excel file is opened, the row and column headings are displayed using the workbook’s default Normal style font. This Normal style font is also the default font used in all worksheet cells.
For Excel 2013, 2016, and Excel 365, the default heading font is Calibri 11 pt. but this can be changed if it is too small, too plain, or just not to your liking. Note, however, that this change affects all worksheets in a workbook.
To change the Normal style settings:
- Click on the Home tab of the Ribbon menu.
- In the Styles group, click Cell Styles to open the Cell Styles drop-down palette.
- Right-click on the box in the palette entitled Normal – this is the Normal style – to open this option’s context menu.
- Click on Modify in the menu to open the Style dialog box.
- In the dialog box, click on the Format button to open the Format Cells dialog box.
- In this second dialog box, click on the Font tab.
- In the Font: section of this tab, select the desired font from the drop-down list of choices.
- Make any other desired changes – such as Font style or size.
- Click OK twice, to close both dialog boxes and return to the worksheet.
If you do not save the workbook after making this change the font change will not be saved and the workbook will revert back to the previous font the next time it is opened.
Thanks for letting us know!
Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day
Subscribe