Summary
Anybody who has ever dealt with a large Excel spreadsheet understands how intimidating all those rows and columns can be. It might be challenging to hold onto whatever information you’ve learned from these early cells until you’re past ten or fifteen distinct values and labels. Thankfully, locking those little informational rectangles is an easy process.
The game is called “freezing,” yet its implementation is as simple as the word itself. Certain rows and columns may be frozen, preventing these cells from moving on the page as you scroll over them.
Here’s our detailed instruction on how to begin freezing right now!
How to use Excel to freeze a row
Choose the row or rows that you want to freeze in step 1. As you go across the spreadsheet, you will be able to see these rows. To freeze a row, choose the row that is directly below the desired row. Thus, you must choose row 4 if you want to freeze rows 1-3.
Step 2: Next, from the ribbon menu at the top of the screen, choose the View tab.
Step 3: Choose Freeze Panes from the drop-down option that displays.
Alternatively, you may choose not to pick any rows in advance if all you want to do is freeze the top row of your spreadsheet. All you have to do is choose View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row from the menu.
How to defrost your frozen rows in step four: Return to the View tab, choose Freeze Panes, then from the drop-down option, pick Unfreeze Panes.
How to freeze a column in Excel
Choose whatever columns you want to freeze in step 1. The column that is directly to the right of the column or columns you want to freeze should then be selected. For instance, you should choose column D if you need to freeze columns A, B, and C.
Step 2: Next, from the ribbon menu at the top of the screen, choose the View tab. Select Freeze Panes after that.
Step 3: Choose Freeze Panes from the drop-down option that displays.
Alternatively, you may only click the View tab and choose Freeze Panes > Freeze First Column if all you want to do is freeze the first column of your spreadsheet.
Step 4: Simply click the View tab and choose Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes to unfreeze your frozen columns.
Using keyboard shortcuts to freeze rows and columns
Keyboard shortcuts may also be used to freeze rows and columns in Excel. Below is a brief summary of the most often used commands:
First, freeze the columns and rows. To execute the command, press Alt+W+F+F, one key press after the other. This command in Excel freezes the rows and columns preceding the highlighted cell once you’ve chosen it.
Step 2: Use Alt+W+F+R to freeze the top row. This command will always freeze the first row in your spreadsheet, regardless of the cell that is chosen.
Step 3: Use Alt+W+F+C to freeze the first column. This command will always freeze the first (leftmost) column in your spreadsheet, regardless of the cell that is chosen.
In Google Sheets, how may rows and columns be frozen?
Like Excel, you may experiment with the freeze-unfreeze features in Google’s spreadsheet program. Here’s how to get to these configurations:
Step 1: Launch Google Sheets and create a new spreadsheet.
Step 2: Select whatever column or row you want to unfreeze or freeze. Next, choose View > Freeze from the menu at the top.
Step 3: All you have to do now is decide how many rows or columns you want to freeze. Click View > Freeze > No rows or No columns to unfreeze.
In MacOS Numbers, how may rows and columns be frozen?
Although the freeze-unfreeze feature of Google Sheets and Excel isn’t included in Apple’s first-party spreadsheet program, you may still freeze header rows, header columns, or both. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1: Click any part of the table in an open Numbers spreadsheet. After that, choose Table from the menu at the top.
Step 2: Select whether to freeze the header rows, columns, or both. To specify how many rows or columns to freeze, you may also pick Header Rows and Header Columns.
Editors’ Note: On March 1, 2023, the article was reviewed to ensure that the instructions and data were still current.
