How to Freeze Cells in Excel

This updated guide examines How to Freeze Cells in Excel and organizes the essential facts, background, and practical takeaways in clear American English.

Method 1

Freezing the First Column or Row

1. Click theViewtab. It's at the top of Excel. Frozen cells are rows or columns that remain visible while you scroll through a worksheet.^{[1]XResearch source}If you want column headers or row labels to remain visible as you work with large amounts of data, you'll likely find it helpful to lock those cells into place.
   • Only whole rows or columns can be frozen. It is not possible to freeze individual cells.
2. Click theFreeze Panesbutton. It's in the "Window" section of the toolbar. A set of three freezing options will appear.
3. ClickFreeze Top RoworFreeze First Column. If you want to keep the top row of cells in place as you scroll down through your data, select Freeze Top Row . To keep the first column in place as you scroll horizontally, select Freeze First Column .
4. Unfreeze your cells. If you want to unlock the frozen cells, click the Freeze Panes menu again and select Unfreeze Panes .

Method 2

Freezing Multiple Columns or Rows

1. Select the row or column after those you want to freeze. If the data you want to keep stationary takes up more than one row or column, click the column letter or row number after those you want to freeze. For example:
   • If you want to keep rows 1, 2, and 3 in place as you scroll down through your data, click row 4 to select it.
   • If you want columns A and B to remain still as you scroll sideways through your data, click column C to select it.
   • Frozen cells must connect to the top or left edge of the spreadsheet. It's not possible to freeze rows or columns in the middle of the sheet.^{[2]XResearch source}
2. Click theViewtab. It's at the top of Excel.
3. Click theFreeze Panesbutton. It's in the "Window" section of the toolbar. A set of three freezing options will appear.
4. ClickFreeze Paneson the menu. It's at the top of the menu. This freezes the columns or rows before the one you selected.
5. Unfreeze your cells. If you want to unlock the frozen cells, click the Freeze Panes menu again and select Unfreeze Panes .