Software & Apps MS Office How to Freeze Column and Row Headings in Excel Freeze panes to keep track of where you are in a spreadsheet by Ted French Writer Former Lifewire writer Ted French is a Microsoft Certified Professional who teaches and writes about spreadsheets and spreadsheet programs. our editorial process Ted French Updated on December 11, 2019 Tweet Share Email Manuel Breva Colmeiro / Getty Images MS Office Excel Word Powerpoint Outlook When working with large Excel spreadsheets, the column and row headings located at the top and down the left side of the worksheet disappear if you scroll too far to the right or too far down. To avoid this problem, freeze the rows and columns. Freezing locks specific columns or rows in place so that no matter where you scroll they're always visible on the top or side of the sheet. Instructions in this article apply to Excel 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007; Excel Online; and Excel for Mac 2016 and later. Freeze the Top Row of a Worksheet Freezing the top row of a worksheet is a great way to keep your Excel headings visible at all times. Follow these three easy steps to get that header to stay in place. To freeze the top row of a worksheet: Select View on the ribbon. Select Freeze Panes. If you're using Excel for Mac, skip this step. Select Freeze Top Row. A border appears just below Row 1 to indicate that the area above the line has been frozen. The data in row 1 remains visible as you scroll down because the entire row is pinned to the top of Excel. Freeze the First Column of a Worksheet In addition to freezing the first row of a worksheet, you can also freeze the first column just as easily. To freeze the first column of a worksheet: Select View. Select Freeze Panes. If you're using Excel for Mac, skip this step. Select Freeze First Column. The entire column A area is frozen, indicated by the black border between column A and B. Enter some data into column A, scroll to the right, and you'll see the data move with you. Freeze Both Columns and Rows of a Worksheet Freeze all the rows above the active cell and all the columns to the left of the active cell. These columns and rows remain on the screen at all times, no matter how far you scroll. To keep specified rows and columns visible: Select a cell that is below the row that you want frozen and to the right of the column you want frozen. These are the rows and columns that stay visible when you scroll. Select View. Select Freeze Panes. If you're using Excel for Mac, skip this step. Select Freeze Panes. Two black lines appear on the sheet to show which panes are frozen. The rows above the horizontal line are kept visible while scrolling. The columns to the left of the vertical line are kept visible while scrolling. Unfreeze Columns and Rows in Excel When you no longer want certain rows and columns to stay in place when you scroll, unfreeze all the panes in Excel. The data in the frames will remain, but the rows and columns that were frozen will return to their original positions. To unfreeze panes, select View > Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes. On Excel for Mac, select View > Unfreeze Panes instead. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit