How to freeze and unfreeze columns or rows in spreadsheets

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In a spreadsheet application, freezing a column or row, referred to as freeze panes in Microsoft Excel, prevents them from moving while you explore a worksheet.
For instance, you might want the titles of the categories in a header to appear after the numbers as you scroll down so you don’t lose track of the data you’re looking at.

Choose your spreadsheet application from the list below, then follow the steps to learn how to freeze and unfreeze panes.

Microsoft Excel

The sections that follow will show you how to utilize freeze panes in Microsoft Excel.

Freezing a Row or Column

  1. Open an existing spreadsheet in Excel or create a new one.
  2. Click the View tab at the top of the screen.
  3. To the right of the View section, click Freeze Panes.
  4. From the drop-down menu, choose Freeze Top Row or Freeze First Column.
  5. The top row or first column, depending on your preference, is now locked in place.
    Scroll down or to the right of the spreadsheet to test.

Unfreezing a Row or Column

  1. Open a spreadsheet that has frozen rows or columns.
  2. Click the View tab at the top of the screen.
  3. To the right of the View section, click Freeze Panes.
  4. From the drop-down option, choose Unfreeze Panes.

Google Spreadsheets

The sections that follow will teach you how to freeze and unfreeze rows and columns in Google Sheets.

Freezing a Row or Column

  1. Go to Google Sheets and either create a new one or access an existing spreadsheet.
  2. Click View in the menu bar at the top of the window.
  3. From the drop-down option, choose Freeze.
  4. From here, you may lock the rows or columns.
  5. Depending on your selections, a border appears around a part of rows or columns, indicating that they are locked in place.
    Scroll down or to the right of the worksheet to test.

Unfreezing a Row or Column

  1. Open a spreadsheet that has frozen rows or columns.
  2. Click View in the menu bar at the top of the window.
  3. From the drop-down option, choose Freeze.
  4. Choose either No rows, No columns, or both.

LibreOffice Calc

The following section demonstrates how to freeze and unfreeze rows and columns in LibreOffice Calc, an OpenOffice spreadsheet tool.

  1. Open a spreadsheet in Calc.
  2. Select View from the menu bar.
  3. To display the freeze choices, choose Freeze Cells.
  4. Select between Freeze First Column or Freeze First Row.

When a row or column is frozen, a checkmark shows next to the option Freeze Rows and Columns in the View -> Freeze Cells menu.
Toggle whether your row or column is frozen by selecting this option.

Apple Numbers

The sections that follow will teach you how to freeze and unfreeze rows and columns in Apple Numbers.

Freezing and unfreezing Rows or Columns

  1. Select Table from the menu bar when a spreadsheet is open.
  2. Choose Header Rows from the drop-down menu, followed by the number of header rows to freeze or unfreeze.
  3. Choose Header Columns from the drop-down menu, followed by the number of header columns to freeze or unfreeze.
  4. To freeze the headers, check the boxes adjacent to Freeze Header Rows and/or Freeze Header Columns.
  5. Uncheck these settings to unfreeze headers.