Edited By Piyush Kashyap, Reviewed By Gulshan
Microsoft Excel or simply Excel is a spreadsheet program which is used to create grids of numbers, texts and other data.
It is very useful for enterprises to keep a record of data and all their work operations.
With all the versatile features that MS Excel provides to its users, it has accumulated more than one billion regular users in the work sphere.
It has become the standard working program in many companies.
Users can build customized calculators by programming commonly used formulas. That allows the users to just put in the numbers while the program itself will give the result, saving a lot of their time.
All these versatile functions have made it the ideal software for managing a variety of things. But when it comes to handling large amounts of data in the MS Excel, an individual may sometimes incur complexities. The user may find it difficult to keep track of everything which is going on the spreadsheet.
When there are only one or two rows to work with, it is fairly easy, but when you are dealing with some 176 rows (we are not considering columns yet) it is going to be hectic and extremely time-consuming.
When the spreadsheet starts to get bulky and complicated, there is only one way out: freeze the rows and columns.
How It Is Helpful:
Freezing rows (and columns) is a fairly easy task. It allows users to move freely across the entire spreadsheet. The most important function cum advantage of freezing rows is it allows you to keep an eye on a particular row or column while you are scrolling down the spreadsheet.
There are instances when you would want to keep multiple rows ‘frozen’ at the top of the left screen. Excel will thus use dark lines to inform you about the frozen grids and will constantly keep the same under your sight while you work.
It is thus beneficial to see the important stuff all the time while scrolling or navigating.
Procedure
Top Row:
In most of the cases, while working on the spreadsheet, users tend to keep the top row constantly in sight for it in most cases containing the headers of the columns.
- 1Open the spreadsheet.
- 2Go to the view tab on the topmost ribbon.
- 3Click in the small triangle on the freeze pane button.
- 4A drop box would appear with three options. Namely, Freeze Panes, Freeze Top Row and Freeze First Column.
- 5Select the second option, and you will have effectively locked the top row.
Freeze row and column in Excel
Any Row Or Rows:
- 1Select the row or the rows you intend to freeze.
- 2Having selected the row or bunch of rows, go to the View Tab on the top ribbon.
- 3Select the freeze pane option and click on Freeze Panes.
- 4You would have successfully frozen the selected rows.
As mentioned before, it is extremely easy to freeze rows. Similarly, it is possible to freeze columns too.
Lock First Column:
It is very helpful to freeze the first column when there are numerous columns on the spreadsheet. It is very similar to locking of the first row.
- 1Open the spreadsheet
- 2Go to the view tab on the topmost ribbon
- 3Click on the small triangle on the freeze pane button.
- 4Select Freeze First Column from the dropbox that would come up.
FREEZE COLUMN
If you want to freeze a column, select the cell exactly right to the column which you intend to freeze and follow the same procedure, i.e., go to the View Tab and click on the option of freeze panes. In that way, you will have your column frozen.
Unfreezing:
Having mentioned the procedure to freeze rows and columns, it is also important for the user to know how to unfreeze the frozen entities. Being fairly simple, you need to follow the same steps to carry out the task on unfreezing.
Go back to the Freeze Panes command after selecting a particular grid and click on Unfreeze Panes.
Shortcuts:
Tired of repeating the process again and again? Here are some shortcuts to make the process easier.
