One minute Excel Tutorial – Freeze Panes

freeze panes icon

Often we are working on screen that provide limited visibility and thus data flows out of the visible region of the screen and thus we have to scroll up, down, left and right. But this movement sometimes impair our ability to understand the data well as either the row containing headings or column containing name references fall out of screen area.

The problem mentioned above is reproduced in the following picture:

without freeze panes

Well this problem can be overcome using nifty Excel feature called “Freeze panes” And this will make row(s) and/or column(s) static.

Freeze first row

From the ribbon click View and in Windows group click Freeze Panes button. From a little drop down select Freeze Top Row and this will reproduce following result:

with first row frozen

Freeze first column

If you wish to freeze first column procedure is still the same as we did before. Click View button from there in Windows group click Freeze Panes button and from drop down this time select Free First Column. Executing steps properly will produce following results:

with first column frozen

Freeze any number of row(s) and column(s) simultaneously:

In the above examples we learnt how to freeze either top row or first column. What if we want to freeze both or what if we want to freeze some different number of rows and column. Let’s say first two rows and first column? The procedures for this is also very simple. Steps are same as before.

But this time you have such cell active which is placed just under the row(s) that you want fix and just right to column that you want static. In the following example intention was to fix first row and fist column so active cell needs to be B2.

Click View tab and then in Windows group click Freeze panes from drop down select Freeze panes. This will produce following results:

with first row and column frozen

Moving the active cell to B3 will freeze first two rows and first column. Go on try it and you will find it out.  Just in case you fall in any problem just drop a comment below.

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