Freeze One or More Rows in an Excel Worksheet
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated October 25, 2023
Applies to: Microsoft® Excel® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)
You can freeze one or more rows in an Excel worksheet using the Freeze Panes command. If you freeze rows containing headings, the headings will appear when you scroll down. You can freeze columns as well so when you scroll to the right columns will be frozen.
Recommended article: How to Merge Cells in Excel (4 Ways)
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Freeze the top row on a worksheet
To freeze the top row on a worksheet:
- Display the worksheet with the row you want to freeze.
- Click the View tab in the Ribbon and then click Freeze Panes in the Window group. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Top Row The top row will be frozen in place. Alternatively, if you prefer to use a keyboard shortcut, press Alt > W > F > F (Alt then W then F then R).
You can also select Top Column and the first column would then be frozen in place.
The Freeze Panes drop-down menu appears as follows:
Freeze a specific row or rows on a worksheet
To freeze a specific row or rows on a worksheet (not the top row):
- Display the worksheet with the row or rows you want to freeze.
- Scroll down so that the top row or rows that you want to freeze are displayed at the top of the worksheet. You should be viewing only the rows you want to freeze at the top otherwise you will waste space on your screen.
- If you also want to freeze columns, scroll to the right until the left column or columns that you want to freeze are displayed on the left of the worksheet.
- Click below the row or rows you want to freeze and to the right of the column or columns you want to freeze. For example, if you want to freeze row 4 and column A, click in B5. If you want to freeze a row or rows but do not want to freeze any columns, click below the row(s) you want to freeze in column A.
- Click the View tab in the Ribbon and then click Freeze Panes in the Window group. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Freeze Panes. The row(s) and column(s) will be frozen in place. Alternatively, if you prefer to use a keyboard shortcut, press Alt > W > F > F (Alt then W then F then F).
After you have frozen rows and / or columns, you will not be able to scroll up to the top of the worksheet.
In the example below, we want to freeze row 3 and column A, so we clicked in B4 and then chose Freeze Panes:
Unfreeze rows or columns
To unfreeze rows and / or columns:
- Click anywhere in the worksheet with the rows and / or columns you want to unfreeze.
- Click the View tab in the Ribbon and then click Freeze Panes in the Window group. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Unfreeze Panes. Alternatively, if you prefer to use a keyboard shortcut, press Alt > W > F > F (Alt then W then F then F).
This is an important skill to learn for most users as worksheets can become very large. Note that freezing rows is different from printing row headings.
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More Resources
How to Show or Hide Gridlines in Excel
How to Merge Cells in Excel (4 Ways with Shortcuts)
10 Great Excel Keyboard Shortcuts for Filtering Data
How to Insert Multiple Rows in Excel (4 Fast Ways with Shortcuts)
How to Highlight Errors, Blanks and Duplicates in Excel Worksheets (Using Formulas)
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