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How to Freeze Panes in Excel
Freeze Panes keeps rows or columns in place while you scroll through the rest of the sheet, so you never lose sight of your headers in a long or wide list.
Excel CSE · In this guide
Freeze the top row
- Go to the View tab.
- Click Freeze Panes › Freeze Top Row.
Row 1 now stays visible when you scroll down. A thin line appears under it.
Freeze the first column
View › Freeze Panes › Freeze First Column keeps column A visible when you scroll to the right. Handy when column A holds names or IDs.
Freeze several rows and columns at once
Excel freezes everything above and to the left of the cell you select.
- Select the cell just below the rows and to the right of the columns you want to freeze. To freeze rows 1–2 and column A, select B3.
- Go to View › Freeze Panes › Freeze Panes.
| To freeze | Select |
|---|---|
| Rows 1–3 | A4 |
| Columns A–B | C1 |
| Row 1 and column A | B2 |
| Rows 1–2 and columns A–C | D3 |
Unfreeze panes
Go to View › Freeze Panes › Unfreeze Panes. You need to unfreeze before you can freeze a different area.
Common problems
- The wrong rows are frozen. The sheet was scrolled when you froze it: Excel freezes what's visible above the selected cell. Unfreeze, scroll to the top (Ctrl+Home), and freeze again.
- Freeze Panes is greyed out. You're editing a cell (press Esc), the sheet is in Page Layout view (switch to Normal), or the workbook is protected.
- You see two scrollable areas. That's Split, not Freeze. Turn it off with View › Split.
Tip: instead of freezing, turn your data into a table with Ctrl+T. When you scroll down, the column headers replace the A, B, C letters at the top of the sheet.
Frequently asked questions
How do I freeze the top two rows?
Select cell A3 and choose View › Freeze Panes › Freeze Panes.
Can I freeze rows in the middle of the sheet?
No, freezing always starts at the top and left. To compare distant parts of a sheet, use View › Split or View › New Window.
Is there a keyboard shortcut for Freeze Panes?
On Windows, press Alt, W, F, F in sequence for Freeze Panes, or Alt, W, F, R for the top row.
Do frozen panes show up when printing?
No. To repeat header rows on every printed page, use Page Layout › Print Titles › Rows to repeat at top.