Scroll down a big sheet and the headers vanish, leaving you guessing which column is which. Freezing panes keeps them on screen, and it's the first thing experienced analysts do when they open a long list.
Step by step
- To freeze rows and columns together, click the cell just below and to the right of what should stay visible (for example B2 to freeze row 1 and column A).
- Press Alt, then W to open the View tab KeyTips.
- Press F to open the Freeze Panes menu.
- Choose Freeze Panes, Freeze Top Row or Freeze First Column from the menu, using the letters shown or the arrow keys and Enter.
Tips & troubleshooting
- Open the same menu to unfreeze when you're done.
- Combine it with Ctrl+Down Arrow to fly to the bottom of your data while the headers stay put.
The three options and their keys
- Alt, W, F, F: Freeze Panes. Freezes every row above the active cell and every column to its left.
- Alt, W, F, R: Freeze Top Row. Keeps the first visible row on screen.
- Alt, W, F, C: Freeze First Column. Keeps the first visible column on screen.
Getting the active cell right
Freeze Panes is the only option where your position matters, and it's the one people get wrong. The rule: everything above and to the left of the selected cell is frozen.
- Headers in rows 1 to 3: select A4.
- Names in columns A and B: select C1.
- Both: select C4.
- Scroll to the top left first. If row 1 is scrolled out of view when you freeze, it stays out of view and you can't reach it until you unfreeze.
Freeze, split or table?
Freezing pins headers. Split (Alt, W, S) divides the window into panes that scroll separately, which is better for comparing two distant parts of one sheet.
If your data is an Excel table (Ctrl+T), you may not need either. When you scroll down inside a table, its headers replace the column letters automatically.
Frozen panes and printing
Freezing only affects the screen. To repeat header rows on every printed page, go to Page Layout, Print Titles and set Rows to repeat at top.