Step-by-step guide

How to freeze rows and columns
in Excel

Keep your headers visible when scrolling through thousands of rows — takes 10 seconds to set up.

EP
ExcelPro·Sep 11, 2026

Why freeze panes?

When you scroll down through a large spreadsheet, the header row disappears. You lose track of which column is which. Freeze Panes locks specific rows or columns in place so they stay visible no matter how far you scroll.

Freeze the top row (most common)

View → Freeze Panes → Freeze Top Row. That's it. Row 1 stays visible as you scroll down. A thin line appears below row 1 to indicate it's frozen.

Freeze the first column

View → Freeze Panes → Freeze First Column. Column A stays visible as you scroll right.

Freeze both a row and a column

This is slightly different. Click the cell below and to the right of where you want to freeze. Then View → Freeze Panes → Freeze Panes.

Example: to freeze row 1 and column A, click cell B2 first, then freeze. Everything above B2 (row 1) and to the left of B2 (column A) will be frozen.

💡 The cell you click determines what freezes

The freeze happens above and to the left of whatever cell you have selected when you click Freeze Panes. Click B2 to freeze row 1 and column A. Click C3 to freeze rows 1-2 and columns A-B.

Unfreeze panes

View → Freeze Panes → Unfreeze Panes. The option only appears when panes are already frozen.

⚠️ Common mistake

If you want to freeze row 1 AND column A but you click "Freeze Top Row" and then "Freeze First Column" separately, the second one replaces the first. You must use Freeze Panes (not the shortcuts) and select cell B2 first.

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