Office Tips
Freeze or lock rows and columns
To keep an area of a worksheet visible while you scroll to another area of the worksheet, you can lock specific rows or columns in one area by freezing or splitting panes.
When you freeze panes, you keep specific rows or columns visible when you scroll in the worksheet. For example, you might want to keep row and column labels visible as you scroll.
When you split panes, you create separate worksheet areas that you can scroll within, while rows or columns in the non-scrolled area remain visible.
Freeze panes to lock specific rows or columns
- On the worksheet, do one of the following:
- To lock rows, select the row below the row or rows that you want to keep visible when you scroll.
- To lock columns, select the column to the right of the column or columns that you want to keep visible when you scroll.
- To lock both rows and columns, click the cell below and to the right of the rows and columns that you want to keep visible when you scroll.
- To lock rows, select the row below the row or rows that you want to keep visible when you scroll.
- On the View tab, in the Window group, click the arrow below Freeze Panes
and click on the required option.
Notes When you freeze the top row, first column, or panes, the Freeze Panes option changes to Unfreeze Panes so that you can unlock any frozen rows or columns.
You can freeze rows at the top and columns on the left side of the worksheet only. You cannot freeze rows and columns in the middle of the worksheet.
Split panes to lock rows or columns in separate worksheet areas
- On the worksheet, do one of the following:
- On the View tab, in the Window group, click on Split
.
- To split panes, point to the split box at the top of the vertical scroll bar or at the right end of the horizontal scroll bar.
- When the pointer changes to a split pointer
or 
, drag the split box down or to the left to the position that you want.
- When the pointer changes to a split pointer
- On the View tab, in the Window group, click on Split
- To remove the split, double-click any part of the split bar that divides the panes.
Note You cannot split panes and freeze panes at the same time. When you freeze panes within a split pane, all rows above and columns to the left of the selection will be frozen and the split bar will be removed