When working with large spreadsheets in Excel, the ability to freeze panes can be very helpful.
It works just like it sounds.
Certain columns or rows become frozen or fixed in place, allowing you to scroll the length
of your worksheet, and still see important data like your header cells.
To freeze any row, all you have to do is select the one below the row you want to freeze.
I want to freeze rows 1, 2, and 3, so they stay at the top of the worksheet, even when
I scroll down.
That means the row I need to select is row 4.
Now go to the Ribbon and select the View tab.
Here we have the Freeze Panes command.
Just click, and choose Freeze Panes from the drop-down menu.
A black line appears below the rows that are frozen, sectioning off what moves and what
stays in place when you scroll through the data in your worksheet.
Let's try freezing a column now.
For example, when I scroll from left to right, it would help to be able to see the names
of all these expenses, which I have listed back in column A. First I need to unfreeze
my rows by going back to the Freeze Panes command and selecting Unfreeze Panes.
Now, remember there's a trick to the cells you need to select when freezing.
Instead of the column you want to freeze (in my case, column A), you need to select the
one to the right.
Use the Freeze Panes command just like before, and a black line appears to the right of the
frozen area.
Now we can scroll from month to month, and the column of expenses stays in place.
Freezing panes really goes a long way in making your worksheet easier to navigate and easier
to understand.