Freezing the Top Three Rows

Lawrence would like to freeze the top three rows in a worksheet. When he selects them and uses the Freeze Pane tools on the View tab of the ribbon, only the top row is frozen.

The problem here is that the three rows are being selected before using the Freeze Pane tools. Freezing panes works by freezing the rows above and columns to the left of whatever single cell you currently have selected. If you have multiple cells selected, then you won't get the desired results, and the results can vary depending on your version of Excel. In Lawrence's case it is obvious that selecting the rows and then trying to freeze panes results in just the top row being frozen.

Keeping in mind that you need to select a single cell, here's how Lawrence could freeze the top three rows:

1. Select cell A4.
2. Display the View tab of the ribbon.
3. Click the Freeze Panes tool.

That's it; everything above cell A4 (meaning the top three rows) is frozen. Nothing is frozen to the left of the cell because there are no columns left of column A. If cell B4 would have been selected in step 1, then both the top three rows and the leftmost column would have been frozen.

By the way, the Freeze Panes tool is a toggle, meaning it changes when it is used. When you click the Freeze Panes tool, its name changes to Unfreeze Panes. Click it at that point, and any panes you previously specified in your worksheet are unfrozen and the tool name changes back to Freeze Panes.

It should also be pointed out that freezing or unfreezing panes does not affect the Undo list. That means you cannot press Ctrl+Z to undo the freeze or unfreeze you previously did. If you unfreeze panes in error, you must follow the steps outlined above to again freeze them.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1454) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.