Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Displaying Row and Column Labels.
When you develop a worksheet you often add a row or two of labels at the top of each column, and perhaps a column of labels to the left of each row. If your worksheet becomes quite large, it is not unusual for the row and column labels to scroll off the screen so that you can no longer see them.
To keep row and column labels visible, consider "freezing" the rows and columns in which the labels are located. For instance, you could easily freeze the first four rows of a worksheet along with the first column. Then, when you scroll the worksheet the rows and columns will remain on the screen—only the unfrozen portion of the screen will scroll.
You specify what rows and columns you want to freeze by selecting the cell immediately below and to the right of the area to be frozen. For instance, if you want to freeze rows 1 through 4 and column A, you would select the cell at B5. Then, to freeze the rows and columns, you display the View tab of the ribbon, click Freeze Panes in the Window group, and then click Freeze Panes again. Excel places a thicker black line above and to the left of the current cell to indicate the rows and columns frozen.
If you no longer need to use the frozen panes, simply display the View tab of the ribbon, click Freeze Panes in the Window group, and then click Unfreeze Panes.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9732) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Displaying Row and Column Labels.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
Want to convert the text in a cell so that it wraps after every word? You could edit the cell and press Alt+Enter after each ...
Discover MoreWe all make mistakes. Fortunately, Excel makes it rather easy to undo your makes, right after you make them.
Discover MoreNeed to enter information into a bunch of cells that aren't anywhere near each other in the worksheet? Here's a handy way to ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2014-09-11 13:44:38
JJ
thanks for all your tips, I am pretty much a computer dummy and I look up things all the time here, now I know why that cell was highlighted in the freeze panes ribbon. Dah!
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2017 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: 
Comments