How to Freeze Rows or Columns So Headers Stay Visible
Beginner
How-To · Excel
Keep your header row (or a key column) on screen while you scroll through a long sheet.
- To freeze just the top row: go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row.
- To freeze just the first column: View > Freeze Panes > Freeze First Column.
- To freeze both a header row and a header column at once, click the cell just below and to the right of what you want frozen, then View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes.
- To undo it, go back to View > Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes.
- This only affects your view while scrolling — it doesn't change the data or affect what prints, which is a separate setting under Page Layout > Print Titles.
Running into an error instead of just needing the how-to? Check our Excel troubleshooting guides or the error lookup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze both rows and columns at the same time?
Yes — select the cell just below and to the right of what you want frozen, then use Freeze Panes, and both the rows above and columns to the left of that cell stay frozen together.
Does freezing panes affect printing?
No — freezing panes is purely a screen viewing convenience. It has no effect on how the spreadsheet prints.
More Excel how-tos
How to Build a Simple Budget Spreadsheet
Set up a working monthly budget with income, expenses, and an automatic running total.
How to Pull Data From Another Sheet With XLOOKUP
Look up a value in one table and pull back matching information from another — the modern replacement for VLOOKUP.
How to Build a Pivot Table From Scratch
Summarize a large dataset into totals, averages, and counts without writing a single formula.