Nuraida Kashmin
For suitable calculation in Excel, sometimes we need to freeze the frame. It makes our dataset easy to operate and saves a lot of time during scrolling. In this article, we are going to learn how to freeze the frame in Excel.
Practice Workbook
Download the following workbook and exercise.
6 Quick Tricks to Freeze Frame in Excel
Here we will use a sample dataset for easy understanding. We have a weekly sales amount history of a company with their product names.
1. Excel Freeze Panes Feature to Freeze Frame
1.1 Freeze Top Row
Excel has some built-in features. Freeze Panes is one of them. We can use this feature to freeze the top row of the worksheet. Let’s see how to do that with the above dataset.
STEPS:
- First, go to the View tab from the ribbon.
- Next, select the Freeze Panes drop-down from the Window section.
- Now, select the option Freeze Top Row.
- Finally, we will see that the top row is frozen and separated by a gray-colored line.
1.2 Freeze Multiple Rows
We will use the same dataset to freeze multiple rows. This method is kind of similar to the previous one.
STEPS:
- Select row 5 at first.
- Then go to View tab > Freeze Panes drop-down > Freeze Panes.
- In the end, we will see a gray-colored line after row 4 and all the rows above 5 are frozen.
1.3 Freeze First Column
Likewise, in the previous methods, we can also lock the first column in Excel. Let’s see the procedure with the same dataset.
STEPS:
- In the beginning, select the View tab.
- Choose the Freeze First Column option from the Freeze Panes drop-down.
- At last, if we scroll the mouse from the left to right direction, we can see the frozen column.
1.4 Freeze Multiple Columns
Using the above dataset, we are going to freeze multiple columns (A & B). Let’s see the procedure.
STEPS:
- Firstly, select column C.
- Now go to View > Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes.
- After that, we will see that both columns are frozen.
1.5 Freeze Multiple Rows & Columns Together
Till now, we discussed freezing only row or column. If we want to freeze both of them then we need to follow the below instructions. The dataset is the same here as well. We will freeze columns A, B, C & rows 1, 2, 3, 4.
STEPS:
- Firstly, select Cell D5.
- Secondly, go to the tab View.
- Select Freeze Panes drop-down > Freeze Panes option.
- Thirdly, we will see the required columns & rows are frozen.
Read More: How to Freeze Top Row and First Column in Excel (5 Methods)
2. Use Split Feature to Lock Frame in Excel
We can use the Split feature in Excel to freeze the frame. It will divide the worksheet into different panes. Let’s assume we have the worksheet of the company’s weekly sales amount history of different products. We are going to lock columns A & B as well as rows 1, 2, 3 & 4.
STEPS:
- First, select Cell C5.
- Then go to the View tab.
- Now select the Split option from the Window group.
- Finally, we can see that the worksheet is split. The columns & rows both are locked as well.
Read More: How to Freeze Selected Panes in Excel (10 Ways)
3. Magic Freeze Button for Locking Rows & Columns
For locking rows & columns, we can insert the magic freeze button in the Customized Quick Access Toolbar. This feature saves a lot of time during monitoring any dataset. Imagine we have the same dataset as before. Now we are going to see how to use this magic freeze button to lock both rows & columns.
STEPS:
- Select the Customized Quick Access Toolbar drop-down at first.
- After that, select the More Commands option.
- Here, the Excel Options window will pop up.
- Go to the Quick Access Toolbar tab.
- Now select the Freeze Panes option.
- Next, click on the Add button.
- Again, click on OK.
We see that the Freeze Panes drop-down is added to the Quick Access Toolbar.
- However, to lock columns A, B & rows 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; we are going to select Cell C6.
- Click on the Freeze Panes drop-down that we added in the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Then select Freeze Panes.
- Finally, we can see the frozen frame in the worksheet.
Read More: How to Apply Custom Freeze Panes in Excel (3 Easy Ways)
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4. Apply VBA to Freeze Rows & Columns in Excel
Excel VBA is one of the most amazing features. By applying the VBA code, we can easily lock the frame wherever we want. Let’s assume, we have the same dataset as before. Now we are going to insert a VBA code to freeze columns A, B & rows 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
STEPS:
- In the beginning, select the worksheet from the sheet bar.
- Next, right-click on the mouse.
- Select the option View Code from here.
- A VBA Module window will pop up.
- Then write down the below code:
Option Explicit
Sub FreezeFrame()
ActiveSheet.Range("C6").Select
ActiveWindow.FreezePanes = True
End Sub- After that, hit the F5 key or click on the Run option.
- In the end, if we do the scrolling, we can see that the required frames are frozen.
Read More: How Freeze Panes with VBA in Excel (5 Suitable Ways)
5. Use Excel Table to Lock Frame Quickly
Excel Table is also an important feature. This makes the dataset dynamic. In this method, we are going to use a table in the previous dataset and lock the top row.
STEPS:
- Firstly, select the dataset (A4:G13) and go to the Insert tab.
- Secondly, select the Table option.
- A Create Table message box pops up. Make sure the data placement is correct. Also, put a tick mark on the ‘My table has headers’ option.
- Thirdly, click on OK.
- Here, we can see that a table is created.
- After that, select any cell (G10) inside the table.
- Now scroll down the worksheet and we will see that the top row is frozen.
Related Content: Excel Freeze Panes Not Working (5 Causes with Fixes)
6. Freezing Frame with Keyboard Shortcut
Sometimes, keyboard shortcut makes our work easier and save searching time. Let’s say we have the same dataset of the weekly sales amount of the products. So we will lock columns A, B & rows 1, 2, 3, 4 by using the keyboard shortcut.
STEPS:
- Select Cell C5 at first.
- Next press Alt & W keys one by one. This will open the View tab like the below screenshot.
- Then hit the F key. This will open the Freeze Panes drop-down.
- After that, again press the F key.
- Finally, this will freeze the required frames. We can see that by scrolling the worksheet screen up & down or left & right.
Read More: Keyboard Shortcut to Freeze Panes in Excel (3 Shortcuts)
Unfreeze Excel Frame
From the above methods, we came to know about how to freeze the frame. What if we need to unfreeze the frame? To do that, we will follow the below steps.
STEPS:
- First, select the Freeze Panes drop-down from the View tab of the worksheet.
- After that, select Unfreeze Panes option.
This will unlock the frame of the Excel worksheet.
Things to Remember
We have to remember that, we cannot freeze only any specified row or column in the middle of the worksheet. Moreover, it could be possible that the Freeze Panes button is sowing unavailable. That means it won’t work. To avoid this problem-
- We need to make sure that the worksheet is not in a protected mood.
- The cell is not in an editing mood. Hit Esc or Enter to avoid this editing mood.
Conclusion
By using these methods, we can easily freeze the frame in Excel. There is a practice workbook added. Go ahead and give it a try. Feel free to ask anything or suggest any new methods.
