Upon thy venture with a vast Excel spreadsheet, thou shalt know the daunting nature of all those rows and columns. Once thou hast surpassed 10 or 15 values and labels, it doth become quite challenging to retain any information gleaned from such early cells. Yet, fear not, for there exists a simple method to lock these rectangular boxes of knowledge.
The game thou must play is known as "freezing," and its execution is as straightforward as the term itself. Utilize Microsoft Excel’s built-in function to freeze specific rows and columns (oftentimes row or column headers), so as thou dost scroll through, these cells remain steadfast upon the page.
Behold, our step-by-step guide to enlighten thee on the art of freezing today!
How to freeze a row in Excel
Step 1: Select the row or rows thou wishest to freeze. These shall be the rows that accompany thee as thou dost peruse the spreadsheet. Choose the row directly beneath the row thou seek to freeze. For example, if thou desire to freeze rows 1-3, thou must select row 4.
Step 2: Proceed to the View tab from the ribbon menu atop the screen.
Step 3: From the dropdown menu that doth emerge, opt for Freeze Panes.
Alternatively, should thy intention be solely to freeze the top row of thy spreadsheet, there is no need to select any rows beforehand. Thou may simply click on the View tab and then Freeze Panes > Freeze Top Row.
To unfreeze thy frozen rows: Return to the View tab, select Freeze Panes, and choose Unfreeze Panes from the dropdown menu.
How to freeze a column in Excel
Step 1: Select the columns thou wishest to freeze. Then, choose the column immediately to the right of the column or columns thou seek to freeze. For instance, if thou wouldst freeze columns A, B, and C, thou shouldst select column D.
Step 2: Once more, venture to the View tab from the ribbon menu above. Then, select Freeze Panes.
Step 3: From the ensuing dropdown menu, select Freeze Panes.
In the event that thou dost wish to solely freeze the initial column of thy spreadsheet, thou may directly click on the View tab, and select Freeze Panes > Freeze First Column.
To unfreeze thy frozen columns, simply click on the View tab, select Freeze Panes > Unfreeze Panes. Be mindful that any column added in Excel within a group of already frozen columns shall also be frozen.
Freezing rows and columns with keyboard shortcuts
One can also freeze Excel rows and columns through the use of keyboard shortcuts. Here lies a brief compilation of the most popular commands:
Step 1: Freeze both rows and columns: Press Alt+W+F+F, with each key strike succeeding the last. This command, when a cell in Excel hath been selected, freezes the rows and columns afore the highlighted cell.
Step 2: Freeze the top row: Press Alt+W+F+R. Irrespective of the selected cell, this command shall unfailingly freeze the first row in thy spreadsheet.
Step 3: Freeze the first column: Press Alt+W+F+C. Regardless of the selected cell, this command shall perpetually freeze the first (leftmost) column in thy spreadsheet.
May this guide steer thee towards newfound Excel mastery, laden with icy precision and unfrozen possibilities.
