How to Freeze a Row in Google Sheets

Key takeaways

Select the row, click View > Freeze, and choose the row you want to freeze in Google Sheets.

• By freezing a row, you can enhance its visibility as you scroll through the spreadsheet, making it easier to reference as you work through your data. 

• If you need to unfreeze a row or column while editing your Google Sheet, navigate to View > Freeze > No rows. 

• You can freeze more than one row at a time or freeze a column within the Google Sheets Freeze menu. 

Learn how to freeze a row or column in Google Sheets and how to unfreeze it. And if you want to continue learning in-demand skills for working with data, including how to incorporate AI in your workflow, enroll in the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate. Throughout the program, you'll have opportunities to work with spreadsheets, learn more about data cleaning, analysis, and visualization, and develop career-ready skills. 

Why learn how to freeze a row in Google Sheets?

While working on a longer spreadsheet, it can be helpful to see the first row with the information that identifies the contents of each column. By freezing the row, it will stay visible at the top of the screen as you scroll through the rest of the spreadsheet. You can freeze a row in Google Sheets if you need to reference the row's header while you examine the data further down the page. 

How to freeze a row in Google Sheets

You will be able to freeze the first rows of the spreadsheet. You can freeze more than one, but they must be at the beginning edge of the rows. If this poses an issue, you can re-sort your spreadsheet to get the appropriate row at the top. 

To freeze a row in Google Sheets, select the row, click View > Freeze, and select the number of items you want to freeze. Let’s examine each of these steps in more detail. 

Step 1: Select the row. 

Click on the row you wish to select. To ensure you select the entire row, click on the numbered box of the row. 

Step 2: Click 'View' and 'Freeze.'

Click View > Freeze.

Step 3: Select how many rows to freeze.

Choose how many rows to freeze. 

How to unfreeze a row in Google Sheets

The process is very similar if you change your mind and need to unfreeze a row or column. To unfreeze a row in Google Sheets, you would return to the View menu and select Freeze > No rows. You can complete the same steps for frozen columns. 

You may also need to unfreeze a row or column if you change the spreadsheet while editing, such as by removing or adding additional rows or columns. 

Read more: Google Sheets vs. Excel: What’s the Difference?

Troubleshooting

• Frozen rows won’t stay put: When you freeze multiple rows, the program creates a scroll bar to scroll through the rows you’ve frozen. If your frozen rows seem to move around, check to ensure you haven’t scrolled through them. 

• Frozen rows won’t print: To ensure frozen rows appear on printed documents, check your print and export settings. Look for an option similar to “Include frozen rows.” 

Your go-to guide for Google Sheets troubleshooting

Find cheat sheets, skills assessments, and professional guidance while browsing our Career Resource Hub. Then, explore our other free resources to learn how to do more with Google Sheets or expand your data analysis skill set:

• Watch on YouTube: How to Highlight Duplicates in Google Sheets

• Bookmark for later: How to Concatenate in Google Sheets (Combine Cells without Losing Data)

• Read our Career Chat issue: 5 Data Analysis Tools to Know

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