What Is the Freeze Panes Option in Excel 2007?

Microsoft Excel 2007 offers users a number of convenient tools to make creating and navigating spreadsheets and charts simpler. One such tool is the "Freeze Panes" option.

Identification

The "Freeze Panes" option is a viewing tool in Excel 2007 that allows you to keep a portion of your spreadsheet rows and columns visible on the sheet at all times, even when you scroll down or up.

Purpose

This tool is useful for reference purposes. When working with spreadsheets, you often have to scroll through many rows or columns of data. If you need to compare specific information in two rows or columns, say row five and row 5,555, the "Freeze Panes" option allows you to freeze row five, then scroll down to row 5,555 at the same time. Without "Freeze Panes," you would have to keep jumping back and forth to compare the data.

Location

"Freeze Panes" is located on the "View" menu in Excel 2007. When you click the "Freeze Panes" button on the Excel ribbon, you are given three options: "Freeze Panes" (for all selected rows and columns), "Freeze Top Row" (for just the first horizontal row) and "Freeze First Column" (for the first vertical column of the spreadsheet).

References

• Microsoft: Freeze or Lock Rows and Columns