How many columns can you freeze in google sheets

• You can freeze columns in Google Sheets in a few quick steps on a computer or mobile device.
• Similarly, it is very simple to unfreeze columns in Google Sheets as well. 
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You can freeze columns in Google Sheets to make it easier to scroll through content in the rest of the document. 

Freezing or unfreezing a column in Google Sheets is a quick process on your Mac or PC or the Google Sheets mobile app for iPhone or Android. Here's how to do it.

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How to freeze columns in Google Sheets on a computer

1. Open the Google Sheet you want to edit.

2. Select the column[s] you want to freeze.

3. Click the View menu, then select Freeze. Choose the number of columns you want to freeze [i.e. 1 column, 2 columns, or a range of columns].

To unfreeze columns, repeat these steps and choose No Columns instead of Freeze.

How to freeze a column in Google Sheets on a mobile device

1. Open the Google Sheets app and choose the spreadsheet you want to edit.

2. If you have an iPhone, simply select the column you want to freeze and tap the letter of the column. On the menu that appears, tap the Freeze column option. 

3. For Android users, tap and hold the column you want to freeze. Tap again on the three vertical dots icon on the menu that appears then select Freeze.

To unfreeze columns, repeat these steps and choose Unfreeze instead of Freeze.

Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:

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• How to set a print area in Google Sheets, so you can print selected cells or sheets

• How to merge cells in Google Sheets on desktop or mobile, to combine multiple cells into one larger cell

• How to add a drop-down list in Google Sheets to group and organize data in your spreadsheet

• How to draw in Google Docs using the built-in 'Drawing' tool, to add customized drawings to your documents

Watch video – How to Freeze Rows and Columns in Google Sheets

When you’re working with large datasets in Google Sheets, you will have to often scroll down or to the right.

And when you’re doing it, you may want to keep the rows and columns visible – so that you can figure out what a data point means and what row/column are you looking at.

To do this, you need to freeze rows and columns in Google Sheets.

And you can easily learn how to freeze a row in Google Sheets using the Freeze Panes option.

• Why Freeze Rows in Google Sheets?
• How to Freeze a Row in Google Sheets Using the Mouse [Shortcut]
  • How to Freeze a Column in Google Sheets
• How to Pin a Row in Google Sheets Using the Menu Options
• How to Unfreeze Rows
• How to Freeze Rows on Sheets for Mobile
• Frequently Asked Questions
  • How Do I Freeze a Specific Row in Google Sheets?
  • What Does It Mean to Freeze a Row in Google Sheets?
  • Can You Freeze Panes on Google Sheets?
  • How Do I Freeze the Top Two Rows in Google Sheets?
  • Can You Freeze a Single Cell in Google Sheets?
  • How Do I Freeze a Row in Google Sheets Mobile?

Why Freeze Rows in Google Sheets?

When you freeze rows in Google Sheets, it will keep these rows visible when you scroll down. Similarly, when you freeze columns, these columns will be visible when you scroll to the right.

Something as shown below:

So let’s see how to quickly lock some rows and columns in Google Sheets so that these are always visible.

How to Freeze a Row in Google Sheets Using the Mouse [Shortcut]

I love how easy it is to freeze rows and columns in Google Spreadsheets. All you have to do is use the mouse, click and drag, and it’s done.

Suppose you have the dataset as shown below and you want to freeze the top row in this dataset [as of now, when you scroll down, the headers disappear completely].

Below is how to freeze rows in Google Sheets::

1. Take your cursor to the top-left corner part of the worksheet area. There would be a blank gray box with two thick gray lines [as shown below].
2. Hover the cursor over the horizontal gray line. You will notice that the cursor changes to a hand icon.
3. Hold the left-mouse key and drag this line down. Since you only want to freeze the top of the row, bring this line just below the first row and leave the mouse key.

That’s it! Now the Google Sheets top row is always visible!

The first row has been frozen and now when you scroll down, you will notice that the header row is always visible [and it only takes a second to do this].

In case you have multiple header rows that you want to freeze, you can simply drag and drop the gray line after these rows.

How to Freeze a Column in Google Sheets

Similarly, using the mouse is also method of how to make a column stay in Google Sheets. With columns, you will have to take the cursor to the vertical gray line and drag it to the right. Drop the line after the column[s] that you want to freeze. Basically, if you can freeze rows, you already know how to freeze columns in Google Sheets.

How to Pin a Row in Google Sheets Using the Menu Options

Another way to quickly freeze rows and columns in Google Spreadsheets is to use the freeze panes Google Sheets option in the menu.

Again, suppose you have the dataset as shown below and you want to freeze the top row in this dataset. Here’s how to freeze the top row in Google Sheets.

Below are the steps to freeze rows in Google Sheets using the View menu options:

1. Click the View option in the menu
2. Hover the cursor over the Freeze option
3. In the options that appear, click on the ‘1 row’

The above steps would freeze the top-most row of the worksheet.

Similarly, you can use the above steps to freeze two rows or one/two columns.

But what if you want to freeze more than two rows – let’s say you want to freeze five rows?

Below is how to lock cells in Google Sheets when scrolling when you want to lock several:

1. Select any cell in the fifth row. This is because we want to freeze until the fifth row.
2. Click the View option in the menu
3. Hover the cursor over the Freeze option
4. In the options that appear, click on the Up to current row [5]

The above steps would instantly lock the first five rows so these are always visible when you scroll down.

Similarly, if you want to lock the first three columns so that these are always visible, select any cell in the third column and choose Up to current column [C] in step 4.

You cannot freeze both rows and columns simultaneously; you will first have to freeze the rows and then the columns.

How to Unfreeze Rows in Google Sheets

Now you know how to freeze cells in Google Sheets, you can do a similar thing to unfreeze them.

Again, you can use the mouse to simply drag and bring back the gray lines to the original position, or you can use the Freeze option in the View menu to unfreeze the rows and columns.

Below are the steps to unfreeze rows and columns in Google Sheets:

1. Click the View option in the menu
2. Hover the cursor over the Freeze option.
3. Click on No Row.
4. Again, click on the View option.
5. Hover the cursor over the Freeze option.
6. Click on No Column.

How to Freeze Rows on Sheets for Mobile

Here are the steps you need to follow to freeze a row or column on google sheets for Android:

1. On your main spreadsheets page, click on the spreadsheet tab name to open the options that allow you to make tweaks to your spreadsheet.
2. A small window will pop up from the bottom part of the screen. There scroll down and use the arrows to increase and decrease the number of columns and rows to freeze.
3. Click outside the window to apply the changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Freeze a Specific Row in Google Sheets?

To freeze a specific row, click on it, click on View in the top bar, and then Freeze. It allows you to select the number of rows and columns you wish to freeze.

What Does It Mean to Freeze a Row in Google Sheets?

Freezing a row keeps the data of that row or column visible when your move around on your spreadsheet. This allows you to increase the readability of your spreadsheet hence making your data more valuable.

Can You Freeze Panes on Google Sheets?

To create a pane, click on the column you wish to go up to. Now, click on View and then on Freeze. There, click on Up to column X, where X is the column’s name.

How Do I Freeze the Top Two Rows in Google Sheets?

To freeze the top two rows in Google Sheets, click on View and Freeze. Click on 2 rows to freeze the top two rows in your spreadsheet.

Can You Freeze a Single Cell in Google Sheets?

While it’s not possible to freeze just one cell, you can freeze either a column or a row by highlighting it and clicking on View and Freeze.

How Do I Freeze a Row in Google Sheets Mobile?

Click on the spreadsheet name in the bottom part of the screen and then scroll down to find the freeze options. There, use the arrows to increase or decrease the number of columns and rows.

That’s it!

Now you know how to freeze a row in Google Sheets and be a lot more efficient when working with large datasets.

Fun fact: Some people also call this anchoring the cells [or anchoring the rows/columns in Google Sheets]

I hope you found this tutorial useful.

Can you freeze more than 2 columns Google Sheets?

How many columns can be frozen?

Is there a limit to columns in Google Sheets?

How many rows can you freeze in Google Sheets?