Freezing Panes and View Options in Microsoft Excel 2016

Working with large spreadsheets in Excel can sometimes be confusing. When you scroll down or across, you might lose sight of your headers or key information. Luckily, Microsoft Excel 2016 has smart tools to help you stay organized. Two of the most useful ones are Freezing Panes and View Options.

These features make it easy to keep important data visible, compare information, and manage multiple worksheet views. Let’s learn how to use them step by step.

What Does Freezing Panes Mean?

Freezing panes means locking specific rows or columns in place while scrolling through your worksheet. For example, you can freeze your top row (headers) so you can always see them as you scroll down. It’s especially helpful when working with big datasets.

How to Freeze Rows in Excel 2016

Follow these simple steps to freeze rows:

• Select the row just below the one you want to freeze. For example, to freeze rows 1 and 2, click on row 3.
• Go to the View tab on the Ribbon.
• Click Freeze Panes, then choose Freeze Panes again from the dropdown.

You’ll notice a thin gray line appear below your frozen rows. Now, you can scroll down and still see those rows at the top.

How to Freeze Columns in Excel 2016

Here’s how you can keep columns visible while scrolling sideways:

• Select the column to the right of the one you want to freeze. For example, to freeze column A, select column B.
• Go to the View tab.
• Click Freeze Panes and choose Freeze Panes again.

A gray line will show where the freeze begins. Now you can scroll horizontally without losing sight of your frozen column.

Quick Options: Freeze Top Row or First Column

Excel also offers quick shortcuts for common needs:

• Click Freeze Top Row to lock only the first row.
• Click Freeze First Column to lock only the first column.

These options save time if you only need to keep one header visible.

How to Unfreeze Panes

If you want to scroll freely again, here’s how to unfreeze:

• Go to the View tab.
• Click Freeze Panes.
• Select Unfreeze Panes.

Now, all rows and columns will move normally when you scroll.

Other Helpful View Options in Excel 2016

Besides freezing panes, Excel offers more ways to compare or view data easily.

1. Open a New Window for the Workbook

Want to look at two sheets from the same file at once? You can open a second window:

• Go to the View tab.
• Click New Window.

This creates another view of the same workbook. You can then use Arrange All to see both windows side by side — perfect for comparing data across worksheets.

2. Split a Worksheet

Splitting your worksheet lets you view different sections at the same time in one window.

• Select the cell where you want to create the split. For example, to split at column D and row 6, click cell D6.
• Go to the View tab and click Split.

Excel will divide your worksheet into panes. Each section has its own scrollbar, so you can scroll them independently.

To adjust the split, drag the dividers. To remove the split, click Split again.

5 FAQs About Freezing Panes and View Options in Excel 2016

Conclusion

Freezing panes and using view options in Excel 2016 make working with large datasets much easier. Whether you’re keeping headers visible, comparing data, or viewing multiple sections at once, these tools help you stay organized and save time. Once you try them, you’ll never go back to scrolling blindly through your spreadsheets again!