Home Tech Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

One of the things that make working with Google Sheets easier is the functionality it offers you to freeze cells in Google Sheets. There are other tools available in the spreadsheet program that makes it one of the best spreadsheet programs you can use.

Google is perhaps the biggest tech company in the world, and they are making innovative strides along several fronts. Several programs within Google drive are evidence of this.

In this article, the basics of what Google Sheets is will be explained. The article will also explain why it is important to know how to freeze cells on Google Sheets. Knowing not just how to freeze rows and columns on Google Sheets, but how to unfreeze them is very important.

The article will also explain methods for freezing and unfreezing cells on Google Sheets with your computer and on your smartphone.

What is Google Sheets?

Google Sheets is Google’s spreadsheet program. It is included as part of Google’s web-based Docs office suite. This office suite is offered as part of the Google drive services. Other programs in the office suite include Google Docs (word processor) and Google Slides (presentation program).

Google Sheets makes it possible for you to perform all spreadsheet operations you want to do either on your computer or mobile phones.

It also offers the opportunity of saving your work in the cloud. You can also share your spreadsheet with others via the internet, and they can view or even edit your work (depending on the settings you choose).

Why Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

The main reason why freezing of cells on Google Sheets is important is that it makes your work easier and more comfortable.

If you have a large data set to work with, you’ll inevitably have to scroll up and down or sideways. It is possible to lose track of what each cell represents, and thus make mistakes.

It is not convenient to constantly scroll to the top row, or the first column to crosscheck what each row or column represents. Freezing rows and columns ensures that the row or column you need to reference is always on-screen even when you scroll.

How to Freeze Cells/Columns In Google Sheets

Now you have seen how important it is to know how to freeze cells in Google Sheets, the next step is to learn how to actually do it. There is more than one way to freeze cells in Google Sheets. You can freeze rows or columns using any of the methods that will be discussed below. 

The methods used will also vary depending on the kind of device you are using. If you’re using a PC or laptop, the steps involved are a little different from the steps for freezing cells in Google Sheets with an Android or an iOS device.

In addition to learning how to freeze cells, how to unfreeze cells you had previously frozen will be touched upon. Now let’s dive into the various methods for unfreezing cells.

How To Freeze Rows in Google Sheets Using Your Mouse

Using just your mouse, you can freeze rows in Google Sheets. To open Google Sheets, go to Google Drive, then locate Sheets. You can then choose either a new spreadsheet or an existing spreadsheet.

Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

You’ll notice a grey box at the top left corner of the spreadsheet before the A row, and above the 1 column.

Move your mouse to the lower grey box margin and hold it there till the mouse cursor changes to a hand icon. Hold the left mouse key and take the horizontal line of the grey box and drag down to the number of rows you want to freeze.

Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

If you want to freeze one row, drag to the first row. If you want to freeze five rows, drag to the fifth row.

How To Freeze Columns in Google Sheets Using Your Mouse

When you’ve opened the spreadsheet on Google Sheets, you can freeze as many as five columns. Once again, notice the grey box at the top left corner of the spreadsheet

Move your cursor to the right grey box margin and hold it there till a hand icon appears. Hold the left mouse key and take the vertical line of the grey box and drag it to freeze the number of columns you want.

Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

To freeze one column, drag the line to cover one column. To freeze four columns, drag the line to cover four columns.

How To Unfreeze Rows or Columns Using Your Mouse

Now you know how to freeze cells in Google Sheets using your mouse, the next step is to learn how to unfreeze using your mouse. The unfreezing process is the reverse of the freezing process. 

To unfreeze rows or columns, drag the grey border back to its original place.

How To Freeze Rows Using Menu Options

Apart from using your mouse to freeze cells in Google Sheets, you can use menu options to achieve the same goal. Open the spreadsheet you want on Google Sheets.

Tap on a cell from the row you want to freeze. Next, go to the menu options at the top and click view. Select “View > freeze” next.

Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

There is an option for how many rows you want to freeze. Options include 1 row, 2 rows… freeze the current number of rows. Select how many rows you want to freeze.

Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

With the rows frozen, you can scroll while those frozen rows remain pinned to your screen.

How To Freeze Columns Using Menu Options

The steps involved in freezing columns using menu options are almost identical to the steps involved in freezing rows. Open the spreadsheet on Google Sheets.

Click on a cell in the column you want to freeze, then go to the menu options at the top and click on view. Next click on freeze.

Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

Select the number of columns you want to freeze: 1, 2… freed the current number of columns.

Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

With the columns frozen, you can scroll while having the selected columns pinned to the screen.

How To Unfreeze Rows or Columns Using Menu Options

Since you can freeze cells in Google Sheets using menu options, you can also unfreeze them using the same method. To unfreeze, select a cell.

Go to the menu options at the top and click on view. Next select “freeze”. Finally, select ” no rows” or “no columns” as the case may be. That’s the simple way to unfreeze cells in Google Sheets using the options menu.

How To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets on Android

When working on spreadsheet documents on your android tablets or smartphones, you can freeze or unfreeze rows and columns. Freezing or unfreezing is just a few taps away.

There is a Google Sheets app for Android devices. The first step is to open the app, and either begin creating a new spreadsheet, or open an existing one you want to work on.

To freeze or unfreeze a row or column, touch and hold the row or column. In the menu that pops up, tap freeze or unfreezes, depending on what you want to do.

Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

How To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets on iOS

On your iPhone or iPad, you can easily freeze rows or columns. Open the Google Sheets app, and you can begin work. Note that the rows have numbers while the columns have letters. To freeze rows, tao the row number; and tap the column number to freeze columns.

In the menu that comes up, tap the right arrow, then select freeze or unfreeze.

Step-By-Step Guide To Freeze Cells In Google Sheets

With the row or column frozen, you can scroll while being able to reference the frozen cells.

Can You Freeze Rows and Columns Simultaneously?

While attempting to freeze cells on Google Sheets, can you freeze rows and columns simultaneously? The answer is no. You can only freeze either rows or columns, but not both at the same time. 

You can freeze rows, then unfreeze the rows before freezing columns. The same rule applies if you freeze columns first.

Since you generally don’t scroll up/down and sideways at the same time, it makes sense for you not to be able to freeze rows and columns simultaneously.

Conclusion

Knowing how to freeze cells on Google Sheets makes the work you do on spreadsheets much easier. You are able to easily reference other rows and columns. This freezing can be done regardless of what device you are working on.

Now you know how to freeze cells, you can apply it any time you are working on Google Sheets. Also, remember to share what you learned with others that will need it.