How to Freeze Top 2 Rows in Excel [2023 Guide]

The option to freeze rows in Microsoft Excel may not be used for a time, but it can be incredibly useful if you start using it.

I frequently use the freeze top row option myself, especially when working with large amounts of data.

While freezing the first row is useful for keeping a header row visible, you may wish to have more than one locked row at the top of your spreadsheet.

Our tutorial on how to freeze the top 2 rows in Excel will show you a quick way to lock two rows at the top of the spreadsheet.

How to Freeze Multiple Excel Rows

  1. Open your spreadsheet.
  2. Click the “3” row number.
  3. Choose the View tab.
  4. Click Freeze Panes, then Freeze Panes again.

Our guide continues below with additional information, including pictures of these steps.

Utilizing header rows in spreadsheet tools such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel makes identifying information much easier. But, if you have several rows at the top of the spreadsheet that you want to stay accessible, you may be asking how to freeze several rows in Excel 2013.

In an Excel spreadsheet, creating a row of headings to identify your columns is a popular technique to organize data.

But, as you scroll down and the header row is no longer visible, it can be difficult to recall which column carries which data.

Fortunately, you can freeze the top row of your spreadsheet to keep it at the top of the page. But what if you want to keep many rows displayed at the top of the sheet instead?

Fortunately, you can achieve this as well by using the option to freeze a pane.

Our guide will show you how to freeze two or more of your worksheet’s top rows so that they remain fixed at the top of the page when you move further down the worksheet.

Related: This article on how to apply shading in Excel will show you one method for making it easier to find data.

How to Float Two Rows at the Top of the Screen in Excel

The steps in this section were performed in the Office 365 version of Microsoft Excel, but will work in most other versions of Excel as well.

Step 1: Open your Microsoft Excel file that contains the rows that you wish to freeze.

Step 2: Click row number 3 on the left side of the spreadsheet.

select the number three row heqading

Step 3: Choose the View tab at the top of the window.

select the View tab

Step 4: Select the Freeze Panes button in the Window group of the ribbon, then choose the Freeze Panes option from the dropdown menu.

how to freeze top 2 rows in Excel

Now that you know how to freeze top 2 rows in Excel, you will be able to use this method to make your large spreadsheets easier to navigate.

How to Freeze Microsoft Excel Columns

If you want to freeze columns, use the same procedure described above.

Simply select the Freeze Panes option and click the column to the right of the columns you wish to freeze.

If you’re working on an Excel spreadsheet with data headers in columns rather than rows, this can be a really valuable tool.

The following section of this article will go over the procedures you need to do once you’ve finished working on your data and want to unfreeze the areas of your spreadsheet that are now frozen.

How to Unfreeze Columns or Rows in Excel

If you freeze the wrong rows or columns by accident, or if you obtain a spreadsheet with undesirable frozen entities, return to the View tab, click the Freeze Panes button, and then select the Unfreeze Panes option.

While the ability to lock rows is useful when you want to keep just rows containing heading information displayed in your worksheet at all times, other Excel users may be perplexed as to why Excel has frozen cells or why you choose to lock specific rows at the top of the screen.

Others may prefer to work with data in separate panes, or to open numerous windows for the same spreadsheet and handle data that way.

More About Freezing the Top 2 Excel Rows

You can only freeze rows at the top of your spreadsheet or columns on the left side. You can’t freeze rows or columns at the middle, bottom, or right side of the spreadsheet.

If you need to keep a piece of the spreadsheet visible, but it isn’t at the top or bottom, you might try the Divide option instead. This can divide the sheet into multiple panes, each of which can be scrolled individually.

A slightly darker line indicates a frozen row or column under the row or to the right of the column.

To freeze the top row and left column, click within cell B2, select Freeze Panes, and then click Freeze Panes.

Frequently Asked Questions About Excel Row Freezing

How can I keep columns on the left side of my worksheet frozen?

If you’re wondering how to freeze several columns in Excel, you might have significant data in the first, or first few, columns of your spreadsheet. Perhaps you have a header column rather than a header row.

Fortunately, you can freeze the leftmost column or a couple of the left columns, which is very similar to the freezing rows method we covered earlier.

At the top of the window, click the View tab, then the Freeze Panes button. Then click the Freeze First Column button.

If you wish to freeze more than one column, click the last column heading letter to the right of the last column you want to freeze, then go to the View tab, click Freeze Panes, and then Freeze Panes again.

Therefore you can use this way to either freeze the initial column data or free many columns.

Once you’ve decided which columns to freeze, they’ll be locked to the sheet’s left side, while anything to the right of the last column you froze will be scrollable.

Can I utilize split panes in Excel to keep some of my data visible at all times?

Indeed, this is another mode that allows you to change the appearance of your spreadsheet.

Simply choose the row below the last row in the top pane, then navigate to the View tab and select the Split button in the Window group of the ribbon.

You will then be able to scroll independently in each pane without affecting the data in the other pane.

There is a gray line in the sheet that denotes the location of the split.

If you no longer require your spreadsheet to be split in this manner, simply return to the View tab and click the Split option again to remove it.

Working in many windows can be challenging, especially if you’re working on a sheet and don’t anticipate all of the rows to be locked to the screen.

For folks who aren’t used to managing Excel data in this manner, freezing column ranges, or multiple rows can be less confusing.

Is it feasible to work on the same worksheet in different windows at the same time?

Absolutely, if you want to work on one region of the worksheet while keeping another area of the worksheet open in a distinct window, you can do so.

Simply select the View tab and then the New Window button. This will give you two independent windows, allowing you to work on two different sets of data on the same spreadsheet at the same time.

How do I unlock cell ranges after selecting to lock multiple columns or rows?

After using the Freeze Panes command to lock your rows and columns to the top or left of the worksheet, you may decide that you only want to freeze the top row or that you want to use a different option, such as freezing panes or creating separate windows.

Fortunately, you can unlock the frozen panes by going to View > Freeze Panes > then Unfreeze Panes to move your data around without worrying about frozen rows or frozen columns.