how to lock a row in excel?

• Select the row below the row(s) you want to freeze (select row 6, if you want to freeze rows 1 to 5).
• On the View tab, click Freeze Panes > Freeze Panes.

When working with large datasets in Excel, you may often want to lock certain rows or columns so that you can view their contents while scrolling to another area of the worksheet. This can be easily done by using the Freeze Panes command and a few other features of Excel.

The Excel Freeze Panes option allows you to lock your columns and/or rows so that when you scroll down or over to view the rest of your sheet, the column and/or row will remain on the screen.

Go to the View tab of a worksheet to select Freeze Panes, which locks specific rows and columns in place when you scroll to another area, or Split Panes, which creates separate windows of the same spreadsheet.

(Note: This guide on how to lock a row in Excel is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)

When working with data, Excel can be an invaluable tool to help you organize, analyze, and visualize data. But imagine if you’re working on a large spreadsheet and you don’t want certain rows to move when you scroll. No need to stress as Excel allows you to lock a row in place so that it remains visible as you scroll down or to the side.

If you don’t know how to do it, worry not! In this article, I will tell you how to lock a row in Excel in 4 proven useful ways.

You’ll learn:

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Before moving on to see how to lock a row in Excel, let us first understand what a locked row is.

A locked row in Excel is a row that is protected from changes. This means that any changes you make to the sheet will not affect the locked row, and you will not be able to delete, insert, or move it.

Locking rows in Excel allows you to protect critical information and maintain the integrity of your data. While there’s no limit to the number of rows you can lock in Excel, it’s important to note that locked rows are only effective when the entire sheet or workbook is protected.

Once you lock a row, Excel adds a lock symbol to the upper-left corner of the row. You can also tell if a row is locked by looking for a thin line at the top of the row.

Sometimes, Excel may prevent you from locking a row in certain circumstances. For example, if you’re trying to lock the header row of a table, Excel won’t allow it. This is because the header row is usually used to identify the columns in a worksheet, and locking it would prevent you from being able to make changes to the table.

Another example can be found when working with an Excel spreadsheet that contains formulas. If you try to lock a row that has a formula in it, Excel won’t let you. This is because the formulas rely on data in other cells, and locking the row would prevent the formula from accessing the necessary data.

There are several ways to lock a row in Excel:

Freeze panes allow you to lock certain rows and columns in place so that when you scroll down or across the worksheet, the locked rows and columns remain visible.

You can also lock a row in Excel by using the Protect Sheet feature. The Protect Sheet feature in Excel is a security feature that enables users to lock certain parts of a worksheet, such as cells, ranges, objects, or sheets.

Using the Protect Sheet feature, you can prevent other users from making changes to the data or formatting a specific worksheet. It also allows you to set permissions for other users, so they can view and edit specific parts of the worksheet.

Data validation is a feature in Excel that allows you to restrict values that can be entered into a cell.

Conditional formatting is a feature in Excel that allows you to set rules for when a cell should be formatted based on the value in the cell.

Now the question is how to lock a row in Excel, the easy way.

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Suppose you are working on a spreadsheet in Excel and want to lock a certain row so that it cannot be edited or moved. Just follow these simple steps.

Locking rows in Excel provides the following benefits:

Related Read: How to Password Protect an Excel File? 2 Effective Ways

Also Read

HOW TO INSERT MULTIPLE ROWS IN EXCEL? THE 4 BEST METHODS

HOW TO SHADE EVERY OTHER ROW IN EXCEL? (5 BEST METHODS)

HOW TO SUBTRACT IN EXCEL?- 4 DIFFERENT SCENARIOS

Locking rows and columns in Excel can be a great way to protect important data, prevent accidental editing, and ensure that formulas remain intact. And it’s very easy to do with modern versions of Excel.

So, if you’re working with sensitive data or complex formulas, it’s a good idea to use the locking feature in Excel to keep your data safe.

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Whenever you're working with a lot of data, it can be difficult to compare information in your workbook. Fortunately, Excel includes several tools that make it easier to view content from different parts of your workbook at the same time, including the ability to freeze panes and split your worksheet.

Optional: Download our practice workbook.

Watch the video below to learn more about freezing panes in Excel.

You may want to see certain rows or columns all the time in your worksheet, especially header cells. By freezing rows or columns in place, you'll be able to scroll through your content while continuing to view the frozen cells.

If you only need to freeze the top row (row 1) or first column (column A) in the worksheet, you can simply select Freeze Top Row or Freeze First Column from the drop-down menu.

If you want to select a different view option, you may first need to reset the spreadsheet by unfreezing panes. To unfreeze rows or columns, click the Freeze Panes command, then select Unfreeze Panes from the drop-down menu.

If your workbook contains a lot of content, it can sometimes be difficult to compare different sections. Excel includes additional options to make your workbooks easier to view and compare. For example, you can choose to open a new window for your workbook or split a worksheet into separate panes.

Excel allows you to open multiple windows for a single workbook at the same time. In our example, we'll use this feature to compare two different worksheets from the same workbook.

If you have several windows open at the same time, you can use the Arrange All command to rearrange them quickly.

Sometimes you may want to compare different sections of the same workbook without creating a new window. The Split command allows you to divide the worksheet into multiple panes that scroll separately.

To remove the split, click the Split command again.

Within our example file, there is A LOT of sales data. For this challenge, we want to be able to compare data for different years side by side. To do this: