Tables in Excel files contain columns and rows. Most often, columns are indicated by headings explaining the information contained in them. In tables containing a large amount of data, when scrolling down, the headers remain at the top of the page, which may cause inconvenience. Let's learn how to fix the header in Excel.
Pin Top Line
So that the heading of the table does not change its position and is always visible on the sheet, you need to pin the top row containing the column headers. Take for example an online store of cosmetics. The table contains a list of products indicating the type of product, manufacturer, value and color range of decorative cosmetics.
The list of products is quite long, and when you scroll down it, the headings are no longer visible. To fix this, fix the header of the Excel table. To do this, open the “View” tab and find the “Window” toolbar. There is a group of commands “Freeze areas”, in the drop-down menu of which is the operation “Freeze the top line”.
The top row in this case becomes separated from the rest of the cells on the sheet by a thin line. And if we now scroll down the list, the column headings will invariably be displayed on the screen.
Freeze First Column
It happens that the row headers play no less, if not more important role in the construction of the table. And the problem of their disappearance from the screen when moving the cursor to the right is just as relevant as the invisibility of the column headers. In this case, it is necessary to fix this area in the file. Let's see how to fix the header in Excel, located in the first column of the table.
The table shows the performance of students in the first year of school. The number of items is large and does not fit on the screen, so it requires scrolling to the right. So that the names do not disappear, we fix the first column. In the already known to us menu of operations “Freeze areas”, which is located on the tab “View”, panel “Window”, select the item “Freeze first column”.
Now you can move to the right on the sheet and see who owns this or that grade.
Fastening other areas and unfastening
In the student performance chart, the first three columns contain the student's last name, first name and patronymic. If we want to see all this data when moving across a sheet, we need to pin not only the first column. We’ll check how to fix the header in Excel consisting of several columns.
To do this, select cell D1 located outside the area to be docked and bordering on it, and select the menu item “Freeze areas” in the window panel of the “View” tab that is already known to us. By analogy, we can “freeze” the first three columns and row. In this case, it is necessary to mark cell D2 already.
The general rule for fixing arbitrary areas is to select a field at the intersection of ranges, but not included in them.
This method is suitable for many versions of the program, but the location of the command in older versions is different. To fix the header in Excel 2003, select the "Freeze areas" item in the "Window" menu.
To restore the file to its original appearance and remove the pinning, use the menu item "Unpin areas".
Table formatting
In versions of Excel, starting in 2007, it became possible to set the table format. In this case, the data area with the specified style is automatically converted to a table that is convenient to work with. With appropriate settings, the program selects the first record as a row of headers and automatically sets filters for each column.
The header is highlighted in color and font and is separated from the rest of the data range, and when scrolling down the data the user can constantly see the headers without the need for additional fixing.
To do this, go to the "Home" tab "Styles" panel and select the "Format as table" item. Define a style and tap the item you want.
Now you know two ways to fix the header in Excel and you will successfully apply them in practice.