How To Freeze Top Row On A Mac Excel

To freeze the top row in Excel for Mac:

1. Open your Excel workbook and go to the worksheet containing your data.
2. Click the View tab in the ribbon.
3. Select Freeze Top Row from the Freeze Panes dropdown.

A darker border appears below row 1, confirming the freeze is active. Row 1 remains visible as you scroll down the worksheet.

How do you unfreeze the top row in Excel for Mac?

To unfreeze the top row, navigate to View > Freeze Panes and select Unfreeze Panes. The darker border disappears, and the worksheet returns to normal scrolling behavior.

Is there a keyboard shortcut to freeze the top row in Excel for Mac?

No, Excel for Mac lacks a built-in keyboard shortcut for freezing the top row. Windows users can press Alt + W + F + R, but Microsoft documentation omits any native Mac equivalent.

Custom shortcut options:

1. Navigate to Tools > Customize Keyboard and assign a shortcut to the Freeze Top Row command.
2. Use macOS System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts to create an app-specific binding for Excel.

Does the freeze top row process differ across Excel for Mac versions?

No, the process remains consistent across Excel 2016 for Mac, Excel 2019 for Mac, and Microsoft 365 for Mac. All versions use View tab > Freeze Top Row, and a darker border confirms activation.

Why is freeze top row grayed out in Excel for Mac?

The Freeze Top Row option appears grayed out under specific worksheet conditions:

1. The worksheet already has frozen panes. Select Unfreeze Panes first to enable the option.
2. The view is set to Page Layout or Page Break Preview. Switch to Normal view via the View tab to restore freeze functionality.