How to Lock a Column in Google Sheets (The Easy Way!)

In this article we will show you how to lock a column in google sheets so your column will remain fixed. This is particularly useful when you want to scroll horizontally across a large data set but need the first column to be visible in order to understand what the data in each row is for.

How to Lock a Column in Google Sheets Using Drag Bar

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This method involves moving the drag bar to freeze the leftmost columns.

Step 1:  Hover the cursor over the drag bar

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On the upper-left corner of the sheet there is a pair of thick gray bars that you can move, called drag bars. The color changes to blue when you move the cursor over it. The vertical bars is for splitting the sheet to freeze the leftmost columns. 

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Step 2: Click and drag the bar

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Click the drag bar, then drag it to the right until it covers the columns you want to lock. 

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Output

Screencap

How to Lock a Column in Google Sheets Using Freeze Menu

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This method involves going through the main menu to freeze cells. 

Step 1: Select the columns to lock

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You can select the entire column or a single cell belonging to that column.

Step 2: Click View

Step 3: Select Freeze

Step 4: Select what columns or rows to freeze

Google Sheets offer the following options on selecting the columns to lock:

• 1 column - choose this if you want to lock the column where the cell you selected is part
• 2 columns - choose this if you want to lock the column where the cell you selected is part plus an adjacent column
• Up to column  - choose this if you want to lock all columns from column A to the column where the cell you selected belongs

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For this step, we select Up to Column A.

Output

Screencap 

FAQs

Can you lock a column in the middle of the sheet?

No. If you try Method 2 while selecting a column in the middle of the sheet, Google Sheets will still lock the first column which is column A. See the screencap below: